Jacksonville University NROTC - Odyssey Yearbook (Jacksonville, FL)

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MMM4-.GQH.W wwww-;.4:.mmrz. g.44.4..- . A 7 --.... 4-... . . 4 In an interview this midshipman had with Jacksonville Universityls President, Robert H. Spiro, he remembered a few sea stories, reflected on the experiences and benefits derived from his association with the United States Navy. It was twenty days after Pearl Harbour when Robert H. Spiro, just out of college, enlisted in the United States Navy. After fourteen months as a yeoman Me at the District Intelligence Office, he received a direct commission as an Ensign on 15 March 1943. For the next three months he served at the supply Corpis Naval Supply Depot at Norfolk. From there he was sent to Harvard Business College for the remainder of 1943. It was in December that he reached his first billet, the USS Morris lDD 417l, at Pearl Harbour where he would spend the next 22 months at sea, during which the Japanese would seriously damage his ship. He went off of active duty in November of 45 as a LTjg and while in the reserves he rose to the rank of Lieutennant Commander, promoted to Captain in 1964, the year of his arrival at JU and succeded to Rear Admiral in 1971. His present duties include serving as the Local Representative for the Commandant of the Sixth Naval District. ' Robert H. Spiro has played a major role in establishinga NROTC unit on the campus of Jacksonville University. Just one year after his arrival and in the years that followed, Robert Spiro enlisted the aid of local government and Navy League, wrote letters to congressmen and visited the Secretary of the Navy, because he was convinced that JUis nearness to three major naval installations made the university an excellent host for an NROTC Unit. His timeless effort was rewarded when in 1971 a NROTC Unit was established. He feels that with its establishment it has brought to JU outstanding men and women with a desire to serve. When asked about the benefits gained from his time in the Navy he replied that from the time as an, enlisted man, his rise through the ranks as an officer, his time at Harvard, and his duties at sea has been a :valuable learning experience of managing men and supplies, and accomplishing a mission under war time stress. Experiences and an outlook that is useful in his role as a University President. He urges young men entering the Navy today to face it objectively, with an open mind and to learn all one can.