Bob Alden USNR
Surface Warfare/ Intelligence Officer
Cold War

A native of Wilmington, DE, Bob is a direct descendant of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, who came over on the Mayflower in 1620. He wanted to become a naval officer by the time he was ten years old and enlisted in the Naval Reserves in 1965. He received an appointment to the US Naval Academy from the Secretary of the Navy and graduated in 1970 with a BS degree in Operations Analysis. 
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Bob served as Assistant Combat Information Center Officer on USS WILLIAM V PRATT (DLG-13). During a 1972 Mediterranean Deployment, the PRATT was involved in a dangerous confrontation with Soviet warships that were maneuvering dangerously. He helped document the incident and the result was the 1972 Incident at Sea (INCSEA) agreement between the two navies. He subsequently served as Combat Information Center officer aboard USS BIDDLE (DLG-34), the Defense Intelligence Agency, USS FORRESTAL (CV-59), Commander Naval Air Force, Pacific Fleet, and Fleet Combat Training Center, Pacific where he retired in 1990. He was awarded the Joint Service Commendation, Navy-Marine Corps Achievement, Navy Expeditionary and National Defense Service Medals and the Coast Guard Unit Commendation and Sea Service Ribbons.

Bob moved to Ft Lauderdale in 2015 and became involved in the museum as a docent and a lifetime member in 2018.