Robert "Bobby" E. Hord, Jr., was born in 1920 to Gladys Bauer Hord and Robert E. Hord, Sr., in Richmond, Virginia. Hord, Jr., attended class at the Richmond branch of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute Engineering Extension Division from 1937 to 1939.

Hord enlisted in the Army in April of 1942 and was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion of the 302nd Ordinance Regiment. Hord completed his training at numerous bases throughout the United States including: Camp Sutton in Monroe, North Carolina; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Camp Young in Indio, California; Camp Pickett, Virginia, and Camp McCain in Mississippi. While he was serving in Mississippi, Hord received a much-anticipated transfer to Company A of the 758th Railway Shop Battalion. He spent a brief period at Camp Harrahan in New Orleans, Louisiana where the battalion was activated before being transferred to Camp Millard in Bucyrus, Ohio to complete training. In December of 1943, Hord and the rest of the 758th were sent overseas to Dibrugarh, Assam, India. Hord spent the remainder of his service in the China-Burma-India theater before returning state-side for discharge in November of 1945.

After the war, Robert Hord, Jr., completed his studies at VPI receiving a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1949 and continuing to complete a Masters in Power and Fuel Engineering in 1950. Hord spent the remainder of his life living in Richmond, Virginia and channeling his love for the railroad into a successful career working for the Norfolk and Western Railroad and later, the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. Robert Hord, Jr., died on December 13, 2010.

Additional Information about 758th Railway Battalion found here: 758th Railway Shop Battalion by David Kauffman, http://militaryrailwayservice.blogspot.com/2010/01/758th-by-dave-kaufman.html, retrieved June 2011.