“I would do it again tomorrow. I don’t think there’s a veteran you could ask that would say they wouldn’t do it,” said Robert Gamboa.

LARGO, Fla. — This Veterans Day, 97-year-old Robert Gamboa of Largo stands as one of the last surviving members of his naval patrol ship from World War II. 

He’s a living link to a generation that helped shape history. 

As a musician and father of four, Gamboa’s life has been defined by service, family and a quiet sense of duty that began before he was even old enough to enlist. At just 16, with the world at war, Gamboa wanted to serve so badly that he changed his birthday on his enlistment papers. 

“My birthday is 9/28,” he said with a grin. “I changed it to 9/27, because there was nobody left in the neighborhood. They were all gone. I had to get in it.”

When officials discovered his true age, Gamboa had to wait another year and get his parents’ permission before joining the Navy as a third-class radarman. 

Stationed in Little Creek, Virginia, he and his crew had no idea the danger that awaited them once they shipped out. 

“I was on a patrol craft escort 873 PCEC,” he said. “We didn’t have a name. We only had a number. During the war, the ships were all allocated, and we were dispensable,” he said. 

He didn’t know it then, but his patrol craft was part of the first line of defense. 

“We were left out there all alone to take the first torpedoes or whatever hit them, so they wouldn’t sink the other ones.”

Bob stayed on the ship until 1949 before joining the reserves in Staten Island, New York. Most of his crew went to Korea.

“It’s hard to think that out of 280 guys, 45 came back,” he said through tears. “I still think about them.”

Bob and his late wife, Flo, had four daughters together. The pair met when Gamboa was on leave, playing drums for his band.

“Back then, I was a real Don Juan, I guess you’d call me,” he joked.

Over the years, he’s attended reunions with his crew and stayed in touch with the men who served beside him. Until now, he said, there’s no one left to call. 

“The oldest guy just passed away in Orlando. He died at 101, a chief radioman.” 

Still, Bob doesn’t miss a beat when asked if he would change a thing.

“I would do it again tomorrow. I don’t think there’s a veteran you could ask that would say they wouldn’t do it,” he said.