Biography

Van Meter, Robert Emmett b. March 26, 1916, Cudahy, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Father Harvey Custer Van Meter (1880-1939), mother Marie (Mary) Mitchell Van Meter (1888-1935); Received Passport# 464201 on July 22, 1937 which listed his address as 4127 West Vandenbergh Street, Chicago, Illinois; Arrived in Spain via Setcases on August 14, 1937; Served with the XV BDE, Lincoln-Washington BN; Deserted from hospital and stowed away aboard a British oil tanker; Went ashore in Romania, and was arrested and taken to the American embassy in Bucharest; Returned to the US on July 31, 1938 aboard the Britannic; WWII, US Army Air Corps, enlisted November 5, 1939 and was discharged on November 8, 1945; Married Lillian S. Van Meter (1917-1992) on July 6, 1940 in St. Mel Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Chicago, Illinois, daughters Maria Ann Van Meter (1941-?), and Michelle Van Meter Kevetter (1969-?); Reenlisted in the Air Force on September 2, 1947 and retired March 31, 1968 as a Tech Sergeant served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam; d. August 3, 1987, Jacksonville, Florida, buried in Riverside Memorial Park in Jacksonville, Florida.

---

Siblings: brothers James H. Van Meter (1908-1989), Thomas Jefferson Van Meter (1912-1916), Bernard Mitchell Van Meter (1918-1978), Bernard M. Van Meter (1919-1978); sisters May Martha Van Meter (1909-1950), and Margaret E. Van Meter (1912-1916).

---

Sources: Scope of Soviet Activity; Figueres List; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 1005, ll. 23, ver arch gen amer; USSDA 2:1001, 61:0244; clipping “Set out to Visit Grandparents, Young American Who Went to War Instead.” Sunderland Echo, Tuesday June 14th 1938; L-W Tree Ancestry; Find-a-Grave #170402985. Code A