Robert J. Moon, Jr.

CW4 Moon will be interred at the Rock Island National Cemetery on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 11am with the Episcopal Rite of Burial conducted by Father Dusty Fecht, Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Rock Island, Illinois. Anyone wishing to attend should meet at Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory, Ltd., Moline at 10:30 am for the procession to the cemetery.

Born June 27, 1941, at the University of Chicago’s Lying-In Hospital, Robert grew up around the brilliant minds of the scientists of the Manhattan Project: His father, Dr. Robert J. Moon, Sr. was a UC Physicist, who played a key role in the project. Robert Jr. would tell stories of standing behind Albert Einstein in line at the grocery store or having Enrico Fermi as a welcome guest at the family home.  

Bob came of age in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago where he occasionally sang with a young man named Robert Zimmerman, who the world would later come to know as Bob Dylan. He also would spend many happy days at the family cabin in Southwest Missouri with his Grandparents, his sisters and his Wickizer and Moon cousins.

Drawn to the call of public service by the inspirational leadership of President John F. Kennedy, he volunteered to serve his country during the Vietnam War. He was accepted into the United States Army Warrant Officer Candidate School, and graduated Flight School Class 66-19, earning his wings as an Army Aviator at Fort Wolters, Texas. He was assigned to the 176th Assault Helicopter Company, “The Minutemen,” 1st Aviation Brigade, Republic of Vietnam, where he flew the legendary Bell UH-1 Huey in both slick and gunship configurations- Bob and his unit took the fight to the enemy each day and rescued our fellow Americans out of the fire, providing a ride back to “the world.” 

Upon returning stateside, he was an Instructor Pilot, as well as an Aviation Accident Investigator at the U.S. Army Safety Center at Fort Novosel, Alabama. He also served with the U.S. Army Reserve at Des Moines, Iowa and the Iowa Army National Guard at Davenport Airport, proudly flying the Boeing CH-47 Chinook as an Aircraft Commander.

Wounded in combat, he was twice awarded the Purple Heart. He was also awarded the Air Medal on multiple occasions for combat operations in Vietnam.

Prior to his military service, he was employed as a contractor for NASA and proudly worked on component fabrication for the Saturn V rocket that took American Astronauts to the Moon.

He was a Helicopter Medivac Pilot for the Illinois Department of Transportation, a corporate pilot for the former Miller Container Company of Milan, Illinois and owned his own aviation company, Skyway Helicopters Inc, based at the Davenport Municipal Airport.

Over a lifetime of law enforcement service, he was a Deputy Sheriff with the Scott County Iowa Sheriff’s Office, the Carroll County Illinois Sheriff’s Office, and worked as a Project Coordinator for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in Chicago. 

He attended both the University of Chicago Laboratory School and Shimer College in Mt. Carroll, Illinois. He was a Life Member of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association and the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation. He was a former member of Christ Church, Episcopal in Moline, Illinois. 

He was a former member of Christ Church, Episcopal in Moline, Illinois. As a lifelong Democrat, he served as a Precinct Committeeman in Moline, as well as a volunteer for his favorite candidates during the campaigns of President Barack Obama, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, State Representative Mike Boland, Senator Bill Cunningham, Porter McNeil, and Chris Kennedy, along with running mate Ra Joy when Chris ran for Governor of Illinois in 2018.

Preceded in death by his parents Dr. Robert J. Moon and Christine Moon (Nee Monpleasure) and Sister Mary Beth Booth He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law Rob and Lisa Moon, grandson Hunter James, and granddaughters Adele and Simone, all of Chicago. He is also survived by his sisters, Julia “Judy” Jennings, and Margaret “Peg” Chambers.

To say Bob left an impression on those he met, would be an understatement. He inspired a love of aviation in his son, and especially in his young grandson Hunter. His giving nature and genuine concern for others framed his lifetime of service to the community and our republic.

Memories may be shared online by visiting esterdahl.com.