Video by Evan Kidd and Rachel Young

When Robert “Bob” Lowdermilk ’49 was an NC State student, he heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor from his dorm room radio. Months later, he was drafted at 18, trained as a fighter pilot and earned his wings just three weeks after D-Day.

Stationed in the Pacific, Lt. Col. Lowdermilk witnessed history firsthand: flying over Hiroshima days after the atomic bomb and escorting Japanese delegates to their surrender in 1945.

After the war, Bob returned to NC State to finish his engineering degree and launch a career in aviation design. Now 101, he’s part of a four-generation Wolfpack family and still calls North Carolina home.