Robert Underhill was born in Indiana and took his undergraduate work at Manchester University in Indiana. He was in the army as a flying cadet when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and after getting his wings became an instructor at bombardier and navigation schools in the southwest. He went overseas at the beginning of 1944 and flew 50 combat missions with the 15th Air Force before being shot down over Germany. Rescued by Polish patriots, he was escorted into Russia before being returned to the States. Released from active duty at the war's end, he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston and had a stint of teaching there before being appointed to the faculty at Iowa State in Ames. In Chicago, Robert and Margaret Phelps married and came to Ames in 1947. At Iowa State, Robert rose to become a full professor and administrator, serving as Chairman of the Department of Speech. He retired in 1986 and now is an Emeritus Professor of English and Speech at Iowa State University. In addition to scholarly articles, Dr. Underhill has written sixteen books, mainly histories or biographies but also three novels.
