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Robert “Bob” Herschkowitz was born on 8 March 1938 in Antwerp, Belgium to Motcha Mendel “Max” Herschkowitz and Irene Schnabel. His family was originally from Poland but they immigrated to Belgium. During WWII his family left Belgium with a large group of refugees heading for Marseille. Eventually the family was arrested and sent to Gras, later escaping and fleeing to Switzerland and eventually back to Belgium.

Herschkowitz attended a technological institute and later dropped out to join the Merchant Marines. After two years he went into the Belgian Navy to do his national service. He finished his education and became an engineer in the early 1960s.

Boeing visited Brussels to conduct interviews in 1965 and Herschkowitz accepted a job and moved to Washington State. He worked for the company until 2014 as Director of International Sales, Military Sales.

In addition, Herschkowitz earned his master’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. He was also directly commissioned to the U.S. Navy Reserve and served for 24 years.

In 1969, Herschkowitz visited Belgium and proposed to a woman he had previously known, Pritska. They were married that same year. In 1973 their son, Steven, was born. Pritska died in 1998 from leukemia. He remarried in 2002. His second wife, Vivian, passed away in 2013.

Herschkowitz is an engaged member of the Seattle community, volunteering at both the Holocaust Center for Humanity and the Museum of Flight.