Archives West Finding Aid

Dr. Robert "Bob" Bartlett was born in Keyser, West Virginia to Walter Taylor Bartlett and Frances (Weeden) Bartlett. The Bartlett family prided themselves on a history of military service dating back to Andrew Tross, who served in Company K of the 127th Colored Infantry Regiment in the American Civil War. Walter Bartlett and his brother Alfred both served during World War II, with Walter serving as a medic. Bob also served in the United States Army, enlisting in 1970, serving in Vietnam. Bartlett concluded his service in 1973 and worked for Mountain Bell in Colorado. After completing his Master of Arts in Sociology and Washington State University, Bartlett worked for Gonzaga University as the Director of Multicultural Education at the Unity House Cultural Education Center. While at Gonzaga, Bartlett also completed his PhD. in Leadership studies. In 2007, Bartlett began working at Eastern Washington University as the interim director of the Africana Studies Program. In 2013, Bartlett became a full-time Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Justice Studies, where he worked until his retirement in 2020.

Bartlett's interest in the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (a.k.a., Triple Nickle) began in 2014 after the publication about the unit's service in the Pacific Northwest in the February 23, 2014 issue of the Spokesman-Review. Since then, Bartlett has published articles about the Triple Nickle and has been a Humanities Washington speaker, lecturing on his research on the unit. Bartlett worked with filmmaker Chase Ogden on a documentary about the Triple Nickle titled Jumping into Fire.