Bob Moore is the kind of guy that likes to stay out of the way in the Paradise Lakes home he shares with wife Nancy. He paints, he sculpts. He collects stamps. And he makes regular trips back home to Canada to see his family.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
But Moore, however, has had a tough time staying out of the way of history. He served 39 years with the Canadian armed forces, signing up when he was just 17 just a few years after World War II. And along the way he ensured one Olympic Games in Montreal was properly supplied, and he designed a coat of arms for a military school that was personally signed off by Queen Elizabeth II.
Oh, and he won the Nobel Peace prize, too.
“I was part of one of the first peacekeeping operations in history,” Moore said, not minding at all that he’s shared this story many times before. “We were told that we would join a force of U.N. soldiers three days before Christmas. I barely had time to spend the holidays with my family.”
It was 1956, and Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser had taken control of the Suez Canal, a 120-mile artificial waterway that allows ships to travel between Europe and eastern Asia without having to sail around Africa.
The United Kingdom and France didn’t take the naturalization well, since they had a 100-year lease, and they joined forces with Israel to try and take back the waterway.
The United Nations knew something had to be done to prevent all-out war in the Middle East. So it pulled together military troops from nations that weren’t directly involved in the conflict, like Canada, and sent them in to help calm the situation down.
“We got to Halifax, and we boarded the HMCS Magnificent,” Moore said. “It was an aircraft carrier, but there was no aircraft for this voyage. Instead, the deck was strewn with all this equipment, and about 6,000 soldiers from 11 different countries.”
When the Magnificent arrived at the Suez Canal, Moore said he was shocked at what soldiers found. Nasser had blocked access to the canal by sinking a large number of ships at the entrance.
“I got there and looked from the deck of the aircraft carrier, and counted 36 sunken ships,” Moore said.
He was part of a contingent of troops that made their way across the Sinai Desert, following retreating Israeli forces. The trip was hard through the desert, especially since Israel was destroying roads and buildings on its way back.
The Israelis spared an old British air force base, which Moore camped out in for some time. It was riddled with bullet holes, and did not have much of a roof. At night, it would get cold, so they would use debris from the building to keep the fire going.
“When we ran out of wood there, we ended up burning the chairs we were sitting in,” Moore said.
In 1988, the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to give its Peace Prize to U.N. Peacekeeping forces. As part of that initial force, Moore received a small medallion celebrating the honor, which was later pinned to him in a ceremony that included Pasco County commissioner Pat Mulieri.
In his time traveling around the world, Moore picked up five languages, including Swahili, although he still doesn’t feel completely comfortable with French. He raised two sons on his own after his first wife died. Dwayne became a scientist and is now part owner of an environmental company in Maine, while Michael followed his father into the military, and is still there today.
Moore retired in 1991 when he was 57, and almost immediately found a home in Pasco County.
“I was always a nudist, and I was looking for some place where people lived who believed in the same,” Moore said.
He met Nancy while visiting Paradise Lakes from his then New Port Richey home, and they settled into their own condo at Paradise Lakes in 1998.
Moore may have accomplished a lot in his life, but he’s even prouder of what his children and grandchildren have accomplished, including one who just graduated from college.
“You’re nothing without education,” Moore said. “You got to have it, or you’ll be out there digging ditches and painting buildings. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with being a tradesman if that’s what you want to do, but it shouldn’t be what you have to do.”
He doesn’t actively sell his artwork, but if people want it, he’s willing to hear a price. Moore comes from a family with a strong artistic background; many of his siblings are artists, as well. In fact, a portrait painted by his brother featuring his mother and father, that had been on public display for years in Canada, hangs in his front foyer.
“Doing art was just a no-brainer for me,” he said. “It’s a way to express myself, and to share the beauty of the world with the world.”
Getting to know Bob Moore
Who was the world’s most influential military commander?
Alexander the Great was one of the most successful and innovative military leaders of our time. His strategies always surprised his opponents, especially where he was out-numbered and out-gunned.
What song will make you turn up the radio?
Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” or really anything from George Gershwin. But opera always moves me to tears, where I have them splashing down my face.
If you could sit anyone in history for a portrait, who would you pick?
Charles Darwin, because he created an area of science that actually answered all kinds of questions that people never could figure out before.
Published July 16, 2014
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