Robert L. Shaw served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant with the 7th Weather Squadron during World War II. While in the Palau Islands, on October 25, 1944, he was awakened from his sleep by a Japanese soldier charging into his officer's tent firing a pistol. Shaw lunged from his bunk and struggled with the soldier. When the Japanese soldier unpinned a grenade, Shaw held him tightly with his hand behind his back, making himself a human shield. He was killed while saving the lives of his fellow officers. He was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.
