Biography

 Biography of Robert Stinnett

 Robert B. Stinnett's interest in news-making history began when he was growing up in his birth city, Oakland, California.  He was the oldest of four children born to Curtis and Margaret Stinnett.

A favorite activity of Robert while still a youngster was  listening on the family radio to news reports from Europe by radio newscasters Hans V. Kaltenborn, Edward R. Murrow, and William L. Shirer.  His interest in news and how it is processed formed his ambition to become a journalist.

By age 16 Robert was shooting photographs and selling them to The Oakland Tribune.  On the day of the Pearl Harbor attack, December 7, 1941, he was a student at Fremont High School.  He graduated in 1942, enlisted in the US Navy and was assigned to the same aerial photo school as former President George H. W. Bush.  They served together on the USS San Jacinto of the Pacific Fleet from late 1943 to November 1944.  For naval service in the Pacific and Atlantic in World War II, Stinnett was awarded 10 Navy Battle Citations.

His experiences with the US Navy's Fast Carrier operations in the Pacific Theater led to an 18-year research project that resulted in his book, Day of Deceit, now in its 6th printing by Simon & Schuster.  Other editions of the book are published in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy.  Publication is pending in Germany, France, and Norway.

After the war, he joined The Oakland Tribune as a photo-journalist, and in 1986 retired to research and write books.  He is married to Peggy McBride Stinnett, associate editor and columnist for The Oakland Tribune.  They have two children, Colleen Badagliacco of San Jose, and Jim Stinnett of San Francisco, two grandchildren, and a great grandchild.  Robert and Peggy live in Oakland.

[Home] [Biography] [News] [Reviews] [Comments]