In 1952, at the age of 20, Robert Duff was drafted into the United States Army as a private.  The Korean war had been going on for roughly two years.  He was trained to become a combat infantry soldier, becoming proficient with the tools of that era; rifles, mortars, chemical and biological warfare, grenades, you name it.  Upon completion of training, he was sent to Korea with the 224^th Infantry Regiment, 40^th Division.  He spent nearly 15 months in Korea where his company was continually engaged in battle.  His primary goal each day was surviving the war, living conditions, and often brutally cold weather.  He was obviously a natural leader.  He advanced in rank to Private 1^st class, then corporal, then sergeant, and lastly Sergeant 1^st class.  Many have been known to take 20 years to accomplish what he did in 11 months.  He says life got better as you advanced in rank.  On July 23^rd, 1953, an armistice was signed which effectively ended the Korean conflict and created the cease fire area still known today as the DMZ.  No official peace agreement was ever signed.  Sergeant Duff returned to the US in 1954 and says he couldn’t wait to get back.  He was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, numerous battle stars, and an Ambassador for Peace award from Korea.  He has continued to support the military through his involvement with the American Legion in Newport Beach for 32 years.

Upon his return to civilian life, Robert got into the title insurance and escrow business, working for a small title business in Orange County with 71 employees.  He worked several years for them while that company became 1^st American Title, a nationwide company with 33,000 employees.  He later started his own real estate business, owns multiple properties, and is still active today running his business which manages over $100 million dollars worth of assets.