He attended North Carolina State University and majored in textiles while also being a member of the basketball team.

He became the only North Carolina-born pilot to earn the distinction of flying ace, with six confirmed kills in air battles, while twice being shot down from 20,000 feet.

After joining the U.S. Army Air Corps, he rose to the rank of Colonel and commanded Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

[1] He then became a founding member of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (United States), and helped foster Berry Field, which became Nashville International Airport.

[1] Robert Opie Lindsay died on 1 August 1952 in a Fort Worth, Texas hospital after undergoing surgery on 24 July.