Colonel (US Army, Retired) Bob Ballagh was raised as the son of an Army officer. He joined the Army as a soldier after graduating from high school. After a year of service, he entered West Point and graduated as a Second Lieutenant in 1964.

An Airborne Ranger, Bob completed thirty years of active duty as a Field Artillery commander and staff officer. His assignments included positions in Europe, Vietnam, Korea and the United States.

After retiring from the Army in 1993 he worked in County Government, as a consultant to the Croatian Ministry of Defense, for CheckFree (later Fiserv), and as consultant with the CDC and the Robert Woods Johnson Medical Center in New Jersey. As the Executive Director of the Peachtree Corners Veterans Monument Association, he raised funds for and oversaw the design and construction of the Peachtree Corners Veterans Monument.

Bob has a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from West Point and a Master of Arts degree in Military History from Duke University.

Excepting their time in Croatia, Bob and his wife Ella have lived in Peachtree Corners since 1992. They have two sons and four grandchildren.