Herbert P. Andro, son of Ernest and Caroline Andro, was born in Berlin, Germany, on August 9, 1920. The family moved to the United States when Herb was three years old, and settled in Los Angeles, California, where Ernest worked as a cabinet maker.

Herb was an infielder who played second, third and shortstop, and often led-off because of his speed. In 1936, aged sixteen, he was with the Brainard All-Stars, and joined the Associated Dairies team in 1937. He played semi-pro ball with the Seattle Juniors in 1938, and was at spring training with the Pacific Coast League Seattle Rainiers in 1939. A strong prospect, he was slowed down by an ankle injury and released in March.

In 1940, Herb (aged 18) was playing for the Cincinnati Reds Rookies, a team of Reds’ prospects based in California because there were no spaces available on minor league clubs.

In 1941, Herb joined the Anaheim Aces for spring training in the newly formed Class C California League. He played six games in the regular season, and was a teammate of World War II amputee Bert Shepard. Batting just .182, Herb was released on April 29.

In 1942, Herb was working at Bullock’s Department Store in Los Angeles. He enlisted in the Navy on March 31, 1942, and was assigned to the destroyer USS Buck (DD-420) on September 2, 1942. The Buck was undergoing repairs in Boston at the time and returned to Atlantic convoy escort duty that winter, guarding convoys to European waters until June 1943, when she was ordered to the Mediterranean for patrol duty out of Tunisian and Algerian ports.

In September 1943, the Buck supported the Allied landings at Anzio. While on patrol off the coast of Salerno, Italy, on October 9, the Buck was torpedoed by the German submarine U-616. The destroyer flooded quickly and sank within four minutes. A huge underwater explosion killed and wounded many sailors. Ninety-seven crew members were rescued. Torpedoman 2nd Class Andro was among the 163 that did not survive (including infielder Joseph Rodgers, who played for the Hornell Pirates of the Class D PONY League in 1942). Andro’s body was never recovered and he is memorialized at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy.