On the evening of May 7, 1981, 24-year-old Robert E. Hamblin, a self-employed auto body painter and Silverton High School graduate, was among the patrons at the Oregon Museum Tavern in Salem during a ladies’ night event. At about 10:30 p.m. Lawrence William Moore, 25, entered the tavern armed with a 9mm Browning handgun and began firing at the bar and fleeing patrons. Hamblin was shot and pronounced dead at the scene.

Three other people died that night and 20 more were wounded. A patron struck Moore with a pool cue while he was reloading, and others then overpowered and restrained him until police arrived. Moore was arrested and charged with multiple counts of aggravated murder; he pled not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. He was found guilty on four counts of aggravated murder and sentenced on December 15, 1981, to four consecutive life terms with a minimum of 80 years without parole. Hamblin and the other victims are memorialized on a joint memorial wall at Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City.

Did anyone who knew Robert E. Hamblin or was at the Oregon Museum Tavern that night want to share memories or any details that might add to the record?