Needham Roberts (April 28, 1901 – April 18, 1949) was an American soldier in the Harlem Hellfighters and recipient of the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

and the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

for his valor during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early life

Roberts was born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

on April 28, 1901, the son of Emma Roberts and the Reverend Norman Roberts, who had moved to New Jersey from North Carolina in 1890. He sometimes spelled his first name as "Neadom", which is how it appears on his grave marker. Roberts was raised on Trenton's Wilson Street, graduated from Lincoln Elementary School and attended high school, but dropped out before graduating so he could begin working, first as a hotel bellhop, and later as a clerk in a drugstore. At the start of US involvement in

in 1917, the sixteen-year-old Roberts lied about his age so he could enlist in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He was assigned to the 369th Infantry Regiment, a unit of the 92nd Division.

World War I

While on guard duty on May 14, 1918, Roberts and private William Henry Johnson fought off a 24-man German patrol, though both were severely wounded. Both were awarded the

to recognize their heroism. They also received the

in 1932; for Johnson, this was a posthumous award. In 2002, Johnson was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; in 2015 Johnson's award was upgraded to the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

Post-war

Roberts was disabled by his wounds, and unable to maintain steady employment. He occasionally gave paid lectures about his wartime experiences, and in the early 1940s gave radio addresses and other speeches as part of the Army's effort to recruit African-Americans for

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Death and burial

Roberts died in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

on April 18, 1949, and was buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Newark. According to news accounts, Roberts and his wife Iola jointly decided to commit suicide, and hanged themselves in the basement of their home. Newspaper accounts also indicated that they may have been motivated by the fact that he had been accused of molesting a child the day before. In fact, Roberts had previously been arrested on a similar charge; he was acquitted, but his first wife divorced him. Roberts had also been arrested in the 1920s for wearing his Army uniform after the post-war demobilization, something which had also happened to Johnson. As a result of this record, some authors and historians believe it likely that the arrests and criminal charges were motivated by racism rather than actual misconduct.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Needham 1901 births 1949 deaths 1949 suicides African Americans in World War I United States Army soldiers American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) 369th Infantry Regiment personnel Military personnel from Trenton, New Jersey New York National Guard personnel Child soldiers in World War I Suicides by hanging in New Jersey Joint suicides African-American United States Army personnel Burials at Fairmount Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey)