Years of service 1918 Name Needham Roberts | ||
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Unit 369th Infantry Regiment, New York Army National Guard | ||
Stories from the front ep 1 needham roberts
Needham Roberts (April 28, 1901 – April 18, 1949) was an American soldier in the Harlem Hellfighters and recipient of the Purple Heart and the Croix de Guerre.
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Early life
Roberts was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey.
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 Croix de Guerre for their actions. They also received the Purple Heart in 1932; for Johnson, this was a posthumous award. In 2002, Johnson was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; in 2015, this award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
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.
Death and burial
Roberts died in Newark, New Jersey 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 hung 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, which led to his first wife divorcing 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 believe it possible that the criminal charges against Needham and arrests were motivated by racism, rather than actual misconduct.
