DAVID W. ROBERTS, CDR, USN

David Roberts '21

Date of birth: June 13, 1899

Date of death: March 1, 1942

Age: 42

Lucky Bag

From the 1921 Lucky Bag:

David Wells Roberts

Denver, Colorado

"Robbie"

LITTLE Robbie, as we all have christened him, is different from the rest of us, for nobody ever saw him rhino. Quiet, unassuming, and good-natured, he has never had an enemy.

Whenever we thought of that old adage "The good die young" we feared for Wells. He never had an evil thought and was reg because it hadn't ever occurred to him to be otherwise. He was savvy, too, and the combination brought him two stripes. Nobody ever doped out how he happened to get in the second half, but even at that, he was the only member of 21-B who wasn't a Bolshevik his Second Class year.

David was a weekly fusser and we who were on the Minnesota can thank him for leading us into many good times First Class cruise, he being the only man in the squadron with relatives in every port. He was also an ink chewer of renown. Those toothful faces that he drew for the Log changed many a frown to a smile.

Robbie is truly one man whose disposition the Navy didn't ruin. Clean living, straight principles, and a generosity that knew no bounds have kept him out of that slough of despond into which many fall.

"Aw-w-w!"

Two Stripes; Log Staff (3, 2); Art Editor Log (1); Buzzard (2).

The Class of 1921 was the last of the wartime-accelerated classes. "1921A" was graduated on June 3, 1920; the second half, "1921B", was graduated on June 2, 1921. David was graduated with 1921B.

David Wells Roberts

Denver, Colorado

"Robbie"

LITTLE Robbie, as we all have christened him, is different from the rest of us, for nobody ever saw him rhino. Quiet, unassuming, and good-natured, he has never had an enemy.

Whenever we thought of that old adage "The good die young" we feared for Wells. He never had an evil thought and was reg because it hadn't ever occurred to him to be otherwise. He was savvy, too, and the combination brought him two stripes. Nobody ever doped out how he happened to get in the second half, but even at that, he was the only member of 21-B who wasn't a Bolshevik his Second Class year.

David was a weekly fusser and we who were on the Minnesota can thank him for leading us into many good times First Class cruise, he being the only man in the squadron with relatives in every port. He was also an ink chewer of renown. Those toothful faces that he drew for the Log changed many a frown to a smile.

Robbie is truly one man whose disposition the Navy didn't ruin. Clean living, straight principles, and a generosity that knew no bounds have kept him out of that slough of despond into which many fall.

"Aw-w-w!"

Two Stripes; Log Staff (3, 2); Art Editor Log (1); Buzzard (2).

The Class of 1921 was the last of the wartime-accelerated classes. "1921A" was graduated on June 3, 1920; the second half, "1921B", was graduated on June 2, 1921. David was graduated with 1921B.

Loss

David was lost when USS Houston (CA 30) was sunk on on March 1, 1942 during the Battle of Sunda Strait. He was the ship's executive officer.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

David was born in Grand Junction, Colorado.
In October 1927, David and his mother sailed from Yokohama to Los Angeles. In September 1928, he sailed from San Francisco to Honolulu. At that time, he stated his home was in Bound Brook, New Jersey. In 1930 he lived in San Diego with his mother.
David’s engagement to Eleanor Lyman Patterson was announced in May 1931, in Honolulu. He was stationed on the destroyer Gamble at Pearl Harbor. In July he sailed from San Francisco to New York on his way to Washington, D.C. Their wedding took place in the early winter. In May 1932 Eleanor sailed with David to Kobe, Japan. Their marriage later ended in divorce.
In March 1935, David sailed from Manila to Los Angeles. At that time, he stated his home was in Washington, D.C.
Between assignments, David married Margaret Geist in Villefrance, France, on June 14, 1938.
In 1940 he and his wife were living in Honolulu. In 1945 she lived in Arlington, Virginia.
David’s father Paul was a miller who died in 1914. In May 1910, he was the manager of the Riverside Mill company who had inspected the new high grade ore strike at the Tonopah and Goldfield mines. He was in poor health and died in Phoenix. His mother was Carol, and his sister was Mary. In 1900, his father’s sister Fannie lived with them in Fruitvale, Colorado; and in 1910, his grandmother Romelia Wells lived with them in in Reno, Nevada.

Unsure of when he reported aboard, but he was present at a reception for Houston in Guam in November 1940 (not as executive officer).

His wife, Margaret, was listed as next of kin.

Suspect that David is listed so late on the Class of 1921 panel because he was held in a missing status until December 15, 1945.

Navy Cross

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander David Wells Roberts (NSN: 0-57164), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Heavy Cruiser U.S.S. HOUSTON (CA-30), in combat with the Japanese in the Battle of Sunda Strait, from 28 February to 1 March 1942. When his Captain was mortally wounded and his ship damaged beyond repair, Commander Roberts assumed command and resolutely continued to hurl the full force of his batteries against the enemy until the dangerous listing of his vessel, the result of a furious Japanese cross-fire from vastly superior forces at point blank range, forced him to give the order to abandon ship. Capably and unselfishly concentrating every effort on saving all survivors, he remained on board until the ship went down. His indomitable fighting spirit, personal courage and gallant devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Commander Roberts and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. Houston (CA-30)

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.

January 1922

Ensign, USS Arkansas

Others at this command:

LT Harold MacLellan '18

May 1923

Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:

LTjg Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20

July 1923

Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:

LTjg Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20

September 1923

Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:

LTjg Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20

November 1923

Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:

LTjg Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20

January 1924

Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:

LTjg Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20

March 1924

Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:

LTjg Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20

May 1924

Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:

LTjg Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20

July 1924

Ensign, Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo

September 1924

Ensign, Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo