Harold William Roberts (October 14, 1895 – October 6, 1918) was a United States Army corporal and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War I. Roberts, a tank driver, was moving his tank into a clump of bushes to afford protection to another tank which had become disabled. The tank slid into a shell hole, 10 feet deep, filled with water, and was immediately submerged. Knowing that only one of the two men in the tank could escape, Cpl. Roberts said to the gunner, "Well, only one of us can get out, and out you go," whereupon he pushed his companion through the back door of the tank and drowned.
Early life
Harold William Roberts was born in the Noe Valley area of San Francisco, California. Roberts' father was John Albert Roberts. Roberts' mother was Elfreda Josephine "Freda" Roberts. His father was a harness-maker and his mother was a housewife. While still a boy, his family survived the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, but his mother died two years later of a gastric ulcer. Being now an only child of a single working class father, he was sent to live with his German immigrant grandmother, Christina Seifert, in a Victorian house that still stands at the corner of 25th and Diamond Streets in San Francisco.
Roberts attended the nearby James Lick Grammar School in San Francisco. Shortly after graduating, on June 5, 1910, The San Francisco Chronicle published an essay by him about the value of having a fun summer vacation as part of growing up healthy and well-rounded. Another essay by him was published a month later in the Junior Section of the July 17th issue of The Call.
He attended Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, where he was the captain of the baseball team. After graduation, he worked construction and took a short trip through Mexico. He then enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley.
Career
In December 1916, Roberts was sworn into the U.S. Army at Fort McDowell on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. He was assigned Army Serial number 1013943. After completing the very basic military training provided at that period to new recruits, he was assigned to the U.S. Cavalry. He was then sent to the Philippine Islands. There he was assigned to HQ Troop 15th Cavalry at Fort William McKinley Fort Bonifacio (commanded by Brigadier General Hunter Liggett).
Upon return from his tour of duty in the Philippines, Roberts and his regiment reported to Camp Fremont, near Palo Alto, California. However, in a month or so he was sent with the 15th Cavalry to Camp Harry J. Jones at Douglas, New Mexico. There, their regiment joined the 1st and 17th Cavalry Regiments, becoming part of the newly formed 15th Cavalry Division that was headquartered in El Paso, Texas. Soon thereafter the 15th Cavalry was selected to deploy to Europe to join the battle raging there.
By February 1918, Roberts and his fellow cavalrymen were squeezed aboard a crowded troop train that transported them to Camp Merritt, New Jersey, near Hoboken, New Jersey. On March 14 the men marched to board ferryboats at Old Closter Dock, Alpine Landing. The ferries took them to the piers at Hoboken to board the transport ship , which was headed to France. The ship was a former German ocean liner seized by the United States.
The trip across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Aeolus took two weeks, punctuated by seasickness from the rough seas and rumors of U-boat sightings. Arriving in France, Roberts' regiment was under the leadership of the commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), General John J. Pershing. General Pershing had assigned Lieutenant-Colonel George S. Patton to recruit soldiers from other Army branches into his new Tank Corps. A call went out for enlisted men of good character and physique with some knowledge of mechanics and topography. Since mounted cavalry was not needed in this type of modern warfare, the 15th and two other Cavalry regiments were "dismounted". Cavalrymen not required for reconnaissance or other duties headed into other corps. Roberts decided on the Tank Corps and was soon transferred, assigned to Company A of the 326th Light Tank Battalion at the 311th Tank Center. The new tank center had been set up in Bourg, five miles from Langres, on the road to Dijon. Patton had established the A.E.F. Light Tank School there, and Roberts was enrolled as a student. There he learned all he could about these deadly little war juggernauts, immersing himself in every aspect of operating and maintaining one.