DAVID W. ROBERTS, CDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
David Roberts '21

Date of birth: June 13, 1899

Date of death: March 1, 1942

Age: 42

Lucky Bag

From the 1921 Lucky Bag:

1921 Roberts LB.jpg

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.

1921 Roberts LB.jpg

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:
May 1923
Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:
July 1923
Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:
September 1923
Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:
November 1923
Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:
January 1924
Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:
March 1924
Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:
May 1924
Ensign, USS Preble

Others at this command:
July 1924
Ensign, Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo
September 1924
Ensign, Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo
November 1924
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo
January 1925
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo, Japan
March 1925
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo, Japan
May 1925
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo, Japan
July 1925
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo, Japan
October 1925
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo, Japan
January 1926
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo, Japan
October 1926
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo, Japan
January 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo, Japan
April 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Attaché, Tokyo, Japan
October 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), Receiving Ship, unassigned
January 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.
April 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.
July 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.
October 1928
Lieutenant, USS Ludlow
January 1929
Lieutenant, USS Ludlow
April 1929
Lieutenant, USS Ludlow
July 1929
Lieutenant, USS Ludlow
October 1929
Lieutenant, USS Ludlow
January 1930
Lieutenant, USS Ludlow
April 1930
Lieutenant, USS Gamble
October 1930
Lieutenant, USS Gamble
January 1931
Lieutenant, USS Gamble
April 1931
Lieutenant, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.

July 1931
Lieutenant, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.

October 1931
Lieutenant, Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.
January 1932
Lieutenant, Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.
April 1932
Lieutenant, Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.
October 1932
Lieutenant, Assistant Naval Attaché, American Embassy, Tokyo, Japan
January 1933
Lieutenant, staff, Asiatic Fleet, USS Houston

Others at or embarked at USS Houston:
April 1933
Lieutenant, staff, Asiatic Fleet, USS Houston

Others at or embarked at USS Houston:
July 1933
Lieutenant, staff, Asiatic Fleet, USS Houston

Others at or embarked at USS Houston:
October 1933
Lieutenant, staff, Asiatic Fleet, USS Houston

Others at or embarked at USS Houston:
April 1934
Lieutenant, staff, Asiatic Fleet, USS Augusta

Others at or embarked at USS Augusta:
LT Hubert Hayter '24 (USS Augusta)
ENS Lee Pancake '31 (USS Augusta)
July 1934
Lieutenant, staff, Asiatic Fleet, USS Augusta

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Augusta:
LT Hubert Hayter '24 (USS Augusta)
ENS Lee Pancake '31 (USS Augusta)
October 1934
Lieutenant, staff, Asiatic Fleet, USS Augusta

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Augusta:
January 1935
Lieutenant, staff, Asiatic Fleet, USS Augusta

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Augusta:
April 1935
Lieutenant, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.


Others at or embarked at this command:
1LT Edward Trumble '25 (Office of Judge Advocate General, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.)
October 1935
Lieutenant, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.


Others at or embarked at this command:
1LT Edward Trumble '25 (Office of Judge Advocate General, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.)
January 1936
Lieutenant, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.


Others at or embarked at this command:
1LT Edward Trumble '25 (Office of Judge Advocate General, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.)
April 1936
Lieutenant, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.

July 1936
Lieutenant, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.

January 1937
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.

April 1937
Lieutenant Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command:
September 1937
Lieutenant Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.

January 1938
Lieutenant Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.

July 1938
Lieutenant Commander, flag secretary, Squadron 40-T, USS Raleigh

Others at or embarked at USS Raleigh:
January 1939
Lieutenant Commander, flag secretary, Squadron 40-T, USS Raleigh


Class of 1921

David is one of 32 members of the Class of 1921 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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