Charles Church Roberts

Charles Church Roberts
Born	March 6, 1882(1882-03-06) Newton, Massachusetts
Died	March 8, 1957(1957-03-08) (aged 75)
Place of burial	Prospect Hill Cemetery, Millis, Massachusetts
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	circa 1904–1921
Rank	Lieutenant (junior grade)
Unit	USS North Dakota (BB-29) USS Santee USS Manley (DD-74) USS Melville (AD-2) USS Reid (DD-292) USS Fox (DD-234)
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Medal of Honor

Charles Church Roberts (March 6, 1882 – March 8, 1957) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. He was awarded the medal for his actions during a fire aboard the USS North Dakota (BB-29) in 1910. He later served in World War I and became a commissioned officer.

Biography

Roberts was born on March 6, 1882, in Newton, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy from Illinois in about 1904.^[1]

By September 8, 1910, he was serving as a machinist's mate first class on the USS North Dakota (BB-29).^[2] On that day, while the North Dakota was conducting tests using oil as fuel, an explosion occurred, killing three sailors and endangering the ship. In the engine room, pieces of hot coal and coke floated in waist-high hot water, oil was aflame above one of the boilers, and the entire room was filled with smoke, steam, and fumes. Despite these dangers, Roberts and five other men of the ship's engineering department entered the engine room to haul the boiler fires and perform other tasks necessary to prevent a boiler explosion. After ensuring the safety of the ship, they then searched for and removed the bodies of the three sailors killed in the initial explosion.^[3]

For these actions, Roberts and the five other men were awarded the Medal of Honor a month later, on October 4. The others were Chief Machinist's Mate Thomas Stanton, Chief Machinist's Mate Karl Westa, Chief Watertender August Holtz, Chief Watertender Patrick Reid, and Watertender Harry Lipscomb.^[2]

In 1917, during World War I, Roberts was appointed to the warrant officer rank of machinist and served on board the USS Santee. He was temporarily promoted to the commissioned officer rank of lieutenant (junior grade) in March 1918 and received orders to the destroyer USS Manley (DD-74) and then to USS Melville (AD-2). In November 1919 he was temporarily assigned to the destroyer USS Reid (DD-292), then fitting out at Squantum, Massachusetts, and later transferred to the USS Fox (DD-234). He resigned his commission in June 1921.^[1]

Roberts died on March 8, 1957, two days after his 75th birthday, and was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Millis, Massachusetts.^[1]

Medal of Honor citation

Roberts's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Serving on board the U.S.S. North Dakota; for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the fire on board that vessel, 8 September 1910.^[2]

See also

	Biography portal
	United States Navy portal

• List of Medal of Honor recipients during peacetime

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Lieutenant Junior Grade Charles C. Roberts, USN, (1882-1957)". Online Library of Selected Images. Naval History & Heritage Command. December 7, 2007. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-r/c-roberts.htm. Retrieved February 2, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Medal of Honor recipients - Interim Awards, 1901-1911". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/inter1901-11.html. Retrieved February 2, 2010. 
3. ^ Williams, Dion (April 1919). "War Decorations". United States Naval Institute Proceedings 45 (4): 511–512. ISSN 0041-798X. http://books.google.com/books?id=GoIDAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved February 1, 2010. 

External links

• "Charles Church Roberts". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8168157. Retrieved February 2, 2010. 
• "Charles Church Roberts". Hall of Valor. Military Times. http://www.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=378. Retrieved February 2, 2010. 

Persondata
Name	Roberts, Charles Church
Alternative names
Short description	United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient
Date of birth	March 6, 1882
Place of birth	Newton, Massachusetts
Date of death	March 8, 1957
Place of death