During World War II, the USS Roberts (DE-749) was a destroyer escort named in honor of Ensign Arthur John Roberts, Jr., who was killed in the Battle of Tassfaronga at Guadalcanal in the South Pacific on November 30 — December 1, 1942. Roberts served on the USS Pensacola, which suffered an explosion after being torpedoed on November 30, 1942. The crew was able to save the ship and sail her to Tulagi for repairs to be able to continue in service. In all, 125 men died in the attack and 68 were injured. The USS Pensacola received 13 battle stars during World War II.

The USS Roberts was built in 1943 and commissioned on September 2, 1942. The ship served during WWII and earned one battle star. She then served in the Korean War.

Arthur John Roberts, Jr. was born January 14, 1920 in Chicago, Ill. to Arthur J. and Gertrude (Peck) Roberts.

From the 1920 U.S. census, the Roberts family lived in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. The household included father Arthur J., mother Gertrude P., and children James H., Mary J., Harriet E., and Gertrude’s mother Mary E. Peck. Father Arthur was a pharmacist working in a drug store.

At some point in the 1920s, Gertrude and Arthur Sr. divorced. Gertrude remarried and had another child by 1929. The sisters were on their own and then both later married.

From the 1930 U.S. census, Arthur Sr. was a patient at the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Chicago. The brothers, Arthur and James Roberts, were residing at Lawrence Hall (Home for Boys) in Chicago. They were each considered an “inmate” of Lawrence Hall.

From the 1940 U.S. census for father Arthur, he was living in Belleville Village, Dane County, Wisconsin. Arthur was the manager of a retail drug store for paid. He was a lodger in the home of Barbara Hefty, a widow born in Switzerland. Brothers Arthur and James were listed at the end of the census record, however, they had the same household number as their father and are listed as the sons in the household. Both were attending college.

On July 1, 1941 Arthur registered for the WWII Draft. His place of residence was listed as Belleville in Dane County. His mailing address was listed in Chicago but was then crossed out and written over to be Evanston, Illinois. His occupation was as a student in chemical engineering. His employer’s name was Carnegie- Illinois Steel Company in Chicago.

Arthur John Roberts, Jr. was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve on July 20, 1942. He received instruction at the Midshipmen’s School at Northwestern University and was assigned to the USS Pensacola (CA-24), serving in the South Pacific. 

From the December 31, 1942 Wisconsin State Journal article titled “City Man Lost, Navy Reports; Belleville Ensign Killed in Action,” the article stated “One Madison man and two Madison area men, both University of Wisconsin graduates, were listed on the official navy department casualty list released today.

Ensign Arthur John Roberts, Ja., 22, Belleville, 1942 graduated of the University of Wisconsin, was listed as killed in action.

Ensign Roberts, known to his friends as “Jack,” was the son of Arthur John Roberts, former Belleville druggist, now living in Galena, Ill. His father was notified of his death by the war department on Dec. 1. The telegram stated that he head been killed in action ‘somewhere in the Pacific.’

Belleville friends last heard from the young man when he landed in the Solomon islands. He was graduated from the university in June and enlisted in the navy in Chicago soon afterwards. When told he would be sent to a navy school, Roberts told the officer he wanted to get into the thick of the fight as soon as possible and consequently was put on active duty almost immediately.

He is survived by his father, two brothers, and two sisters.”

Ensign Arthur J. Roberts, Jr. was buried on a beat on Tulagi Island and later memorialized at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila, Philippines. He received the Purple Heart, awarded posthumously.

The USS Roberts (DE-749) was a commissioned ship from Sept. 2, 1944 until Sept. 21, 1968. She was sunk as a target in Nov. 1971.

Thank you, Ensign Arthur John Roberts Jr., for your service to and ultimate sacrifice for this country. We honor you and remember you.