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| Pvt. Gerald Roberts served with the 164th Infantry Regiment on Guadalcanal. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63213389/gerald-william-roberts http://www.shotinthedark.info/wp/?p=13440 |
Gerald William Roberts never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June 16, 1918 in South Dakota. His parents John and Anna were born in Iowa and South Dakota, respectively. His father worked as a farmer. Gerald had a twin brother (who became an army WW2 vet), three younger sisters, and a younger brother (who died in 1938). He lived in Pleasant Lake, South Dakota and probably watched the work to carve Mount Rushmore. By 1940 Gerald had completed four years of high school and was living at home.
Gerald was drafted into the Army on April 28, 1941 and became a private in Company M, 3rd Battalion, 164th Infantry Regiment, Americal Division. The 164th IR was one of the first army units deployed overseas in WW2. It was sent to New Caledonia in the South Pacific in January 1942. With two other regiments they combined to form the uniquely named Americal Division.
The 164th IR arrived on Guadalcanal on October 13, 1942 to reinforce the Marines defending Henderson Airfield from the Japanese. Two weeks later they turned back a major Japanese attack to breakthrough and retake the airfield.
Japanese cruisers bombed Henderson Field on the night of November 30 / December 1. Pvt. Roberts died December 1, 1942. I am not sure if he was a casualty of this attack, or if his death was from some other cause.
His grave is at Lakeview Cemetery, Atkin, Minnesota.
Last year on this date I profiled Battle of Midway DFC hero Robert Brazier. You can read about Robert here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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