Roberts, Needham, 1901-1949

Needham Roberts (April 28, 1901 – April 18, 1949) was an American soldier in the Harlem Hellfighters and recipient of the Purple Heart and the Croix de Guerre for his valor during World War I.

Roberts was born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised on Trenton's Wilson Street. He sometimes spelled his first name as "Neadom", which is how it appears on his grave marker. Roberts graduated from Lincoln Elementary School and attended high school, but dropped out before graduating so he could begin working, first as a hotel bellhop, and later as a clerk in a drugstore. At the start of US involvement in World War I in 1917, the seventeen-year-old Roberts lied about his age so he could enlist in the United States Army, falsely claiming to be eighteen. He made his way to Brooklyn, where he joined the 15th New York National Guard, an all-black regiment known as the Black Rattlers.

Upon their arrival in France, the 15th New York Infantry Black Rattlers were inducted into the regular Army and designated the 369th Infantry Regiment. General Pershing agreed to put the 369th under the command of the French, who issued them French weapons and equipment and trained them alongside French soldiers. That is how the 369th ended up being one of the first American units to see combat in the trenches of northern France.

While on guard duty on May 14, 1918, Roberts and private William Henry Johnson fought off a 24-man German patrol, though both were severely wounded. For these events, both Needham Roberts and Henry Johnson were awarded the French Croix de Guerre medal, the first American's to receive that honor. However, neither received any recognition from the United States upon their return. It was not until many years after his death that Needham Roberts was awarded the Purple Heart.

Unfortunately, the two soldiers’ glory quickly faded. Both Roberts and Johnson were arrested for wearing their Army uniforms after being discharged from the military. Johnson descended into alcohol abuse and died 10 years after the war in a VA hospital. Roberts was arrested, accused of molesting two girls, aged 12 and 14. He was acquitted of the charges but suspicion took a toll on his life. His wife left him, and he had difficulty finding work.

Roberts died in Newark, New Jersey on April 18, 1949, and was buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Newark. Roberts, then remarried, was accused of bothering a young girl at a movie theater. Before he could be tried for this crime, he and his new wife hung themselves in the basement of their home in Newark. Roberts proclaimed his innocence of both crimes and some followers of Roberts’s story believe he was the victim of institutional racism.