Captain Charles Alan Roberts ’56 US Army Ranger
The following information about Captain Charles Alan Roberts was provided by his son, Clay Roberts.
Born Westchester, PA (Quaker (Welsh Tract) land purchased from William Penn in area just west/northwest of Philadelphia. Graduated from Farmington, New Mexico High School in 1950 and had enlisted in the New Mexico National Guard in 1949 before graduation from high school. His unit was activated for the Korean War before his High School graduation, so he was on inactive duty Oct 1949-May 1951. He was active duty May 1951 - Dec 1952 at Fort Bliss as Radar Sgt, Platoon Leader and Range officer for an Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion (90mm Guns). He received his Honorable Discharge in Dec 1952 at The Presidio, San Francisco, California. From 1953-1955, he attended New Mexico A&M (now New Mexico State University) at Las Cruces, New Mexico and acquired his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering. He rejoined the New Mexico National Guard in July 1954. He was commissioned 2nd Lt, in May 1955, United States Army Reserve and went active duty Army. He was stationed mostly at Fort Bliss, 1956-1960. My older sister (1956) and brother (1959) were born in El Paso, TX.
While stationed at Wertheim, West Germany 1960-late Oct, 1962, my other brother and I were born in Germany. He was born on my sister's 4th birthday and I was born 16 months later in the American Hospital at Wurzburg. He returned stateside and was again stationed at Fort Bliss. He was then sent for advanced training Nov 1962- Apr 1963, at Homestead AFB, Miami, Florida Apr 1963-Feb 1965. He attended Ranger Training (Fort Bragg) and Intelligence Training (Fort Halberd, Maryland) while we lived in Miami, Florida. In Vietnam, he was stationed at Nha Trang, South Vietnam on Feb 23, 1965. His injury occurred by explosive device on Highway 1 outside Nha Trang on Dec 14, 1965. He was evacuated to the US Air Force Hospital at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines on Dec 15, 1965 where he died of pneumonia, septicemia, and multiple fragment wounds on Dec 26, 1965. He was buried Jan 6, 1966 at the Post Cemetery, Fort Sill, OK and my family made our home in Lawton/Ft Sill in August 1966.
Captain Charles Alan Roberts was the first NMSU Aggie to fall in the Vietnam War. 1965 was a pivotal year in the war. President Johnson began the bombing of North Vietnam and sent the first US military units into direct combat with the NVA. US forces were greatly expanded. Captain Charles Alan Roberts was 33 years of age at the time he gave his life in service to his country. His name is on Panel 4 of the Vietnam Wall. By the end of the war American deaths in Vietnam would require a total of 140 panels to memorialize all those lost.