Lawrence E. Roberts
{{Short description|Member of the Tuskegee Airmen (1922–2004)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Lawrence E. Roberts
|image= LawrenceRoberts.jpg
|caption= Colonel Lawrence E. Roberts
|birth_name=Lawrence Edward Roberts
|birth_date={{Birth date|1922|12|9}}
|death_date={{death date and age|2004|10|12|1922|12|9}}
|birth_place=Vauxhall, New Jersey, U.S.
|death_place=Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
|placeofburial= Biloxi National Cemetery
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|nickname=
|allegiance=United States
|branch=United States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force
|serviceyears=1943–1975
|rank=Colonel
|unit=477th Medium Bombardment Group
332d Fighter Wing
|commands=
|battles=World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
|awards=
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
Lawrence Edward Roberts (December 9, 1922 – October 12, 2004) was a pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen and a colonel in the United States Air Force, with 32 years of total military service. He is the father of newscaster Robin René Roberts and Sally-Ann Roberts.
Personal life
Roberts was born on December 9, 1922, in the Vauxhall section of Union Township, Union County, New Jersey. He was married to Lucimarian Tolliver for 57 years. They had four children: Lawrence E. Roberts II, Sally-Ann Roberts Nabonne, Dorothy Roberts, and Robin Roberts. Roberts was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Roberts attended Howard University, received his bachelor's from Morningside College, and received his master's degree from the Tuskegee Institute.
Military service
Roberts entered the United States Army Air Corps at Keesler Air Force Base in 1943. He was assigned to the Tuskegee Airmen program in 1944. Roberts flew Piper Cubs, North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, Douglas C-54 Skymaster transports and North American F-86 Sabre fighter jets. Roberts also served as an instructor in Tuskegee University's Air Force ROTC program from 1958 to 1960.
He served in the Vietnam War and received 18 service medals and awards.
Later life
Roberts was one of the founding members of the Keesler Air Force Base Gospel Service, the oldest Gospel service in the United States Air Force. The only Mississippi chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Club was named in his honor. On October 12, 2004, Roberts died at his home in Biloxi, Mississippi, at the age of 81 of a heart attack. He was buried with full military honors. Services were held at the Triangle Chapel at Keesler Air Force Base near Biloxi and he was buried at Biloxi National Cemetery.
Since his death, Roberts posthumously received awards throughout the country. In 2004, shortly after he died, the Mississippi Legislature drafted a resolution honoring his life and on March 29, 2007, he posthumously received the Congressional Gold Medal. President George W. Bush honored Roberts with the Congressional Gold Medal for bravery, patriotism and helping persuade President Harry S. Truman to desegregate armed forces. In March 2009, a sculpture by Marlin Miller was dedicated in War Memorial Park in Pass Christian, Mississippi. On September 10, 2009, a new consolidated aircraft maintenance facility for the 403rd Wing at Keesler AFB was dedicated and named in Roberts's honor.
His daughter Robin Roberts executive produced and narrated the one-hour documentary Tuskegee Airmen: Legacy of Courage for History,{{Cite web|title=Tuskegee Airmen: Legacy of Courage|url=https://www.history.com/specials/tuskegee-airmen-legacy-of-courage|access-date=2021-02-05|website=HISTORY|language=en}} which premiered on 10 February 2021.{{Cite web|title=HISTORY Channel Announces New 'Tuskegee Airmen' Documentary from Robin Roberts|last=Magee|first=Ny|date=2021-01-28|url=https://eurweb.com/2021/01/28/history-channel-announces-new-tuskegee-airmen-documentary-from-robin-roberts/|access-date=2021-02-05|website=EURweb}}
See also
Notes
{{reflist
| refs =
|url=http://www.tuskegee.edu/Global/story.asp?S=1129330
|title=List of Pilot Graduates
|publisher=Tuskegee University
|accessdate=2010-08-30
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527231531/http://www.tuskegee.edu/Global/story.asp?S=1129330
|archive-date=2010-05-27
|url-status=dead
}}
|url=http://www.keesler.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?bioID=12807
|title=Colonel (Retired) Lawrence E Roberts
|publisher=Keesler Air Force Base
|accessdate=2010-08-30
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616030016/http://www.keesler.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?bioID=12807
|archive-date=2011-06-16
|url-status=dead
}}
{{cite web
|url=http://www.tuskegee.edu/Global/story.asp?S=1531730
|title=Good Morning America's Roberts Flies in Honor of Her Tuskegee Airman Father
|date=November 18, 2003
|publisher=Tuskegee University
|accessdate=2010-08-31
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904062054/http://www.tuskegee.edu/Global/story.asp?S=1531730
|archivedate=September 4, 2006
}}
|url=http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/uploads/RobinRoberts.pdf
|title=ABC's Robin Roberts Recalls The Relationship That Shaped Her Life
|last=Roberts
|first=Kimberly C.
|year=2007
|publisher=The Philadelphia Tribune
|accessdate=2010-08-31
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820050445/http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/uploads/RobinRoberts.pdf
|archive-date=2008-08-20
|url-status=dead
}}
{{cite web|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-oroberts.jpg,0,4540157.photo
|title=Tuskegee airman Lawrence E. Roberts, Oct. 12
|last=Martin
|first=Jamie
|date=October 20, 2004
|publisher=Sun-Sentinel
|accessdate=2010-09-02}}
|last=Hines
|first=Jane
|date=December 2004
|title=Col. Lawrence E. Roberts Was a Hero and a Gentleman
|journal=Presbyterian Voice
|publisher=Synod of Living Waters
|volume=15
|issue=6
|url=http://www.synodoflivingwaters.org/the_voice/0412/11larry.html
|access-date=2010-09-02
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201357/http://www.synodoflivingwaters.org/the_voice/0412/11larry.html
|archive-date=2016-03-03
|url-status=dead
}}
|url=http://www.taisf.org/pdf/Chapters.pdf
|title=Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Chapters
|publisher=Tuskegee Airmen, Inc
|accessdate=2010-09-02
|archive-date=2011-07-22
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722040756/http://www.taisf.org/pdf/Chapters.pdf
|url-status=dead
}}
{{cite web|url=http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/20043E/pdf/SC/SC0503PS.pdf
|title=Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 503
|year=2004
|publisher=Mississippi Legislature
|accessdate=2010-09-02}}
|url=http://www.call-post.com/news.htm
|title=Tuskegee Airmen Get Late Justice
|last=Edney
|first=Hazel Trice
|publisher=Call & Post
|accessdate=2010-09-02
|archive-date=2011-07-08
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708112052/http://www.call-post.com/news.htm
|url-status=dead
}}
|url=http://www.wlox.com/global/story.asp?s=10088580
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330224654/http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=10088580
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=March 30, 2009
|title=Sculptor honors Tuskegee Airman
|date=March 28, 2009
|publisher=WLOX
|accessdate=2010-09-02
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.af.mil/News/story/id/123167098/
|title=Aircraft maintenance facility dedicated to Tuskegee Airman
|last=Hicks
|first=Jonathan
|date=September 10, 2009
|publisher=81st Training Wing Public Affairs, United States Air Force
|access-date=2010-09-02
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121212030237/http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123167098
|archive-date=December 12, 2012
|url-status=live
}}
|url=http://www.keesler.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123164705
|title=Media Advisory: Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Facility Dedication Ceremony Honoring Col. (Ret.) Lawrence E. Roberts
|date=August 26, 2009
|publisher=Keesler Air Force Base
|accessdate=2010-09-02
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616030034/http://www.keesler.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123164705
|archive-date=June 16, 2011
|url-status=dead
}}
}}
{{commons category|Lawrence E. Roberts}}
{{Tuskegee Airmen}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Lawrence E.}}
Category:People from Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Category:People from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Category:Howard University alumni
Category:Morningside University alumni
Category:Tuskegee University alumni
Category:United States Air Force colonels
Category:United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
Category:United States Army Air Forces officers
Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Category:African-American aviators
Category:Aviators from New Jersey
Category:21st-century African-American people