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 In 1942, BELLATRIX was assigned to task group FOUR and became part of the Guadalcanal Assault Force. As a coxswain for the BELLATRIX's Assault (Higgins) boats, Roberts became extensively involved in the landing of supplies from ships at sea to what was a very tenuous beachhead. As a result of the heavy fighting at sea beginning 7 August 1942, Coxswain Roberts was transferred to the Beachmaster unit on the island of Guadalcanal to perform transport and medevac duties. Early on the morning of 27 September 1942, Roberts volunteered for a rescue mission to save a company size unit of Marines who had been surrounded by a numerically superior Japanese force. Initially, the rescue group of several Hoggins boats was taken under heavy fire and was perilously close to failure. Realizing the state of the rescue mission, Roberts unselfishly volunteered to distract Japanese forces by passing directly in front of their lines drawing their fire. This decoy act was performed effectively until all Marines had been evacuated. However, as he was about to withdraw from the range of the Japanese guns, Roberts' boat was hit and he was mortally wounded. For his valor and courage in the face of the enemy fire Coxswain Samuel Booker Roberts was awarded posthumously the Navy Cross is proudly displayed in the Wardroom of USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG 58), the third ship of the U.S. Navy to bear his name.
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