In 1942, Roberts became involved in the landing of Marines ashore in the Guadalcanal Assault Force. In early August, 1942, Roberts was assigned new duties at the Beachmaster Unit on the Island of Guadalcanal.
According to reports, Roberts volunteered for a rescue mission on the morning of September 27, 1942. Apparently, a unit of Marines had been surrounded by Japanese forces and was outnumbered. The rescue mission itself came very close to failing as many of the Higgins boats used to extract the Marines came under heavy fire. The reports say that it was at this time that Roberts sprang into action using his boat as a decoy passing perilously close in front of the Japanese force in order to draw their fire away from the rescue mission.
Roberts' bravery and heroism paid off as all of the Marines were evacuated, but, as the mission drew to a close and he prepared to withdraw from his precarious position, Roberts' boat was damaged by the enemy fire and he paid for his bravery with his life. Coxswain Samuel Booker Roberts, Jr. was awarded, posthumously, the Navy Cross for his heroic actions in the Guadalcanal. It is also his courage and valour we remember by naming a U.S. warship after him.
