SAMUEL B ROBERTS FFG 58

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Oliver Hazard Perry Class (Long Hull, LAMPS III modified) Guided Missile Frigate Keel Laid 21 May 1984 - Launched 8 December 1984 USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS FFG 58 Commissioned 12 April 1986 Struck an Iranian mine in the Persian Gulf 14 April 1988 Returned to Service following 13 months of repairs 16 October 1989 Decommissioned 22 May 2015

Naval Covers

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1. USS Samuel B. Roberts FFG-58 Covers Page 1    (1986-2015)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

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Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type FDC 2-1(n+) (D2,USS)

1986-04-12

First Day of Commission, Official Ship's cachet.

 

Locy Type 2-1(n+)(USS)

1994-03-10

First Day of New Homeport, Norfolk VA, cachet by Al Banasky

 

Locy Type 9-1(n+)(USS)

1994-03-10

First Day of New Homeport, Norfolk VA, cachet by Al Banasky

 

USPS Pictorial "Decommissioning Sta." Jacksonville FL

2015-05-22

Decommissioning, cachet by KSC Cachets

 

Other Information

USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS has earned the following awards during her Naval career - the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon w/ 3 stars, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon w/ 3 stars, the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon, the Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (7 awards), the National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal w/ 3 stars, the Southwest Asia Service Medal w/ 3 stars, the Global War On Terror Expeditionary Service Medal, the Global War On Terror Service Medal, the Armed Forces Service Ribbon, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ 7 stars, the Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon, the United Nations Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) and the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait).

NAMESAKE - Samuel Booker Roberts (12 May 1921 - 27 September 1942)
Roberts was born in San Francisco, Cal. and enlisted in the US Naval Reserve in 1939. Called to active duty in 1940, he served in USS California BB 44 and USS Heywood APA 6 before being transferred to the troop transport USS Bellatrix AK 20. In 1942, USS Bellatrix was assigned to Task Group Four and became part of the Guadalcanal Assault Force. As a coxswain for one of the Bellatrix’s assault (Higgins) boats, Roberts became extensively involved in the landing of Marines ashore and the transporting 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, 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 sized unit of marines who had been surrounded by a numerically superior Japanese force. Initially the rescue group of several Higgins boats were taken under heavy enemy fire and was perilously close to failure. Realizing the state of the rescue mission, Roberts unselfishly volunteered to distract the Jap forces by passing directly in front of their lines and drawing their fire. The decoy act was performed effectively until all the 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 enemy fire Coxswain Samuel Booker Roberts was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Three ships of the US Navy have been named in his honor, USS Samuel B. Roberts DE-413 (April 1944 - October 1944), USS Samuel B. Roberts DD 823 (1946 - 1970) and USS Samuel B. Roberts FFG 58.

The ships sponsor is Mrs. Jack Yusen, wife of DE 413 WWII crewmember.

 

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