Young William Francis Roberts was much admired by the townspeople of Oxford, Alabama, population 1,393.

He was 24 when he was killed on Dec. 7, 1941 in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Mr. Roberts was a seaman second class on the U.S.S. Arizona.

His principal at Calhoun County High School said he was “one of the finest youths I have ever taught.” The owner of the drug store where he worked said he “never knew a finer boy nor a more reliable one in my employ.” And the circulation manager of the nearby Anniston newspaper, for which Mr. Roberts was a carrier, called him “one of the finest young men I have ever known.”

Mr. Roberts, born Aug. 10, 1917 in Oxford, graduated in 1938. He was an athlete and a member of the debate and glee clubs. He worked as an auto mechanic before he enlisted on Oct. 5, 1940.

His father, George, was a farmer, and his mother, Pearl, a housewife.

There is a cenotaph for William at Oxford Memorial Gardens Cemetery.

Sources: The Anniston Star of Anniston, Alabama; Census; Navy enlistment records and muster roll.; Defense Department. ​​This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.