Please add this picture of John Leslie Roberts to the virtual wall. I was engaged to him at the time of his death. A day does not go by that I don't think of him. -- Linda McCague Hosier, January 6, 2013

John was the youngest of seven children. According to his oldest sister Judy, John had a zest for life and venturing into new things. He was especially fond of his older brother, Dick. Another sister, Candace Roberts Lauber posted to the internet that John assured the family he was safe as he was a mechanic and worked on tanks. His obituary, showing the large family structure, read: John is buried with his mother in Prairie Grove Cemetery, Fort Wayne, Indiana. She passed away in 1966 before John was killed.

According to records, the tank he was riding in, ran over a land mine near Chau Lam (2), 7 kilometers east of Que Son Vietnam. He died from wounds and burns received while in that tank which was on a combat sweep operation. John Roberts, the mechanic, should not have been on that tank as there is no place for an extra person if they were to come under small arms fire. But the Lieutenant in charge allowed him to ride on the "safer" vehicle in the troop's sweep of the area because the belief was that riding in his normally assigned position in an Armored Cav Vehicle was not as secure as riding the tank. John had been in Vietnam for less than 60 days when he was killed. The story of the crew assigned to A-35 was e-mailed to the webmaster of Hill29 website or BlackhawkDragoons.com recently by Richard Brummett a former tank driver of the ill fated A-35. The Third platoon of Alpha Troop split away from the rest of the troop in a sweep of the countryside at the Quang Tin/Quang Nam Provincial border. Tank A-35 was at the head of the column as was customary. The thinking was it was a lot better for a 52 ton tank to hit a land mine instead of an 11 ton scout track. Unfortunately, A-35 hit a devastating land mine that killed everyone on board. One witness recalls the fireball and the rounds cooking off afterward. Five (5) A Troopers were killed in the explosion. They were: SSG John Lawrence Hasford, Williamston, Michigan SSG Elwood Layton Houston, Lynchburg, Virginia SGT Brandt Steele Neubacher, Berkeley, California SGT John Leslie Roberts, Fort Wayne, Indiana SGT Patrick John Scognamilio, New York, New York

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