[Newell O. Roberts oral history interview]

Fighter ace Newell O. Roberts discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in the Mediterranean Theater with the 94th Fighter Squadron of the 1st Fighter Group. Topics discussed include his service history, stories about fellow servicemen, and notable combat missions. Special focus on a reconnaissance mission on December 2, 1942 over the Tunisian coast, during which Roberts and his squadron scored several aerial victories against a flight of Messerschmitt Bf 109s.

Newell O. Roberts was born on August 7, 1916 in Little Rock, Arkansas and grew up in Indiana. He joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1940 and graduated from flight training the following year. Assigned to the 94th Fighter Squadron of the 1st Fighter Group, Roberts participated in several stateside assignments, including test flying the Lockheed YP-38 Lightning and flying shore patrols along the West Coast. In 1942, he was deployed to England and subsequently sent to the Mediterranean Theater, where he flew missions over Algeria, Tunisia, and Italy. Leaving the military after the end of the war, Roberts went on to earn a doctorate in medicine from the University of Liverpool and a psychiatric degree from Baylor University. In 1960, he joined the psychiatry department at Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital in Texas. He retired in 1989 and passed away in 2010.