Talk:Harold W. Roberts

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Military history: Biography / North America / United States / World War I

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Why only one of them could escape?[edit]

If anyone could elucidate why only one was able to escape, I'm unable to picture this - if they could open the back door for one to go out, wouldn't they other be able to do so as well, holding his breath? Would the tank's back door be stuck/flooded, giving enough time for only one of them to bolt? Gallant man. Cornelius (talk) 15:47, 7 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Exactly what I've been wondering, Cornelius; the description raises more questions than it answers. The FT17 has a double hatch in front of the driver (where Roberts would've been sitting) which opens outwards. Morgan's (the gunner's) narrative states "The back door was the only way to get out as the other doors were buried in mud...he gave me a push. I had to be the first out because there are gunner's doors and the driver's doors. Bob's doors were buried.".
Here is a photo of the FT17 showing the proximity of the doors (with the turret facing backwards in this case) and the driver and gunner: [[1]] The gunner's hatch is at about shoulder height, behind the turret, where Morgan had been standing. It's certainly understandable that Morgan got out first, since otherwise Roberts would effectively have had to get past Morgan in the tank's cramped compartments, but once Morgan was out, there should not have been anything preventing Roberts from following him. There is no structural impediment between the driver's and gunner's areas, although it is possible that they had stowed gear there (such as ammunition) which might have made his egress more difficult, but if Roberts was able to give Morgan a push, then it seems reasonable to infer that he could have made his way out as well. It is also possible that Roberts was injured in the crash, and unable to use his legs, although that is mere conjecture on my part. I haven't been able to find anything that clears this matter up. As sometimes is the case, this may be an example of the military capitalizing on the unfortunate death of a soldier by making more of a hero out of him than he earned, for propaganda purposes. Bricology (talk) 02:40, 13 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I re-read it and it says Bob had to keep on the controls to have the tank in reverse for the gunner doors to be "above water", but since the back doors were blocked by mud, I'm assuming if he let go of the controls, so would the gunner doors be.

Morgan doesn't say this, just says the tank went under water, as if none of them could swim, so it's my assumption that the tank couldn't go in any direction to leave enough space for the driver to get out before flooding Cornelius (talk) 18:51, 4 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

still, Morgan says he was "helpless like a baby". Dig through the mud man, save your guy! Cornelius (talk) 18:53, 4 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I looked at the diagram of the tank again, and actually it makes 0 sense to me again - there's no way mud could've blocked the gunner exit door (which must've been facing the usual way bcz the tank was in reverse to keep it above water), so unless something impeded Roberts, or he couldn't swim, it's strange. But he seems to have thought only one of them would escape before any of that, so it's just a mystery to me Cornelius (talk) 19:00, 4 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Updates from Camp Roberts Historical Museum for Corporal Roberts[edit]

I submitted some edits to Corporal Roberts site and it was reversed... can someone please help me understand what was done wrong. Also took pictures and submitted them as well. They were removed. I have permission on all copy from the curator and board of Camp Roberts Historical Museum. Thanks for helping me understand how to better submit items for change. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Centralcoastfun (talk • contribs) 03:04, 21 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

CentralCoastFun -- the explanation given by SPhilbrick is that they "Reverted good faith edits by (you)", citing "Copyright issue re https://camprobertshistoricalmuseum.com/corporal-roberts". Apparently SPhilbrick is not satisfied by your saying that you received permission from the curator and Board of the CRHM. This seems rather picayune to me, as photos of displays in museums where photography is allowed (as it is at the CRHM) are not generally subject to strict interpretation of copyright. The next time I am at the CRHM I will take a photo of the display myself and upload it here. Bricology (talk) 02:51, 13 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]