Robert H. Brooks (soldier)
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Sadieville, Kentucky, U.S.
Clark Field, Philippines
Robert H. Brooks | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robert Harold Brooks |
| Born | October 8, 1915 Sadieville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | December 8, 1941 (aged 26) Clark Field, Philippines |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | US Army |
| Years of service | –1941 |
| Rank | Private first class (posthumous) |
| Unit | 192nd Tank Battalion |
| Battles / wars | World War II † |
| Awards | Purple Heart |
Robert Harold Brooks (October 8, 1915 – December 8, 1941) was a United States Army soldier. He was the first Army Armored Branch casualty of World War II, being killed on the island of Luzon within hours of the Japanese surprise attack against the United States.
Brooks was born in Sadieville, Kentucky on October 8, 1915, to a family of African-American sharecroppers.[1][2][a] He worked as a sales clerk in adulthood, moving to Hamilton, Ohio.[1][3] In the early 1940s, Brooks joined the army from Hamilton as a private.[b] He was trained at Fort Knox and qualified as a half-track and tank driver, but was assigned to maintenance following specialized instruction.[1] As a light-skinned Black man, he was officially classified as White, allowing him to join the all-White D Company, 192nd Tank Battalion, known as the Harrodsburg Tankers after the Kentucky town they were stationed in as a National Guard unit.[1][4] After basic training, the unit conducted exercises at Camp Polk in Louisiana.[3] They traveled through San Francisco and Honolulu to the Philippines, arriving in December 1941.[3]
On December 8, 1941, at 12:45 p.m., Brooks's unit was stationed at Clark Field on Luzon.[3] Most of the soldiers were at lunch, although Brooks and other mechanics were working.[3] At that time, Japanese aircraft began strafing and bombing the airfield.[1] Other soldiers saw Brooks running towards his half-track, apparently to use its .50-caliber machine gun to shoot at the planes.[1][3] A bomb struck nearby, killing him instantly.[2][3]