US Army Private Roosevelt Hestle was born in Atmore, Alabama on August 4, 1922, the son of Frank Hester (1894-1942) and Alma (1904-1981). His father had served in WWI with Company "A" of the 316th Service Battalion of the Quartermaster Corps. At some point in time, the Hestle family moved to Portland, Dallas County, Alabama prior to 1930 where his father supported the family as a farmer. The Hestle's appeared in Pensacola before 1936 and were living at 1007 North "K" Street with Alma working as a maid and Frank as a laborer. By 1940, their address was listed as 1011 North "K" Street. Two years later his father passed away prematurely on November 9, 1942 and was buried in the Mobile National Cemetery. Afterwards, Alma continued working as a maid and stayed on at her current address for years to come.
With WWII raging in Europe and the Pacific, America needed a larger military to defeat her enemies. Answering the call, Roosevelt entered the US Army on September 7, 1943, and after basic training was assigned to the 312th Quartermaster Battalion, Headquarters & Medical Detachment. His battalion was assigned to the US Air Corps stationed in Histon, England outside Cambridge as of March 11, 1944. By June 30, 1944, they were stationed in the port town of Barry. There was a ring of barrage balloons protecting Barry where there was also a large Army camp for the troops that worked on the docks. The 517 Port Battalion had four companies of soldiers, three of which worked the docks loading and offloading ships while the fourth moved to Cardiff. In 1944, their activity increased tremendously as they prepared for D-Day and the Normandy landing on June 6. The Barry docks were then used to embark the 2nd and 3rd waves of soldiers heading across the channel after the initial landings.
On September 7, 1944, Roosevelt was a passenger riding in an Army jeep when he was in an accident, and he was killed due to head injuries. This was an issue that sent many a letter home to their loved ones. The American jeep was a great vehicle but had several flaws. One of the biggest was its inability to stop in a straight line. In a hard braking situation, a phenomenon called “axle wrap” would occur. This was the tendency for the leaf-sprung axle to twist under the pressure. This would cause the jeep to yank hard to the left. Whether this had anything to do with the accident will never be known. Nevertheless, he was processed and buried in a local cemetery.
After the war, Alma requested the government to bring her son home to her. He was disinterred from his European grave and brought home to Pensacola aboard the US Army Transport SS Lt. James E. Robinson in December 1948. He was buried in the Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida.
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