Herbert Thomas Green was born on July 9, 1900 in Durham, North Carolina. Green was a private in the Durham Machine Gun Company, a national guard unit. In July 1920, he deployed with his company to Alamance County on orders from the governor to protect three wrongfully accused Black men from a lynch mob. By profession, Green was a mechanic and farmer. He died in Durham on September 14, 1932. Herbert had a twin brother, Hubert Hickman Green.