The Roosevelt family produced a lot of real American leaders and heroes. Theodore Senior was a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions in the Spanish-American War, leading his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. His son, Theodore Junior, who is the subject of this article, was a great leader and hero in both WWI and WWII. And his younger brother, Quentin, was a 2nd Lt. pilot with the 95th Aero Squadron in WWI and was killed in action when he was shot down over France on Bastille Day, July 14, 1918. He was awarded the Croix De Guerre with palm and the Purple Heart.
This video is a narrative written by Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., but the voice you will hear is that of Theodore Roosevelt, IV, Theodore Jr’s son and the President’s grandson. It is mostly concerned with his D-Day experiences, his thoughts about his own life, and his praise for the “mentors” he had in his own life. It is informative and reveals his own nature quite well.
Theodore Jr. grew up with all the privileges that come with being born to a wealthy and famously powerful family. He went to college and after college worked in investment banking. When WWI broke out, he went to a school in upstate New York, not the military academy but a kind of officer training camp where he excelled in all elements of the training and was commissioned as a major at the end of it. He was then sent to France with the American Expeditionary Force.
He was assigned to the 26th Infantry Division and gained a reputation for always being on the front lines with his men. He was promoted to Lt. Col. because of his leadership experiences before the end of the war. During his time in WWI, he received the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart. The injury to his leg would remain with him for the rest of his life.
After WWI, Roosevelt Jr. left the Army and went back into business, but when WWII began, he again volunteered to go back into the Army and went through an officers’ refresher course that had been started to get officers with experience from WWI to come back into leadership positions. He was assigned to be the Asst. Division Commander of the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One). Early on in the war, he distinguished himself by leading his troops at the Battle of Oran during the Allied invasion of French North Africa.
But D-Day was Roosevelt Jr.’s most significant accomplishment in leadership during WWII. By this time, he had been made the Asst. Division Commander of the 4th Infantry Division. At the age of 57, he was the oldest man to go ashore in the first wave of assaults on the beaches at Normandy. He was also the only senior officer, the only general, to hit the beaches in that first wave.
Because of his injury in WWI, he also went ashore with only his walking cane and a pistol. He led 23,229 men of the 4th Infantry Division onto Utah Beach that morning. He soon realized that the landing craft had brought them ashore over a mile from their planned landing site. He quickly re-adjusted the entire battle plan for the division on his own and began directing his troops and taking the offensive. They were not only successful in getting onto the beach but, with the quickly drawn-up redirection of the battle plan that Roosevelt had worked out on the fly in the midst of the battle, they began moving inland and taking territory.
To give a little insight into the man’s interior life, he always carried a copy of John Bunyon’s book Pilgrim’s Progress with him to read during any lulls in the fighting. To add to the awful intensity of that momentous day, his own son, Quentin II, went ashore in the first wave that day at Omaha Beach. Quentin II survived that day, only to die in a plane crash in China several years later.
For his actions during D-Day at Utah Beach, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., was awarded the Medal of Honor. This Roosevelt family certainly has served and sacrificed much for the United States of America. Every generation of The President’s family, from himself to his grandsons, gave their service to the nation from the Spanish-American War to WWII. They are worthy of our honor and respect for that reason alone.