The eldest son of the extraordinary Theodore Roosevelt was himself quite extraordinary. A star football player at Harvard, after college he established himself in business. Like his father, he was a sportsman, an avid reader, a gifted writer, an inspiring speaker, an unfettered visionary, a devoted husband and father, and a pious churchman. It is little wonder then that he was successful in virtually every enterprise that he undertook.
He married Eleanor Alexander, descended from strong Presbyterian stock—on one side from Archibald Alexander, the president of Hampden-Sydney College and founder of Princeton Seminary, and on the other side from John Brown the Scots Covenanter and Matthew Brown, president of both Washington College and Jefferson College. Her mother was descended from two Pilgrim families who came over on the Mayflower. She proved to be a propitious addition to the family, beautiful, smart, courageous, and strong-willed enough to gladly endure the rambunctious escapades of the Roosevelt clan.
In 1917, when America entered World War One, three years into the wrenching conflict, both immediately volunteered for service—Eleanor in the medical corps and Ted Jr. in the army. His evident leadership won for him rapid promotion through the ranks to colonel. He was given command of the first division of the Expeditionary Force to see combat in France. Unrelenting despite suffering debilitating wounds, his valor on the battlefield gained the grudging respect from career military commanders—as well as a Medal of Honor and a Silver Star.
After the war, he founded the American Legion to support both veterans of the war and the widows and children of those who had given their lives. He barnstormed the nation to both generate enthusiasm for the project and raise the necessary funding for the new organization.
Now, no longer riding the coattails of his father’s fame, he turned his attentions to public service. He won a seat in the New York State Legislature. Afterward he was tapped to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy—a position his father held in the run up to the Spanish American War. His administrative acumen there led to his appointment to serve first as the Governor of Puerto Rico, and then later, as the Governor of the Philippines.
He also maintained his interest in business and commerce. His successes eventually led to his appointment as president of American Express. But, his days in the boardroom would prove to be quite limited.
The day after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Ted Jr. sought reinstatement for combat duty, even though he was still hobbled by his World War One wounds and was now 54 years old. He was grudgingly granted a commission and promoted to Brigadier General. In the European theater of the war, he led five amphibious assaults, more than any other officer or enlisted man in World War Two—going ashore for the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, and finally Normandy. He requested three times to join the D-Day assault before his deployment was permitted. He was just a few months shy of his 57th birthday.
He led the first wave of the Operation Neptune assault on Utah Beach on June the 6th, 1944. The tidal currents were so strong on that day that the landing craft were blown far off course—the first twenty strayed more than two kilometers to the south of the expected objective. As a result, the men went ashore in the face of withering artillery fire on the ground and strafing from Luftwaffe fighters in the air.
Ted Jr., as one of the first men off the boat, immediately assessed the revised situation and is said to have declared, “We’ll start the war from right here!”
He led the men who survived the harrowing landing across 200 yards of beach and dunes to the cover of a seawall. He then repeatedly led ensuing groups from the beach, over the seawall, and established them inland. Seeing the terror and trauma in the eyes of the young soldiers, he retrieved the pocket Bible his father had given him at the start of World War One. He turned to the Psalms and began to read.
His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his apparent unconcern at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Although the enemy had the beach under constant direct fire, Roosevelt moved from one location to another, rallying men around him, directing and personally leading them against the enemy.
Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced the German beach strongpoints and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties. He thus contributed substantially to the successful establishment of the beachhead in France.
Thirty-six days later, on July 12, 1944, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. died in his sleep of a heart attack, at the age of 56. General Omar Bradley later said Ted Jr.’s action on Utah Beach was the bravest thing he had ever seen, and, in a letter to Eleanor, General George Patton wrote, “He was one of the bravest men I ever knew.”
Ted Jr. left a legacy of excellence, of faith, of tenacity, and of courage
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