Person:Theodore Roosevelt (9)

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Theodore Roosevelt III (September 13, 1887 – July 12, 1944), known as Theodore Roosevelt Jr., was an American government, business, and military leader. He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt and First Lady Edith Roosevelt. Roosevelt is known for his World War II service, including the directing of troops at Utah Beach during the Normandy landings, for which he received the Medal of Honor.

Roosevelt was educated at private academies and Harvard University; after his 1909 graduation from college, he began a successful career in business and investment banking. Having gained pre-World War I army experience during his attendance at a Citizens' Military Training Camp, at the start of the war he received a reserve commission as a major. He served primarily with the 1st Division, took part in several engagements including the Battle of Cantigny, and commanded the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry as a lieutenant colonel. After the war, Roosevelt was instrumental in the forming of The American Legion.

In addition to his military and business careers, Roosevelt was active in politics and government. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1921–1924), Governor of Puerto Rico (1929–1932), and Governor-General of the Philippines (1932–1933). He resumed his business endeavors in the 1930s, and was Chairman of the Board of American Express Company, and vice-president of Doubleday Books. Roosevelt also remained active as an Army reservist, attending annual training periods at Pine Camp, and completing the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, and refresher training for senior officers. He returned to active duty for World War II with the rank of colonel, and commanded the 26th Infantry. He soon received promotion to brigadier general as assistant division commander of the 1st Infantry Division.

After serving in the Operation Torch landings in North Africa and the Tunisia Campaign, followed by participation in the Allied invasion of Sicily, Roosevelt was assigned as assistant division commander of the 4th Infantry Division. In this role, he led the first wave of troops ashore at Utah Beach during the Normandy landings in June 1944. He died in France of a heart attack the following month; at the time of his death, he had been recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross to recognize his heroism at Normandy. The recommendation was subsequently upgraded, and Roosevelt was a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Theodore Roosevelt, Jr, in Find A Grave: Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
   Find A Grave Memorial #2144, 1 Jan 2001.

   Birth: Sep. 13, 1887
   Death: Jul. 12, 1944
   Biography: United States Army General, World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. First born son of 26th United States President Theodore Roosevelt. A Brigadier General in the United States Army Reserves and a veteran of the First World War, he was activated for the Second World War, and died of a heart attack in Normandy following the invasion of France. After the war, he and his brother Quentin, a First World War casualty, were buried side by side at the US Military Cemetery, Colville-sur-Mer, Omaha Beach, Normandy, France. The monument stone from Quentin's original grave was moved to a place of honor on the lawn of the Roosevelt home, Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. won every award and decoration available to a United States soldier, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. His official CMOH citation reads: For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, in France. After 2 verbal requests to accompany the leading assault elements in the Normandy invasion had been denied, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt's written request for this mission was approved and he landed with the first wave of the forces assaulting the enemy-held beaches. He repeatedly led groups from the beach, over the seawall and established them inland. His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete 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, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt moved from one locality to another, rallying men around him, directed and personally led them against the enemy. Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strong points and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties. He thus contributed substantially to the successful establishment of the beachhead in France. Rank and organization: brigadier general, U.S. Army. Place and date: Normandy invasion, 6 June 1944. Entered service at: Oyster Bay, N.Y. Birth: Oyster Bay, N.Y. G.O. No.: 77, 28 September 1944. (bio by: Warrick L. Barrett)
   Family links:
   Parents:
   - Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)
   - Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt (1861 - 1948)
   Spouse:
   - Eleanor Alexander Roosevelt (1888 - 1960)
   Children:
   - Theodore Roosevelt (1914 - 2001)
   - Cornelius Van Schaak Roosevelt (1915 - 1991)
   - Quentin Roosevelt (1919 - 1948)
   Cause of death: Heart attack
   Burial: Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Colleville-sur-Mer, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France
   Plot: Plot D, Row 28, Grave 45

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Theodore Roosevelt Jr., in Wikipedia
   Retrieved 24 Nov 2013.

   Throughout World War II, Roosevelt suffered from health problems. He had arthritis, mostly from old World War I injuries, and walked with a cane. He also had heart trouble.
   On July 12, 1944, a little over one month after the landing at Utah Beach, he died suddenly of a heart attack near Sainte-Mère-Église in Normandy, France. He was living at the time in a converted sleeping truck, captured a few days before from the Germans. He had spent part of the day in a long conversation with his son, Captain Quentin Roosevelt II, who had participated with him in the Normandy landing. He was stricken at about 10 pm and died, attended by medical help, at about midnight. He was fifty-six years old. On the day of his death he had been selected by General Omar Bradley for promotion to major general and orders had been cut placing him in command of the 90th Infantry Division. These recommendations were sent to General Dwight D. Eisenhower for approval, but when Eisenhower called the next morning to approve them, he was told that Roosevelt had died during the night.
   Roosevelt was buried at the American cemetery in Normandy, initially created for the Americans killed in Normandy during the invasion. His younger brother, Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt had been killed as a pilot in France during World War I and was initially buried at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial for veterans of WWI at Fère-en-Tardenois, France, near where he had been shot down in that war. In 1955, his family had his body exhumed and moved to the Normandy cemetery, where he was re-interred next to his brother.