[Spam] [Vision2020] Father and Son: Citizen Warriors

Fri Jul 22 09:26:58 PDT 2005

Excellent tribute to the Teddy Roosevelts. Thanks for the post
-----Original message-----
From: "Tom Hansen" thansen at moscow.com
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 17:21:46 -0700
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Spam] [Vision2020] Father and Son: Citizen Warriors

> >From this month's issue of Soldiers Magazine
> (http://www4.army.mil/soldiers/) -
> 
> During times such as today, when the lists of active duty service members
> lack the presence of citizens with strong familial political ties, it is
> extremely refreshing to know that it wasn't always like that.
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Father and Son: Citizen Warriors
> By Lt. Col. Randy Pullen
> 
> July 1, 2005
>  
> On July 1, 1898, LTC Theodore Roosevelt performed an act of heroism great
> enough for him to receive the nation's highest decoration for valor, the
> Medal of Honor.
> 
> It then took 103 years for one of his descendants to have the medal
> presented to him. That presentation was more than 56 years after Roosevelt's
> son posthumously received the same decoration 
> 
> The elder Roosevelt received the medal for his actions during the
> Spanish-American War at San Juan Hill, Cuba, while in command of the 1st
> U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, better known as the Rough Riders. Roosevelt
> led the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill and into the pages of American
> history. This charge also led to his becoming the president of the United
> States. The 2001 presentation made him the first U.S. president to be a
> Medal of Honor recipient.
> 
> His son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., received the Medal of Honor for his actions
> during World War II at Utah Beach, France, on June 6, 1944, while serving as
> assistant division commander of the 4th Infantry Division. Then a brigadier
> general, Roosevelt was in the first wave at Utah Beach. He was the first
> general officer to land on a Normandy beach on D-Day.
> 
> The Roosevelts were the second set of father and son Medal of Honor
> recipients in U.S. military history. The first pair was Arthur and Douglas
> MacArthur for their respective acts of heroism at Missionary Ridge, Tenn.,
> during the Civil War and in the Philippines during World War II. 
> 
> 
> The Father
> 
> Theodore Roosevelt resigned his post as assistant secretary of the Navy at
> the beginning of the Spanish-American War to accept a commission as a
> lieutenant colonel in the Rough Riders, which he helped recruit, organize,
> train and lead to Cuba. When the regimental commander, COL Leonard Wood,
> himself a Medal of Honor recipient, was promoted to brigade command in Cuba,
> Roosevelt moved up to command the Rough Riders.
> 
> Roosevelt led the Rough Riders up Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill, fighting
> alongside the Regulars of the 1st, 9th and 10th U.S. Cav. regiments, the
> latter two units being the famed "Buffalo Soldiers." His heroism that day
> was inspiring, as he conspicuously put himself in front of his troops to
> lead them up the slopes, both on horseback - the only man to be mounted and
> thus a prime target for Spanish fire - and on foot. 
> 
> The charge up San Juan Hill became one of the most celebrated feats in
> American history, and Roosevelt became one of the most famous men in
> America. This helped him to become governor of New York in 1898 and
> President William McKinley's running mate in 1900. 
> 
> Roosevelt succeeded McKinley after McKinley's assassination in 1901. The new
> president was just 42 years old. He was elected in his own right in 1904 and
> is recognized as one of the most dynamic presidents this country has ever
> had. He was also the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, which he
> did in 1906 for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.
> 
> Roosevelt left the White House in 1909 but ran for president again in 1912
> as a third-party candidate. Woodrow Wilson won that year. Roosevelt
> volunteered to raise and lead a volunteer division to France in 1917 but
> Wilson turned him down. All four of Roosevelts sons fought in combat in
> World War I and his daughter served as a Red Cross nurse in France. Quentin
> Roosevelt, the youngest son and an Army fighter pilot, was killed in action
> on July 14, 1918.
> 
> The old Rough Rider died on Jan. 6, 1919, at the age of 60.
> 
> Although recommended by his entire chain of command for the Medal of Honor
> soon after the Battle of San Juan Hill, the recommendation was turned down
> by the War Department. It is believed that Roosevelt's criticism of the
> secretary of war resulted in him being denied the medal then. More than a
> century later and after years of efforts to give Roosevelt the decoration
> his actions deserved, President Bill Clinton presented a posthumous Medal of
> Honor to Roosevelt's great grandson at the White House on Jan. 16, 2001.
> 
> 
> The Son
> 
> Theodore Roosevelt's service as a citizen-soldier lasted for a few months in
> 1898. His namesake's service in the Organized Reserves, as the Army Reserve
> was then called, lasted more than 25 years, from before World War I until
> his death during World War II.
> 
> Theodore Roosevelt Jr. served in combat in both world wars, earning every
> combat decoration available to a ground soldier. During World War I he
> commanded a battalion of the 26th U.S. Inf. Regiment, 1st Inf. Div., and
> then the regiment itself. He was gassed and severely wounded during combat
> in France. He was decorated five times.
> 
> Recalled to active duty in April 1941, Roosevelt first commanded his old
> World War I regiment until his promotion to brigadier general. He then
> became the assistant division commander of the 1st Inf. Div.
> 
> He served with the Big Red One throughout the North African and Sicily
> campaigns until both he and the division commander, MG Terry Allen, were
> relieved by GEN Dwight D. Eisenhower. They were both recognized as
> outstanding leaders and their reliefs were "without prejudice." Eisenhower
> felt these two veteran and proven commanders were tired and needed a rest
> from combat. Both soon returned to combat leadership positions, however,
> with Allen as commander of the 104th Inf. Div. (Organized Reserve) and
> Roosevelt as assistant division commander of the 4th Inf. Div.
> 
> When Roosevelt joined the 4th Div. it was preparing for a key role on D-Day,
> an assault landing on Utah Beach. Roosevelt insisted on going in with the
> first wave to "steady the boys." MG Raymond Barton, the division commander,
> recognized that Roosevelt was considered one of the bravest men in the Army.
> Barton believed Roosevelt's presence could be a steadying influence for the
> assault troops, so he eventually granted the request, though he thought he
> was sending the 56-year-old Roosevelt to his death.
> 
> 
> Leading the Way
> 
> On the morning of June 6, 1944, Roosevelt landed with the first wave on Utah
> Beach. He seemed to be everywhere, rallying hesitant soldiers and leading
> groups of men inland, despite German small arms, mortar and artillery fire.
> His lack of concern for his own safety inspired his troops.
> 
> He also made an important command decision. Realizing the first wave had
> been landed at the wrong place, he directed the follow-up waves to land
> behind the first wave, rather than adjusting to the correct landing spot.
> The original spot was heavily defended and this decision prevented Utah
> Beach from turning into the bloodbath that Omaha Beach had become.
> 
> For his courage and leadership on D-Day, Roosevelt received the Medal of
> Honor. By the time it was awarded, on Sept. 28, 1944, he was dead.
> Roosevelt, who had a bad heart and should not have been anywhere near a
> combat zone, died of a heart attack in Normandy on July 12.
> 
> He never knew that he had been selected that same day to take command of the
> 90th Inf. Div. (Organized Reserve).
> 
> Neither father nor son ever wore the medal that a grateful nation presented
> to them for answering the call to duty.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> At a time when President Bush speaks of our patriotic obligation, what then
> of his offspring?
> 
> Take care, Moscow.
> 
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> 
> "Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
> and steady dedication of a lifetime." 
>  
> --Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.
> 
> 
> 
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