Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt III was Wounded in Action during World War II.
Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt III (generally known as Theodore, Jr.) (September 13, 1887 – July 12, 1944), was an American political and business leader, a veteran of both the world wars, who was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Roosevelt.
Roosevelt was instrumental in the forming of the American Legion in 1919. He later served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of Puerto Rico (1929–32), Governor-General of the Philippines (1932–33), Chairman of the Board of American Express Company, and Vice-President at Doubleday Books, and as a Brigadier General in the United States Army.
In 1940, he attended a military refresher course offered to many businessmen as an advanced student, and was promoted to colonel in the Army of the United States. He returned to active duty in April 1941 and was given command of the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, the same unit he fought with in World War I. Late in 1941, he was promoted to brigadier general.
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.
Shortly after World War I ended, twenty officers of the American Expeditionary Forces met in Paris with orders to confer on how the Army could improve troop morale. One of the officers, Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of President Theodore Roosevelt, suggested an idea that had already crossed many of the men’s minds: an organization in which veterans could stay in touch, help each other, and work together after the fighting was over.
The officers wasted no time putting the idea into action. On March 15, 1919, about one thousand U.S. soldiers gathered in Paris for the very first meeting of the American Legion.
Today the Legion is the nation’s largest veterans’ organization, with about 2.6 million members. Men and women may join if they have served honorably in the U.S. armed forces during times of hostilities, such as World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and Iraq War.
The Legion’s purpose is partly to help veterans continue friendships formed during military service. It also gives members a way to keep serving their country. The American Legion has built parks and playgrounds, donated equipment to hospitals and fire halls, sponsored Boy Scout troops and youth baseball leagues, promoted the study of the Constitution in schools, and much more.
For God and Country is the American Legion motto. The organization has 14,000 posts worldwide. There is probably one near you, and your community is almost certainly a better place for it.
Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York; Roll: 1079; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 0723; FHL microfilm: 1241079.
Source Information:
New York, New York, Marriage Indexes
Name: Theodore Jr Roosevelt
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 20 Jun 1910
Marriage Place: Manhattan, New York, USA
Spouse: Eleanor Alexander
Certificate Number: 12940
Source Information:Ancestry.com. New York, New York, Marriage Indexes 1866-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Census 1920
Name: Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Age: 31
Birth Year: abt 1889
Birthplace: New York
Home in 1920: Manhattan Assembly District 14, New York, New York
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Eleanor Roosevelt
Father's Birthplace: New York
Mother's Birthplace: New York
Neighbors:
Household Members:
Name Age
Theodore Roosevelt 31
Eleanor Roosevelt 30
Grace Roosevelt 8
Theodore Roosevelt 4 [4 6/12]
Cornelius Roosevelt 4
Quentin Roosevelt 0 [2/12]
Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Manhattan Assembly District 14, New York, New York; Roll: T625_1211; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 1032; Image: 919.
Census 1930
Name: Theodore Roosevelt
Gender: Male
Birth Year: abt 1888
Birthplace: New York
Race: Blanco (White)
Home in 1930: San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Jefe (Head)
Spouse's Name: Eleonor Butler De Roosevelt
Father's Birthplace: New York
Mother's Birthplace: New York
Household Members:
Name Age
Theodore Roosevelt 42
Eleonor Butler De Roosevelt 41
Quentin Roosevelt 10
Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Roll: 2661; Page: 26A; Enumeration District: 0002; Image: 80.0; FHL microfilm: 2342395.
Burial
Youngs Memorial Cemetery * , Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York
"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch [1] : accessed 17 Jun 2014), Theodore Roosevelt, Oyster Bay Township, Election District 5, Nassau, New York, United States; citing sheet 16A, family 301, NARA microfilm publication T623, FHL microfilm 1241079.
"New York, State Census, 1925," index, FamilySearch [2] : accessed 17 Jun 2014), Theodore Roosevelt, Providence, A.D. 01, E.D. 01, Saratoga, New York, United States; from "New York, State Census, 1925," index and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing state population census schedules, 1925, p. 4, line 05, New York State Archives, Albany.
Death Record: "United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch [3] : accessed 17 Jun 2014, null, May 1975; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Theodore by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA test-takers in his direct paternal line.
Mitochondrial DNA test-takers in the direct maternal line:
The personal jeep of General Theodore Roosevelt III had its name painted on it: "Rough Rider". This name reflects back to the name given to the men who served under his Father in the Spanish American War.
Congratulations to the managers and team who put together this wonderful biography of Theodore jr. I really enjoyed learning about this American hero and son of a president I have long admired.
Hannah and John's daughter, Annetje Bogart and her marriage to Jacobus Roosevelt; and
Annetje and Jacobus' son James Roosevelt.