Theodore Roosevelt III (1887 - 1944)

Born 13 Sep 1887 in Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York, United States of America

Ancestors

Died 12 Jul 1944 at age 56 in Normandy, France

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Theodore Roosevelt III was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Theodore Roosevelt III was awarded the Légion d'honneur.

This profile won Profile of the Week the Fourth week of April 2014.

Biography

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.

Hon Theodore was born in 1887. He is the son of Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Carow. ^[1]

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.

Wikipedia Theodore Roosevelt Jr

^[2]

The American Legion

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.

The American Legion Daily Almanac

Sources

Census 1900

Name: Theodore Roosevelt

Age: 12

Birth Date: Dec 1887

Birthplace: New York

Home in 1900: Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York

Race: White

Gender: Male

Relation to Head of House: Son

Marital Status: Single

Father's Name: Theodore Roosevelt

Father's Birthplace: New York

Mother's name: Edith C Roosevelt

Mother's Birthplace: New York

Occupation:

Household Members:

Name Age

Theodore Roosevelt 41

Edith C Roosevelt 38

Alice Roosevelt 16

Theodore Roosevelt 12

Kenneth Roosevelt 10

Ethel Roosevelt 8

Archer Roosevelt 6

Quentin Roosevelt 2

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

• Cenotaph Find A Grave: Memorial #5998

Sources

• "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).

See Also:

• Military Times Hall of Valor Medals and Awards of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

• Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Brigadier General, U.S. Army and Medal of Honor

Acknowledgements

• M. Hammond for the additions to the profile

1. ↑ Entered by Stanley Wood, May 22, 2012
2. ↑ Entered by Laura Lee Scott, Mar 15, 2014