Teddy Roosevelt's oldest son, Teddy Roosevelt Jr, (Picture of soldier with cane) would be the only general on D-Day to land with the first wave of troops. He was the first soldier off his landing craft as he led the U.S. 4th Infantry Division's landing at Utah Beach. Roosevelt was soon informed that the landing craft had drifted more than a mile south of their objective, and the first wave was a mile off course. Walking with the aid of a cane and carrying a pistol, he personally made a reconnaissance of the area immediately to the rear of the beach to locate the causeways that were to be used for the advance inland. He then returned to the point of landing and contacted the commanders of the two battalions, Lt. Cols. Conrad C. Simmons and Carlton O. MacNeely, and coordinated the attack on the enemy positions confronting them. Roosevelt's famous words in these circumstances were, "We’ll start the war from right here!" These impromptu plans worked with complete success and little confusion. With artillery landing close by, each follow-on regiment was personally welcomed on the beach by a cool, calm, and collected Roosevelt, who inspired all with humor and confidence. Ted pointed almost every regiment to its changed objective. Sometimes he worked under fire as a self-appointed traffic cop, untangling traffic jams of trucks and tanks all struggling to get inland and off the beach.
For his courage and leadership, Roosevelt would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on 28 September 1944.
Ted's actions on D-Day are portrayed in the film "The Longest Day", a 1962 film in which he was played by Henry Fonda. The movie incorrectly shows him dying in a moment of truimph on D-Day. The movie is based on the book "The Longest Day", published in 1959 by Cornelius Ryan.
Throughout World War II, Ted suffered from health problems. He had arthritis, mostly from old World War I injuries, and walked with a cane. He also had heart trouble. One month after the landing at Utah Beach, he died of a heart attack in France. He is buried at the American Cemetery in Normandy next to his brother, Lt. Quentin Roosevelt.(Picture of soldier with dog) Quentin had been a fighter pilot in World War I and his Newport biplane had been shot down by a German plane behind German lines. He was buried in France and was reburied next to his brother at Normandy after World War II.. When his father, the former President, heard of Quentin's death it broke his heart and the leader of the Rough Riders died a short while later. Teddy Roosevelt Sr was later also awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War. The two sons of Teddy Roosevelt are buried in Block D; Row 28; Graves 45 &46 at the American Normandy Cemetery in France. Some day I will pay my respects at their graves.
