Patton wrote in his diary that Roosevelt was one of the bravest men he had ever known. Years later Omar Bradley was asked to name the single most heroic thing he witnessed in all of World War II. He didn't pause. He said, "Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach."

X.com ^ | July 12, 2026 | Voices of WW2 @VoicesofWW2

[ransomnote]

Roger Stone reposted

Voices of WW2

@VoicesofWW2

·
Jul 12

On this day in 1944, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. died in his sleep in a stone farmhouse in Normandy. He was 56 years old, and he had spent almost his entire adult life trying to be worthy of a famous last name.

He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt. In the First World War he went to France and was gassed and badly wounded at Soissons leading his men. That same summer his younger brother Quentin, a pilot, was shot down and killed over France. Ted came home with lungs and a leg that never fully recovered, and before he even left Europe he helped found the American Legion so that ordinary soldiers would have someone looking out for them.

Between the wars he did almost everything. Governor of Puerto Rico. Governor General of the Philippines. Businessman, explorer, writer. He could have spent the Second World War safe behind a desk. Instead, at 54, arthritic and walking with a cane, he talked his way back into uniform and into combat.

By 1943 he was fighting in North Africa and Sicily under Terry Allen, and their loose, unpolished, soldier-first style rubbed General Patton the wrong way. Patton had them both relieved of command. Roosevelt didn't sulk. He asked for another job, any job, as long as it kept him near the fighting. They made him assistant commander of the 4th Infantry Division.

Then came D-Day. He hid a heart condition from the Army doctors. He wrote to his commander three separate times, in writing, begging to go in with the very first wave rather than watch from a ship. He was the only general to land in the first wave on any beach that morning, the oldest man in the invasion, walking through machine gun fire with a cane in one hand and a pistol in the other.

The boats came in a mile off course. Officers froze. Roosevelt limped up and down the beach under fire, studied the ground, and said, "We'll start the war from right here." Then he spent the morning waving men forward and sorting out the chaos so calmly that terrified 20 year olds looked at this old man with a cane and decided that if he wasn't scared, they wouldn't be either.

His son Quentin, named for the uncle killed in the last war, landed at Omaha Beach the same morning. They were the only father and son to come ashore together on D-Day.

He died a month later. A heart attack in his sleep. And here is the part that gets me. On the very day he died, the orders had just come through promoting him to major general and giving him his own division. He never saw the paperwork. He never knew he'd earned the Medal of Honor either.

At his funeral his pallbearers were seven of the most famous generals of the war, Bradley, Hodges, Collins, Barton, Huebner, and George Patton. The same Patton who had fired him. Patton wrote in his diary that Roosevelt was one of the bravest men he had ever known.

Years later Omar Bradley was asked to name the single most heroic thing he witnessed in all of World War II. He didn't pause. He said, "Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach."

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TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: 0712; 194407; 19440712; dday; godsgravesglyphs; omahabeach; roosevelt; rooseveltjr; tedroosevelt; theodorerooseveljr; theodorerooseveltjr; utahbeach; wwii

[Hebrews 11:6]

The cast was a Who’s-Who of international male actors, but they gave tribute to TR by giving his role to one of that era’s giants, Henry Fonda.

[rlmorel]

Yes… it is one of the movies that I own. The United States needed a leader at that time, and Halsey provided it.

Really remarkable acting job by Cagney.

And that scene you mentioned, that was real leadership. He could’ve pulled rank, but he didn’t.

[RoosterRedux]

Bfl

[Governor Dinwiddie]

The best thing about Ted Roosevelt Jr. is that he did't turn into a ballerina.

[rlmorel]

You are most welcome… I have taken to writing things down like this instead of impressed me in things that I read, it serves us a way to keep them fresh in my memory. Otherwise, they begin to fade and mixed together as I get older… :-)

So I enjoy sharing those things when I can think of them.

[rlmorel]

Yes… It was a gigantic cast. I was always impressed at how many names they got, but I’ll bet they all campaigned to be in it.

Sigh. Before Hollywood turned into what it is today.

[rlmorel]

I fully get why many conservatives dislike Teddy Roosevelt, but I can’t help liking him. He was tough and had real guts.

[EinNYC]

What a wonderful story. So very glad you posted it.

I'd rather spend my time reading about such a great American than reading about trash like Mandummy, Shi___, AOC, and their Golum-grade ilk.

[SunkenCiv]

As it happens, “The Gallant Hours” is free with ads on YouTube, I just had it pop up in recommended on the Roku and started watching. Thanks!

[sasportas]

The heroism of Roosevelt at Utah Beach is one thing, being assistant commander of the Big Red One with “Terrible” Terry Allen through the toughest part of the war in Africa and Sicily, is another. Many consider the Big Red One (1st Infantry Division) under these two commanders, the toughest American infantry division of WW2.

Glad to see this posted about Roosevelt, like Terry Allen, greatly beloved by the men under him.

[SunkenCiv]

My favorite may be “I have just pissed into the Rhine River. For God’s sake, send some gasoline.”

[21twelve]

“...and he had spent almost his entire adult life trying to be worthy of a famous last name.”

I recall a story about Teddy Roosevelt when he was a rancher in North Dakota. Three men had taken some cattle and Roosevelt went down the river in a row boat to capture them. He finally caught up to them and got the draw on them.

I don’t recall exactly how it went, but it was three(?) days that they had to walk back to the ranch. To make sure they didn’t escape, Roosevelt stayed awake the entire time and reciting (or reading??) a book.

When he turned them over to the Sheriff the sheriff said “Why did you go to all of the trouble? You should have just killed them when you found them?

Roosevelt said something like “Well, I thought that might ruin my chances when I run for mayor.” (Or governor or whatever.)

[21twelve]

Shoot - I should have looked it up first. It was boat thieves. Here’s the full (and accurate) story:

https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/roosevelt-pursues-boat-thieves.htm

[gleeaikin]

I just hope your spawn have had or will have an appropriate opportunity to prove their worth to our country.

[The Duke]

"If I preorder, will you start writing tonight?"

I must first finish up a SciFi book that I'm working on. I've completed the book, but am now making a final pass. This will be my first work of fiction, and it's been enjoyable to write. And, I have another Dystopian SciFi book that's at about the 50% mark.

The book I'm about to release is titled "Team Extreme: Day of the Machines", and is about a rogue AI that has taken over the US and a group of extreme sports athletes who attack its data center.

The dystopian book I have in progress is titled "Han's Journey". It's inspired by the old fiction book "Heiro's Journey", and is about a Chinese super-spy who travels across a collapsed US on an old Harley motorcycle to halt the timed release of a super bio-weapon at NORAD. In that book the intense descriptions of the martial arts fight scenes are inspired by the 70's book series "K'ing Kung Fu", by Marshall Macao. The main character, Han Lee, was originally intended to be a Chinese version of the 1960's character Derek Flynt, played by James Coburn, however the character seems to be taking on a life of his own. The book also has a supporting character - a former US Marine - who is very much inspired by the real-life actor Lee Marvin.

I am eager to start on "The Other Roosevelts" because TR's children have amazing stories that beg to be told.

I'm recently retired, so I finally have time to work on such things.

[rebelskid]

My dad worked for Terry Allen , Teddy jr. , Huebner in the Big Red 1 …. And also had pleasure of being arrested by Patton out In the middle of no where in the North African desert …. I stopped by Teddy’s grave in May to pay my respects … absolutely great men (my dad would disagree with all the Patton fluff though)

[af_vet_1981]

This is our history, this is our heritage. It should be taught in every public school.

[dennisw]

Yes, that’s Kermit “Kim” Roosevelt Jr. (1916–2000), grandson of Theodore Roosevelt.

en.wikipedia.org

He was a CIA officer (previously OSS during WWII) who served as the main on-the-ground architect and field commander of Operation Ajax (aka TPAJAX), the 1953 coup that overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and restored power to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

en.wikipedia.org

Key details:Role in Iran: He slipped into Iran under cover, coordinated with local networks, bribed officials and media, spread propaganda, and rallied pro-Shah forces. The first coup attempt on August 15 failed, but he ignored orders to flee, regrouped, and succeeded with a second push on August 19. Tactics included false flags, rumors, and exploiting divisions among nationalists, communists, and clerics.

npr.org

Background: Harvard-educated, he had extensive pre-CIA experience traveling the Middle East. He wasn’t just a desk guy—he was actively “jetting around” the region building contacts.

harvardmagazine.com

Aftermath: Eisenhower secretly awarded him the National Security Medal. He later wrote Countercoup (1979) about the operation. He left the CIA around 1958 and did consulting work, including for oil interests and even the Iranian government he helped install.

en.wikipedia.org

This was one of the CIA’s earliest major covert regime-change ops during the Cold War, driven by oil nationalization fears and anti-communist strategy. It remains highly controversial and is often cited as a root cause of long-term U.S.-Iran tensions.

openthemagazine.com

Other Roosevelts had government/military roles, but Kim was the standout “spook” with that specific Iran mischief.

4 web pages

[Chainmail]

God bless him.

[Sequoyah101]

I hope you enjoyed the movie.