Even if it is for 30 seconds, do some meditation and tell yourself how lucky you are you didn't have to participate in D-Day
Tomorrow is an important date.
- Thread starter Jimmy McGill
- Start date
Enjoy seeing how grateful the French still are.
My grandpa jumped in...I/3/506 PIR
Wow. Impressive. I couldn't jump out of a perfectly good plane. I know, pussy.
I don't think that is accurate. However of Teddy's 4 sons, they all served and 3 died in service.
Theodore Roosevelt’s four sons inherited their father’s burning desire to serve in uniform when duty called. Given their father’s heroics during his own crowded hour, it would have been nearly impossible for TR’s sons not to test themselves in the crucible of battle.
Quentin, the youngest son, was killed during aerial combat near Chaméry, France, on July 14, 1918. Had he survived the first world war, Quentin would have surely followed his three older brothers’ example of volunteering for military service in both world wars.
Ted, the oldest son, petitioned General George Marshall to post him to active duty in early 1941. At age 54, Colonel Ted Roosevelt was given command of his old unit, the 26th Infantry of the First Division. By early 1942 he had been promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Eleanor, who had accompanied her husband to France during the previous war, assisted with Red Cross efforts in Great Britain during the conflict.
After participating in combat operations in North Africa, Ted participated in the Allied landing at Normandy on June 6, 1944. General Roosevelt, whose leadership played a key role in the successful Allied landing at Utah Beach, earned the Medal of Honor (an honor his father would later receive posthumously). Ted’s son, Quentin II, also participated in the Allied landing at Normandy, making Ted and Quentin II the only father and son team to participate in the assault. At 57, Ted was the oldest soldier to land at Normandy. Ted, who also played a key role in the siege of Cherbourg, suffered a fatal heart attack a few weeks later on July 11, 1944. He was buried in the American cemetery in Sainte-Laurent-sur-Mer, near Normandy. Quentin's remains were reinterred next to his older brother the following year.
In 1942, Archie, the youngest of the surviving brothers, asked FDR for a military commission. During World War II Lieutenant Colonel Archie Roosevelt commanded a battalion of the 162nd Infantry, 41st Division in New Guinea through 1943 and into early 1944. Archie, a highly decorated war hero for the second time, received the Silver Star with Bronze Oak Leaf Custer.
Before American forces joined the fight, Kermit, a decorated World War I veteran, informed FDR of his intentions to assist British forces during their time of need. With the help of an old family friend, Winston Churchill, Kermit secured a commission as a Major in the Middlesex Regiment. After assisting Finnish refugees and participating in an ill-fated 1940 Norwegian expedition, Kermit was deployed to Egypt where he remained until his excessive drinking and failing health led to his military discharge in the spring of 1941.
Following Kermit’s return to the United States, Archie encouraged his troubled brother to seek treatment. Both Archie and Belle, Kermit’s wife, hoping that military service would aid in Kermit’s recovery, lobbied FDR to find a place for Kermit. After refusing a stateside post as an information officer, Major Kermit Roosevelt accepted an assignment to Fort Richardson, Alaska, where he helped organize a territorial militia to fight Japanese forces in the Aleutian Islands. Kermit, whose health continued to fail, returned to the United States on medical leave in early 1943. After discovering that Kermit was traveling the country with his mistress, Belle requested that he be returned to active duty at once. Physically unfit for duty and unable to control his drinking, a despondent Kermit committed suicide on June 4, 1943. Following family tradition, he was buried “where he fell,” at Fort Richardson.
All of Theodore Roosevelt’s four sons answered the call to military service. Sadly, three of them – Ted, Quentin, and Kermit – died as a result of their service. The only surviving son, Archie, a highly decorated combat veteran, sustained serious injuries in both world wars. Interestingly, Archie Roosevelt was the only United States soldier to receive 100 percent disability as a result of wounds sustained in each of the world wars.
Quentin, the youngest son, was killed during aerial combat near Chaméry, France, on July 14, 1918. Had he survived the first world war, Quentin would have surely followed his three older brothers’ example of volunteering for military service in both world wars.
Ted, the oldest son, petitioned General George Marshall to post him to active duty in early 1941. At age 54, Colonel Ted Roosevelt was given command of his old unit, the 26th Infantry of the First Division. By early 1942 he had been promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Eleanor, who had accompanied her husband to France during the previous war, assisted with Red Cross efforts in Great Britain during the conflict.
After participating in combat operations in North Africa, Ted participated in the Allied landing at Normandy on June 6, 1944. General Roosevelt, whose leadership played a key role in the successful Allied landing at Utah Beach, earned the Medal of Honor (an honor his father would later receive posthumously). Ted’s son, Quentin II, also participated in the Allied landing at Normandy, making Ted and Quentin II the only father and son team to participate in the assault. At 57, Ted was the oldest soldier to land at Normandy. Ted, who also played a key role in the siege of Cherbourg, suffered a fatal heart attack a few weeks later on July 11, 1944. He was buried in the American cemetery in Sainte-Laurent-sur-Mer, near Normandy. Quentin's remains were reinterred next to his older brother the following year.
In 1942, Archie, the youngest of the surviving brothers, asked FDR for a military commission. During World War II Lieutenant Colonel Archie Roosevelt commanded a battalion of the 162nd Infantry, 41st Division in New Guinea through 1943 and into early 1944. Archie, a highly decorated war hero for the second time, received the Silver Star with Bronze Oak Leaf Custer.
Before American forces joined the fight, Kermit, a decorated World War I veteran, informed FDR of his intentions to assist British forces during their time of need. With the help of an old family friend, Winston Churchill, Kermit secured a commission as a Major in the Middlesex Regiment. After assisting Finnish refugees and participating in an ill-fated 1940 Norwegian expedition, Kermit was deployed to Egypt where he remained until his excessive drinking and failing health led to his military discharge in the spring of 1941.
Following Kermit’s return to the United States, Archie encouraged his troubled brother to seek treatment. Both Archie and Belle, Kermit’s wife, hoping that military service would aid in Kermit’s recovery, lobbied FDR to find a place for Kermit. After refusing a stateside post as an information officer, Major Kermit Roosevelt accepted an assignment to Fort Richardson, Alaska, where he helped organize a territorial militia to fight Japanese forces in the Aleutian Islands. Kermit, whose health continued to fail, returned to the United States on medical leave in early 1943. After discovering that Kermit was traveling the country with his mistress, Belle requested that he be returned to active duty at once. Physically unfit for duty and unable to control his drinking, a despondent Kermit committed suicide on June 4, 1943. Following family tradition, he was buried “where he fell,” at Fort Richardson.
All of Theodore Roosevelt’s four sons answered the call to military service. Sadly, three of them – Ted, Quentin, and Kermit – died as a result of their service. The only surviving son, Archie, a highly decorated combat veteran, sustained serious injuries in both world wars. Interestingly, Archie Roosevelt was the only United States soldier to receive 100 percent disability as a result of wounds sustained in each of the world wars.
Leftists have no right to ponder in this manner....especially a prosecutor of combat troops...........
Don't know about 2, but TRJr (he was a Brigadier General, 1 star) was the highest ranking service member to land (Utah Beach IIRC). He did die during the Normandy Campaign, but it was of a heart attack a couple of weeks later.
You know it's a little known fact that War, What is it Good For was Tolstoy's original title of War and Peace. You have to wonder if it would have been as critically acclaimed had he kept the original title.
Did a WW 2 tour last year. We crossed the English Channel on the 5th and spent the 6th on Omaha Beach, Point du Hoc and the American Cemetary. Also visited a German Cemetary. The trip went through France, Luxemburg, Bastogne Belgium, and finished in Munich. As we went through different American Cemetaries I took pictures of markers of Iowans and searched their names when I got home. So many amazing stories from this trip. Was definitely a bucket list trip. God bless all of those that sacrificed so much.
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Mrs. Ryan lost all but one son and they sent a team looking for him
Dad died in March. He dropped out of HS when he was 17 so he didn't miss the war. He joined the Navy but by the time his training was over and his assignment came down the Euro war was over and shortly the bomb ended the Pacific War and he was stuck returning troops and equipment from the Philippines to Hawaii for the next 4 years. He would have been 96 in April, so there can't be many D Day survivors who aren't 98 or older. He went on an Honor Flight a couple of years ago and there weren't many WWII vets left then, mostly Vietnam and a few Korean War vets...
I'm glad he didn't have to see combat. But bringing troops home was a saintful act.
His character was portrayed by the actor Henry Fonda in The Longest Day, IIRC.
I didn't realize he died from a heart attack within a couple of weeks of the landing.
Day Day always is front and center as it should be, but the casualty rates on Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Guadalcanal were nearly 33% of the fighting force...
I know this. Pacific was hell.
If D-Day had failed. We would be living in a different world.
Thanks Hitler for being an idiot and not listening to intel reports
Do we have to thank the Russians too, for absorbing 20,000,000 deaths? I guess a little...
When I watch the documentaries of the battle of Stalingrad, I can hardly believe men could endure without putting the gun to their own heads when it was -30 with 50 mph winds...
They didn't have a choice. Stalin put machine gunners behind the front lines with orders to shoot anyone retreating.
No doubt, but Stalingrad was where the tide turned. Had Hitler listened to the generals, they would never have been in Russia till much later in the war...
If I only take one more trip in my life...I want it to be this ^^ one.
Trump and Here 4 a day are still calling brave dead soldiers from Normandy "losers and suckers". Shameful.
Think some people are confused because an NBC story this week shows two graves of Roosevelts but one is Quentin who died in WW1 and later moved to be with his brother.
FWIW the average age of the US assault force was 26.
Did anyone survive the first wave of D-Day?
Well over 90% of the first wave survived. The losses, while large, where not prohibitive or decisive. In fact, of the total of 34.000 troops in the first wave, the casualties were around 2.400, well below 10%.Feb 24, 2022
Was in Normandy last July. The bomb craters are still there. The bunkers are still there.
Sobering.
Sobering.
Had a relative who did.
I plan to binge watch Band of Brothers tomorrow. It’s my 6-6 tradition.
So one could say none of em were Fortunate Sons?
Spiers quote of "Blithe the only hope you have is to accept the fact you are all ready dead"
Still gives me chills when I watch
