“In 1944 General Eisenhower assigned Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. to England to help lead the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944.”
On D-Day, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., led the first wave of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division’s landing at Utah Beach and earned the Medal of Honor.
His Medal of Honor Citation reads in part, ‘He repeatedly led groups from the beach, over the seawall and established them inland. His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete unconcern at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self-sacrifice.’
Although the enemy had the beach under constant direct fire, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt moved from one locality to another, rallying men around him, directed and personally led them against the enemy.
Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strong points and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties. He thus contributed substantially to the successful establishment of the beachhead in France.’
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, Quentin, a WW I air corps pilot shot down and killed behind enemy lines July 14, 1918.”
Roosevelt was the son of the Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt Sr. The Medal of Honor was presented to Roosevelt’s widow by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who Roosevelt Jr.’s distant cousin.
Source: National Society, Sons of the American Revolution