Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt



TR and the Medal of Honor

Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to:

Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt
United States Army


for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt distinquished himself by acts of bravery on July 1, 1898, near Santiago de Cuba, Republic of Cuba, while leading a daring charge up San Juan Hill. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt, in total disregard for his personal safety and accompanied by only four or five men, lead a desperate and gallant charge up San Juan Hill, encouraging his troops to continue the assault through withering enemy fire over open countryside. Facing the enemy's heavy fire, he displayed extraordinary bravery throughout the charge, and was the first to reach the enemy's trenches, where he quickly killed one of the enemy with his pistol, allowing his men to continue the assault. His leadership and valor turned the tide in the Battle of San Juan Hill. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
- from the presentation ceremony, Roosevelt Room of the White House, January 16, 2001

"TR [is] the first president to win the Medal of Honor, and the only winnner of the Nobel Peace Prize to receive the Medal of Honor. Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. was, it should be noted, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his brave leadership at the D-Day landings in 1944, during World War II. He died of a heart attack shortly after D-Day. President Theodore Roosevelt and his son Brig. Gen. Ted Roosevelt [are] the second father and son to the Medal of Honor. The only other father and son duo to hold the Medal are General Arthur MacArthur (Civil War) and his son General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur (World War II). TR's victory in Congress during the centennial year of the Spanish-American War writes a new ending to that chapter in all the TR biographies. History isn't over till it is over."
- from the 'Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal', Vol. XXII, No. 4, 1998



TR Excerpts

"With all my heart I believe in the joy of living; but those who achieve it do not seek it as an end in itself, but as a seized and prized incident of hard work well done and of risk and danger never wontonly courted, but never shirked when duty commands that they be faced. And those who have earned joy, but are rewarded only with sorrow, must learn the stern comfort dear to great souls, the comfort that springs from the knowledge taught in times of iron that the law of worthy living is not fulfilled by pleasure, but by service, and by sacrifice when only thereby can service be rendered."
'The Great Adventure', Theodore Roosevelt, 1918




Here's a list of books in my collection by and about Theodore Roosevelt:

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