Quentin Roosevelt II
{{Short description|Fourth child of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Quentin Roosevelt II
|birth_date= {{birth date|1919|11|04|mf=yes}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1948|12|21|1919|11|04|mf=yes}}
|birth_place= Oyster Bay, New York, US
|death_place=Basalt Island, Hong Kong
|spouse= Frances Blanche Webb (m. 1944)
|children={{flatlist|*Alexandra
|image=Quentin Roosevelt II.jpg
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance= United States
|branch= United States Army
|serviceyears=1941–1945
|rank=Major
|unit=1st Infantry Division
|servicenumber = 0-417669
|commands=
|battles= {{tree list}}
{{tree list/end}}
|awards=
{{plainlist|
}}
|laterwork=Director of the China National Aviation Corporation
}}
Quentin Roosevelt II (November 4, 1919 – December 21, 1948) was the fourth child and youngest son of Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt III and Eleanor Butler Alexander. He was the namesake of his uncle Quentin Roosevelt I, who was killed in action in 1918 during World War I. His elder brothers were World War II veterans Theodore Roosevelt IV and Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt III. He was a grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Life
Quentin Roosevelt II was born on November 4, 1919, in Oyster Bay, New York, less than one year after the death of his grandfather, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States.
Roosevelt published a paper through the American Museum of Natural History in 1934, describing a new species of fossil pronghorn that he and a boyhood friend, Joseph W. Burden, had found in a cave in southern Arizona.{{cite journal | last1 = Roosevelt | first1 = Q. | last2 = Burden | first2 = J. W. | title = A new species of antilocaprine, Tetrameryx onusrosagris, from a Pleistocene cave deposit in southern Arizona | journal = American Museum Novitates | issue = 754 | pages = 1–4 | publisher = AMNH | date = 1934 | hdl = 2246/2114 | url = http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/2114 | access-date = 2015-11-21}}{{cite web | url = http://www.thewildlifemuseum.org/exhibits/prehistoric-pronghorn/burdens-pronghorn-an-arizona-story/ | title = Burden's Pronghorn: an Arizona Story | website = Prehistoric Pronghorn | publisher = International Wildlife Museum | access-date = 2015-11-21 | archive-date = 2015-11-22 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151122052602/http://www.thewildlifemuseum.org/exhibits/prehistoric-pronghorn/burdens-pronghorn-an-arizona-story/ | url-status = dead }} He attended Harvard College, where he wrote his senior thesis on some Nakhi (Naxi) manuscripts he had collected while visiting Western China at the border of Tibet.{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/intldl/naxihtml/roosevelt.html|title=Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II|work=loc.gov}}{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/intldl/naxihtml/roosevelt.html|title=Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II|work=loc.gov}} Life magazine published images from his journey, which he made at the age of 19.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mj8EAAAAMBAJ&q=Buddhism+-+study+of+its+history+takes+Quentin+Roosevelt+to+Tibet.&pg=PA30|title=LIFE|work=google.com|date=8 January 1940}}
Military career
He graduated from Groton School followed by Harvard College in 1941 and soon after joined the Army.
=World War II=
Roosevelt served in the 1st Infantry Division, alongside his father. He served as an artillery officer in the unit.
In 1942, he was seriously wounded by machine gun fire from a German aircraft but survived, and returned to service within a year.{{Cite web|title=Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II|url=https://memory.loc.gov/intldl/naxihtml/roosevelt.html|access-date=2022-01-31|website=memory.loc.gov}}
During the war, he fought in the Battle of Kasserine Pass (February 1943).{{cite web|last1=Nye|first1=Logan|title=This father-son team invaded Africa and Normandy together|url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/father-son-roosevelt-world-war-2|website=We Are The Mighty|access-date=27 April 2018|language=en|date=21 June 2015}} Roosevelt was among the first wave of soldiers to land at Omaha Beach while his father landed with the first wave at Utah Beach on D-Day.
Roosevelt earned the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and French Croix de Guerre for his war service. He was promoted to major by the end of war and left active service.
Death
While serving as the Director of the China National Aviation Corporation, he was killed in a plane crash in Hong Kong, on December 21, 1948. He was 29. His C-54 plane crashed on a mountain on Basalt Island, near Sai Kung. All 35 on board were killed instantly.[https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=FA071EFF385B177A93C0AB1789D95F4C8485F9 "Quentin Roosevelt Killed in Air Crash"]. New York Times, December 22, 1948 There is no clear record of recovery or disposition of his remains, but they are believed to have been left on Basalt Island.{{cite news|title=Basalt Island Crash Investigation|url=http://www.cnac.org/sundby03.pdf|access-date=10 August 2015|author=David Pickerell|date=19 November 2007}}
Family
{{seealso|Roosevelt family}}
On April 12, 1944, he married Frances Blanche Webb,[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/13/obituaries/frances-roosevelt-portrait-artist-78.html?pagewanted=1 "Frances Roosevelt, Portrait Artist, 78"], The New York Times, September 13, 1995 an American Red Cross worker, at Blandford Forum. They had three daughters: Alexandra, Susan Roosevelt Weld, and Anna C. Roosevelt, a noted archaeologist specializing in Amazonia, who won a MacArthur Fellowship. Alexandra married Ronald W. Dworkin.[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/06/style/alexandra-roosevelt-wed-to-dr-ronald-w-dworkin.html?pagewanted=1 "Alexandra Roosevelt Wed To Dr. Ronald W. Dworkin"], The New York Times, March 6, 1988 Susan graduated from Harvard University with a JD and PhD, and was married to former Massachusetts Governor William Weld; they had five children: David Minot Weld, Ethel Derby Weld, Mary B. Weld, Quentin Roosevelt Weld, and Frances Wylie Weld.[http://harvardmagazine.com/1998/11/welds.html "The Weld's of Harvard Yard"], Harvard Magazine, Craig A. Lambert
Military awards
Roosevelt's decorations and awards include:
| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |
| colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Combat_Infantry_Badge.svg|width=205|alt=}} |
| colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Silver_Star_ribbon.svg|width=110}} |
| {{ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=110|alt=}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|other_device=arrowhead|ribbon=European-African-Middle_Eastern_Campaign_ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|ribbon=Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon.svg|width=110}} |
| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |
| colspan="3"|Combat Infantryman Badge |
| colspan="3"|Silver Star |
| Purple Heart |
| European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal w/ Arrowhead device and two 3/16" bronze stars |
Works
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=mj8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=Buddhism+-+study+of+its+history+takes+Quentin+Roosevelt+to+Tibet.&pg=PA30 "Buddhism"], Life, Jan 8, 1940
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20121024030957/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799654,00.html?promoid=googlep Obituary, Time, Monday, January 03, 1949]
- Associated Press, [http://www.cnac.org/roosevelt01.htm "Quentin Roosevelt Killed In Plane Crash"] (December 22, 1948) New York Times, p. 8.
- [http://www.exploresaikung.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=177:hong-kongs-roosevelt-connection&catid=39:people Hong Kong's Roosevelt Connection - Basalt Island's Air Crash] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611092246/http://www.exploresaikung.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=177:hong-kongs-roosevelt-connection&catid=39:people |date=2011-06-11 }}
- [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19481221-0 Aviation Safety Network, Accident description, N8342C] (accessed 2015-04-05)
{{Theodore Roosevelt}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Quentin, II}}
Category:People from Oyster Bay (town), New York
Category:Military personnel from New York (state)
Category:Harvard College alumni
Category:American people of Dutch descent
Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Hong Kong
Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)
Category:Recipients of the Silver Star
Category:20th-century American politicians
Category:United States Army personnel of World War II