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Quentin Roosevelt II

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Quentin Roosevelt II
Born(1919-11-04)November 4, 1919
Oyster Bay, New York
DiedDecember 21, 1948(1948-12-21) (aged 29)
Basalt Island, Hong Kong
Place of burial (Cenotaph Only)
Youngs Memorial Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1941–1945
Rank Major
Unit1st Infantry Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
* Battle of Kasserine Pass
* Battle of Normandy
Awards
Spouse(s)Frances Blanche Webb (m. 1944)
Children
Other workDirector 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

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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.[1][2] 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.[3][4] Life magazine published images from his journey, which he made at the age of 19.[5]

Military career

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He graduated from Groton School followed by Harvard College in 1941 and soon after joined the Army.

World War II

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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.[6]

During the war, he fought in the Battle of Kasserine Pass (February 1943).[7] 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

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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.[8] There is no clear record of recovery or disposition of his remains, but they are believed to have been left on Basalt Island.[9] A memorial gravestone for him is located at his wife's grave in Youngs Cemetery in Oyster Bay, New York.[10] [11] A memorial was placed for him on Basalt Island.

Family

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See also: Roosevelt family

On April 12, 1944, he married Frances Blanche Webb,[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]

Military awards

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Roosevelt's decorations and awards include:

Arrowhead
Bronze star
Bronze star
Combat Infantryman Badge
Silver Star
Purple Heart American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal
European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
w/ Arrowhead device and two 3/16" bronze stars 		World War II Victory Medal French Croix de Guerre

Works

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References

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  1. ^ Roosevelt, Q.; Burden, J. W. (1934). "A new species of antilocaprine, Tetrameryx onusrosagris, from a Pleistocene cave deposit in southern Arizona". American Museum Novitates (754). AMNH: 1–4. hdl:2246/2114. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  2. ^ "Burden's Pronghorn: an Arizona Story". Prehistoric Pronghorn. International Wildlife Museum. Archived from the original on 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  3. ^ "Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II". loc.gov.
  4. ^ "Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II". loc.gov.
  5. ^ "LIFE". google.com. 8 January 1940.
  6. ^ "Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II". memory.loc.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  7. ^ Nye, Logan (21 June 2015). "This father-son team invaded Africa and Normandy together". We Are The Mighty. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Quentin Roosevelt Killed in Air Crash". New York Times, December 22, 1948
  9. ^ David Pickerell (19 November 2007). "Basalt Island Crash Investigation" (PDF). Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  10. ^ "Circumstances of the Crash on Balsalt Island, Flight originated in Shanghai", Crash of Airplane carrying Quentin Roosevelt II on December 21, 1948, www.cnac.org, retrieved 2008-09-30
  11. ^ "Maj Quentin Roosevelt, II (1919 - 1948) - Find A Grave Memorial". findagrave.com.
  12. ^ "Frances Roosevelt, Portrait Artist, 78", The New York Times, September 13, 1995
  13. ^ "Alexandra Roosevelt Wed To Dr. Ronald W. Dworkin", The New York Times, March 6, 1988
  14. ^ "The Weld's of Harvard Yard", Harvard Magazine, Craig A. Lambert
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