Quentin Roosevelt II
Quentin Roosevelt II | |
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Born | Oyster Bay, New York | November 4, 1919
Died | December 21, 1948 Basalt Island,Hong Kong | (aged 29)
Place of burial (Cenotaph Only) | |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1941–1945 |
Rank | ![]() |
Unit | 1st Infantry Division |
Battles/wars | World War II *Battle of Kasserine Pass *Battle of Normandy |
Awards | |
Spouse(s) | Frances Blanche Webb (m. 1944) |
Children | |
Other work | Director of theChina National Aviation Corporation |
Quentin Roosevelt II(November 4, 1919 – December 21, 1948) was the fourth child and youngest son ofTheodore "Ted" Roosevelt IIIandEleanor Butler Alexander.He was thenamesakeof his uncleQuentin Roosevelt I,who waskilled in actionin 1918 duringWorld War I.His elder brothers wereWorld War IIveteransTheodore Roosevelt IVandCornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt III.He was a grandson of PresidentTheodore Roosevelt.
Life[edit]
Quentin Roosevelt II was born on November 4, 1919, inOyster Bay, New York,less than one year after the death of his grandfather, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26thpresident of the United States.
Roosevelt published a paper through theAmerican Museum of Natural Historyin 1934, describing a new species offossil pronghornthat he and a boyhood friend, Joseph W. Burden, had found in a cave in southern Arizona.[1][2]He attendedHarvard 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]Lifemagazine published images from his journey, which he made at the age of 19.[5]
Military career[edit]
He graduated fromGroton Schoolfollowed byHarvard Collegein 1941 and soon after joined the Army.
World War II[edit]
Roosevelt served in the1st 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 theBattle of Kasserine Pass(February 1943).[7]Roosevelt was among the first wave of soldiers to land atOmaha Beachwhile his father landed with the first wave atUtah BeachonD-Day.
Roosevelt earned theSilver Star,Purple Heart,andFrench Croix de Guerrefor his war service. He was promoted tomajorby the end of war and left active service.
Death[edit]
While serving as the Director of theChina National Aviation Corporation,he was killed in a plane crash inHong Kong,on December 21, 1948. He was 29. HisC-54plane crashed on a mountain onBasalt Island,nearSai 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 inOyster Bay,New York.[10] [11]A memorial was placed for him on Basalt Island.
Family[edit]
On April 12, 1944, he married Frances Blanche Webb,[12]an American Red Cross worker, atBlandford Forum.They had three daughters: Alexandra,Susan Roosevelt Weld,andAnna C. Roosevelt,a noted archaeologist specializing in Amazonia, who won aMacArthur Fellowship.Alexandra married Ronald W. Dworkin.[13]Susan graduated fromHarvard Universitywith a JD and PhD, and was married to former Massachusetts GovernorWilliam Weld;they had five children: David Minot Weld, Ethel Derby Weld, Mary B. Weld, Quentin Roosevelt Weld, and Frances Wylie Weld.[14]
Military awards[edit]
Roosevelt's decorations and awards include:
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Works[edit]
- "Buddhism",Life,Jan 8, 1940
References[edit]
- ^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.Retrieved2015-11-21.
- ^"Burden's Pronghorn: an Arizona Story".Prehistoric Pronghorn.International Wildlife Museum. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-11-22.Retrieved2015-11-21.
- ^"Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II".loc.gov.
- ^"Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II".loc.gov.
- ^"LIFE".google.com.8 January 1940.
- ^"Naxi Manuscript Collection: Quentin Roosevelt II".memory.loc.gov.Retrieved2022-01-31.
- ^Nye, Logan (21 June 2015)."This father-son team invaded Africa and Normandy together".We Are The Mighty.Retrieved27 April2018.
- ^"Quentin Roosevelt Killed in Air Crash".New York Times,December 22, 1948
- ^David Pickerell (19 November 2007)."Basalt Island Crash Investigation"(PDF).Retrieved10 August2015.
- ^"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,retrieved2008-09-30
- ^"Maj Quentin Roosevelt, II (1919 - 1948) - Find A Grave Memorial".findagrave.com.
- ^"Frances Roosevelt, Portrait Artist, 78",The New York Times,September 13, 1995
- ^"Alexandra Roosevelt Wed To Dr. Ronald W. Dworkin",The New York Times,March 6, 1988
- ^"The Weld's of Harvard Yard",Harvard Magazine,Craig A. Lambert
External links[edit]
- Obituary,Time,Monday, January 03, 1949
- Associated Press,"Quentin Roosevelt Killed In Plane Crash"(December 22, 1948)New York Times,p. 8.
- Hong Kong's Roosevelt Connection - Basalt Island's Air CrashArchived2011-06-11 at theWayback Machine
- Aviation Safety Network, Accident description, N8342C(accessed 2015-04-05)
- 1919 births
- 1948 deaths
- People from Oyster Bay (town), New York
- Military personnel from New York (state)
- Roosevelt family
- Schuyler family
- Harvard College alumni
- American people of Dutch descent
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Hong Kong
- Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- 20th-century American politicians
- Groton School alumni
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- United States Army officers
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1948