The assault on Utah Beach drifted one mile South of the targeted spot:
From the article:
History would prove Roosevelt correct as the landing craft for the division had drifted approximately a mile south before hitting the beach. As one of the first men off his craft, General Roosevelt was able to assess the situation and coordinate the impromptu assault.He was quoted as saying to his battalion commanders, “We’ll start the war from right here!”
It also meant that supplies would go to the spot one mile South of the targeted spot for the landing.
A case that a quick and decisive decision fixed a problem on where the troops actually landed on Utah beach.
Thanks for posting this.
I’ve never understood why so little has been written and reported about this man. I hate to say this, but the actual ‘charge’ up San Juan hill was pretty much a nothing - yet Roosevelt senior received unrelenting glory for it. Roosevelt Jr receives almost no mention, but in fact should be recognized as a great American hero. And he proved that on several occasions.
He was initially recommended for a second DSC for his actions on D-Day at Utah Beach and was approved for a promotion to Major General if he had lived another day. The DSC recommendation was upgraded to the MoH and awarded posthumously in September of 1944.
He is interred at the Normandy US Cemetery devoted for the most part to the fallen of D-Day and the subsequent Normandy Campaign. However, interred next to him is his younger brother, 2nd Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt, who died in Aerial Combat on 14 July 1918 (WW1). This was done in 1955 and is the sole WW1 grave in this cemetery.
Another historical note can be made that TRJr and his father, President Theodore Roosevelt (TR), are one of two father&son MoH awardees (Arthur & Douglas MacArthur being the other pair). TR was (very) posthumously awarded the MoH for his actions at the Battle of San Juan Hill (1 July 1898 - Cuba - Spanish-American War) in 2001.
An amazing American Man. Thank you.
Stephen Ambrose often spoke about how D-day showed the superiority of democracy over dictatorship. When all the best-laid plans of D-day went to muckets, the junior officers and enlisted men improvised. The Webrmacht and Waffen SS were just as good of troops, but were hamstrung because nobody wanted to wake up Hitler. When he did awaken, he was still convinced the main invasion would be at Calais.
“Years later, Omar Bradley was asked to name the single most heroic action he had ever seen in combat. He replied, “Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach.””
A little know fact is that more US troops went down during the Battle at Ardennes than during D-Day. We lost over 75,000 killed or wounded at the Bulge and the Germans lost 120,000 killed or wounded. Talk about bloody.
Winning this battle was the beginning of the end for hitler and his thugs.
The sad thing is, we let the soviets split Berlin and that caused the cold war.
If Patton had been listened to, we'd have kicked the reds out of Berlin and Germany never would have been split in two parts.
Wasn’t he the one who also said, “Only two kinds of people are going to remain on this beach, the dead and those who are going to die!”?