Lyle Weidman, J.E. Kelley, Luke Cheney, Teddy Roosevelt Jr. and Kenneth Wherry on a campaign visit to McCook. (File photo) [Click to enlarge]

Like the looming figure towering at Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, Theodore Roosevelt Sr. was larger than life -- an educated cowboy on the western frontier in North Dakota, leader of the Rough Riders in the Spanish American War, hero of the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba, and finally President of the United States. It must have been difficult growing up in such a household for Theo. Jr. and his siblings, yet Theodore Jr. not only survived the experience, but thrived on it, and achieved considerable success in his own right.

Teddy, as he was known in childhood, was born on the family estate in Oyster Bay Cove, N.Y. in 1887, about the time his father was launching his political career. He had three brothers, Archie, Quentin, and Kermit, as well as a sister, Ethel, and a half-sister, Alice, whose mother (TR Sr.'s first wife) had died in childbirth.

Unlike his father and brothers, Ted was not intellectually gifted, but he was a hard worker and persisted in his studies and garnered honors while graduating from Harvard in 1908.

From college he went into the business world -- the carpet business, then the steel business, and finally as a manager in an investment bank. By the time of WW I he had amassed a considerable fortune---enough to launch his own political career after the war.

In the years leading up to WW I, Gen. Leonard Wood ( TR Sr.'s commanding officer in the Spanish American War) had inaugurated a summer military training program for business and professional men (at their own expense)---a forerunner of the later OCS and ROTC programs. The older three Roosevelt sons all participated in this program. When the US entered WW I, they and other graduates of the training program were offered commissions in the regular army, and many became important members of the US Officer Corps.

Lt. Col. Ted Roosevelt distinguished himself during World War I in France. He was conceded to be the best battalion commander in his division. He was a good leader and was concerned with the welfare of his men. At one point he purchased combat boots for his entire battalion, when the Army failed to furnish what he believed to be necessary gear.

But he also led his men into battle. He eventually commanded the Army's 26th Regiment in the 1st Division in several battles. He was gassed and wounded in the Battle of Soissons in 1918, for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross. In July of 1918 his brother, Quentin was killed in combat in France.

Post-World War I, while still in France, Ted Roosevelt was one of the founders of the soldiers' organization that would become the American Legion. At the Legion's first National Convention in New York, Roosevelt was nominated to be the first Legion Commander, but declined because he did not want the honor to be seen as merely a political ploy.

Between World War I and World War II, Roosevelt continued to be active in the Army Reserve, attending camps and taking Advanced Courses at the Command School and General Staff College, so that when World War II began he was eligible for Army service as a general.

At first, TR Jr.'s political career seemed to be on a straight course to the White House. He was elected to the New York Assembly in 1919, grinning, waving a crumpled hat, and shouting "Bully" -- not unlike his famous father.

In 1920, when President Harding came to office, he appointed TR Jr. to be the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In that office it was his duty to oversee transferring oil leases from the U.S. Navy to private corporations.

This practice was much abused by "friends" of the President -- the whole affair was referred to as "The Teapot Dome Scandal." Ted Roosevelt was cleared of all charges of misdeed, but his reputation was forever tarnished, and that incident, for all practical purposes ended his quest for high office.

One of Roosevelt's fiercest critics over Teapot Dome, was Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of TR Jr.'s cousin, FDR. She spoke of Ted's "wretched record" and during the 1924 NY Governor's Race, she followed him around to political functions in a car with a steaming teapot attached to the roof. Her methods were effective and contributed to TR's loss of the office of governor of New York to Al Smith.

When Herbert Hoover assumed the Presidency in 1928, he rewarded the loyal and hardworking Ted Roosevelt by appointing him first to the post of governor of Puerto Rico, and later, in 1932, as Governor-General of the Philippines. He was a good administrator, but distinguished himself as a marksman. He greatly impressed his Filipino hunting companions with his skill in shooting wild game.

In the fall of 1932, Franklin Roosevelt was challenging President Hoover for the Presidential nomination, while TR Jr. was still in the Philippines. Someone asked Ted Roosevelt if he was related to FDR. Ted, who could read political signals as well as anyone, replied, "Yes, I'm a fifth cousin, about to be removed." And this was what happened when FDR took office in 1933.

Upon Ted's return to the United States from the Philippines, he became a vice president of the publishing firm of Doubleday, Doran & Co., later an executive of American Express, while at the same time serving on various non-profit boards. He oversaw Irving Berlin's distribution of royalties of his song, "God Bless America" to various charities.

Even though TR Jr. had given up personal political ambitions after the Democrat surge into power in 1932, he remained active in Republican circles and was active in every presidential campaign. This interest in politics carried over to senatorial campaigns in many states, including Nebraska.

Early on, he backed the political career of Pawnee City Attorney, Kenneth Wherry. In the late 1930s, he stumped the state with Republican State Chairman Wherry to beef up Republican chances in the state -- a journey which brought him to McCook and talks with local Republicans, and which ultimately led to Wherry's victory over Senator Norris in 1942.

After Pearl Harbor, TR Jr. was promoted to Brigadier General and was back in the regular Army, in command of his old World War I 26th Infantry Regiment, fighting the Nazis in North Africa.

Again he was cited for valor -- awarded the French Croix de Guerre.

By 1944 Roosevelt was assigned to England to help lead the Normandy invasion. He was to stay in England because he suffered from heart trouble and arthritis made it necessary for him to use a cane to walk. However, his repeated requests to be with his men resulted in his landing with the first wave of troops on D-Day, the only General officer to do so.

When it was determined that the first wave landing craft had drifted more than a mile from their objective, Gen. Roosevelt's presence proved invaluable to the mission, as he coordinated the positions of two battalions in an attack on the enemy positions confronting them. Roosevelt's words under those circumstances became quite famous, "We'll start the war right here!"

TR Jr., with his cane and his pistol, was a welcome sight for landing troops, as he ignored enemy fire while acting as traffic cop and untangling traffic jams of trucks and tanks, to get everyone inland toward their objectives and off the beach -- actions which earned for TR Jr. the nation's highest honor, the Medal of Honor.

The division's original plan had been modified, but thanks largely to Gen. Roosevelt's presence on the scene, the D-Day invasion was able to achieve its original objective.

Later, General Omar Bradley was asked to recall the greatest heroic action that he had seen in the war. "That's easy," he replied. "Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach." Roosevelt's actions on D-Day have been preserved in Cornelius Ryan's classic, "The Longest Day." Roosevelt was portrayed in the film of the same name by Henry Fonda.

One month after D-Day, still leading his troops in France, Roosevelt died of a heart attack. He is buried at the American cemetery in Normandy, next to his brother, Lt. Quentin Roosevelt. Quentin had been killed in France during World War I and was originally buried at Chamery in France, but after World War II, his body was exhumed and moved to the Normandy Cemetery in 1945 -- both sons of Teddy Roosevelt Sr. buried side by side.

-- Source: TR Jr. Wikipedia, McCook's First 100 Years, by Gene O. Morris