Theodore Roosevelt

STATESMAN ~ AUTHOR ~ EXPLORER ~ SOLDIER

NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATE

Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Medal of Honor for his valiant assault of San Juan Hill. As President, his energetic vision helped bring the nation into the new century. America owes nearly 200 million acres of national forest and parkland to his foresight.

It took, 103 years for Teddy Roosevelt to be awarded his MOH.  On January 16, 2001, it was awarded by President Clinton to Roosevelt family members.  Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt had been recommended for the CMOH by the chain of command in Cuba in 1898: The recommendation was rejected. Most believe it was because Roosevelt had sent a telegram and a letter to Secretary of War Russell A. Alger urging that American troops, ravaged by tropical diseases, be immediately returned to the United States now that the fighting was over. (TR himself contracted malaria, which remained with him the rest of his life). General Shafter leaked these messages to the press, embarrassing and infuriating Secretary of War Alger as well as President William McKinley. Alger was subsequently forced to resign from the cabinet after an investigating commission exposed his incompetence at the War Department. The Citation reads in part: “Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt, in total disregard for his personal safety, and accompanied by only four or five men, led a desperate and gallant charge up San Juan Hill, near Santiago de Cuba, Republic of Cuba, encouraging his men to continue the assault through withering enemy fire over open countryside. Facing the enemy’s barrage, he displayed extraordinary bravery throughout the charge and was the first to reach the enemy trenches, where he quickly killed one of the enemy with his pistol, allowing his men to continue the assault.” Beyond his military exploits Roosevelt, during his remarkable life, was a Harvard grad, noted author, Asst. Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York, Vice-President, President, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, led the establishment of our National Park System, pushed for the creation of the Panama Canal a