Already a successful businessman and banker, Roosevelt received a reserve commission into the Army and was sent to France in 1917. Roosevelt died of a heart attack five weeks after D-Day, leaving behind a legacy that spanned the military, business and politics. 'He thus contributed substantially to the successful establishment of the beachhead in France.' 'Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strongpoints and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties,' Roosevelt's Medal of Honor citation said. Roosevelt greeted each regiment and, when he wasn't helping to clear a path for trucks and tanks on the beach, he tried in his own unique way to boost the soldiers' spirits for what lay ahead by reciting poetry and telling anecdotes about his father to calm his men's nerves. 'Legend says, he would use the cane to point out targets to his men,' Jowdy said. Despite being constantly bombarded by enemy fire, Roosevelt remained resolute. 4th Infantry Division's 8th Infantry Regiment and 70th Tank Battalion as they fought their way inland. As one of the first soldiers off the vessel, Roosevelt led the U.S. (Bob Daugherty/AP Photo)Īrmed with a cane and pistol, Roosevelt wanted to be out front so he could help reassure young troops, especially after the landing craft arrived more than a mile off course from its intended landing site. Ronald Reagan stands behind her amidst the crosses, June 6, 1984. at the Normandy American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, France, as Pres. Nancy Reagan puts down a bunch of flowers at the grave of Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

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