Just a bit of trivia. Did you know that on January 16, 2001 President Clinton presented the Medal of Honor to Theodore Roosevelt's great grandson, Tweed for his actions at San Juan Hill? Check out <http://cmohs.org/recipients/troose.htm>; for the citation
shareIsn't amazing that Roosevelt not only was awarded the Medal of Honor but also the Nobel Peace Prize?
He is also part of two sets of father/son Medal of Honor recipients. He earned it for San Juan Hill, his son, Teddy, earned it for Utah Beach.
The other father and son set were Arthur and Douglas MacArthur.
yeah, Bily Boy did that just before leaving office. It was known that GW was a big fan of Teddy and would have done it soon after coming into office. So Billy Boy decided to one up him. ALso probably hoping that then no one would notice the deal that was made on the pardons he did on the last day.
shareActually, Roosevelt's family has been trying to get him awarded the Medal of Honor for almost a century, ever since he died in 1919, and it happened to get sent to the White House for approval during the Clinton Administration. I guess Dumb-ya, i mean, Dubya shoulda run in 1996 to be the one to approve the award.
shareWell, maybe that's true, but Billy showed his enthusiasm to get it done by doing it at the last possible moment before he split from the White House. He could make time to diddle girls with cigars, but saved T.R.'s overdue CMH for the last minute just to steal Bush's thunder? (well, maybe not). GWB might have made time early in his administration to honor T.R., but I guess you're right....we'll never know.
shareThese honors are unusual but when one considers Roosevelt it isn't surprising. Quite literally a genius with an IQ well over 160, he was a speed reader with a photographic memory. People who knew him when he was in his 20s predicted greatness for him. He was an extraordinary man. Compare TR to what we have leading the nation today.
shareWell, Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize for.....er,....ummm,..... Well, I'm sure he can give himself the Medal of Honor for do the same....whatever. Hell, toss one to Bush too, for crashing or mislaying his plane.
shareA good article on the subject is contained here: http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/MedalofHonor%20Quest.htm
I've talked with someone who was at the Pentagon at that time when they were reviewing Roosevelt's case in the late '90s. He told me he had to go over the after action reports and forward there findings on the case.
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I am not American,but i think it is wrong for a great honour like the highest decoration for bravery in combat to be given over 100 years after the event and probably due just to the fame of the recipient.Sure he commanded the charge and quite possibly displayed excellence in leadership and skill in combat.But for its time,it wasnt a great battle.In other theatres of the time it would have been a skirmish at most,concidering the number of men involved and the casualties.Tactically,the Americans outnumbered the Spanish nearly 20 to 1 and still lost almost 10% their men.
Anyway,before you start bashing think of this.Would some unknown American soldier who was heroic in the battle have been decorated 100 years later if his family hadnt lobbied or he had not been an explorer?
An African American soldier that served in WWI finally was awarded his MOH in the 1990's as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Stowers
I like to think of this a 'delayed justice' or 'righting a wrong' and belatedly 'setting the record straight'.
When you consider how many truly brave men and women do even more heroic things and will NEVER get rewarded because their sacrifices go unkown and unrecognized, it's nice to see that when we DO find someone who deserved the MOH, they make an effort to see that they get it.
In a way, in honors all the others who should have gotten it, but didn't.
JAS
I know a WWII veteran in his 90s who was just last year awarded the French Legion of Honor for his service in WWII almost 70 years after the fact. Sometimes these things just take time.
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