Quentin Roosevelt II

Quentin Roosevelt II (November 4, 1919 – December 21, 1948) was the fourth child and youngest son of Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt III and Eleanor Butler Alexander. He was the namesake of his uncle Quentin Roosevelt I, who was killed in action in 1918 during World War I. His elder brothers were World War II veterans Theodore Roosevelt IV and Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt III. He was a grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt. Quentin Roosevelt II was born on November 4, 1919 in Oyster Bay, New York, less than one year since the death of his grandfather, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States. Roosevelt published a paper through the American Museum of Natural History in 1934, describing a new species of fossil pronghorn that he and a boyhood friend, Joseph W. Burden, had found in a cave in southern Arizona. He attended Harvard College, where he wrote his senior thesis on some Nakhi (Naxi) manuscripts he had collected while visiting Western China at the border of Tibet. Life magazine published images from his journey, which he made at the age of 19. He graduated from Groton School followed by Harvard College in 1941 and soon after joined the Army. Roosevelt served in the 1st Infantry Division, alongside his father. He served as an artillery officer in the unit. In 1942, he was seriously wounded by machine gun fire from a German aircraft but survived, and returned to service within a year. During the war, he fought in the Battle of Kasserine Pass (February 1943). Roosevelt was among the first wave of soldiers to land at Omaha Beach while his father landed with the first wave at Utah Beach on D-Day. Roosevelt earned the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and French Croix de Guerre for his war service. He was promoted to Major by the end of war and left active service. While serving as the Director of the China National Aviation Corporation, he was killed in a plane crash in Hong Kong, on December 21, 1948. He was 29. His C-54 plane crashed on a mountain on Basalt Island, near Sai Kung. All 35 on board were killed instantly.