Who Was the Oldest Man at D-Day? The Untold Story of Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2026
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, as the son of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. had large shoes to fill, and he did. Despite a privileged upbringing, he built a reputation of his own through a life of service and leadership.
In World War II, the brigadier general landed at Utah Beach during the opening hours of D-Day at an age when most men are thinking about retirement. He was 56. Armed with only a walking cane and a pistol, and despite his poor health, he moved through the chaos, helping reorganize troops after they came ashore in the wrong place. His leadership played a key role in the success of the landing and later earned him the Medal of Honor, making him the only son of a U.S. president to receive the nation’s highest military honor.
Craig Du Mez of the Grateful Nation Project shares the remarkable story of a man who lived up to his name and forged a legacy all his own.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:14.1 | This is Lee Habib, and this is our American Stories, |
| 0:18.3 | the show where America is the star and the American people coming to you |
| 0:22.5 | from the city where the West begins, Fort Worth, Texas. Up next, a story on the son of a president |
| 0:29.6 | who became famous carrying a big stick in his own unique way. Here to tell the story of |
| 0:35.4 | Theodore Roosevelt Jr. is Craig Dumay of the Grateful |
| 0:39.3 | Nation Project. Let's get into the story. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., despite needing a cane to walk, |
| 0:46.9 | led his troops onto Utah Beach during the D-Day invasion of France. You may think I'm referring |
| 0:52.7 | to President Theodore Roosevelt, hero of the Rough Rider Regiment, |
| 0:57.1 | governor of New York, and the vigorous outdoorsman whose presidency gave us the bully pulpit, |
| 1:02.2 | the Monroe Doctrine, National Parks, and the Panama Canal. Now this story is about his son, |
| 1:15.9 | who had a lot to live up to by sharing the same name as his famous father. |
| 1:24.4 | Born in 1887 to a life of privilege and high expectations, |
| 1:30.2 | Theodore Ten Roosevelt, Jr., was the oldest son and namesake of the 26th president of the United States. From Sagamore Hill, the Roosevelt's moved to the governor's |
| 1:35.6 | mansion in Albany when young Ted was 11 years old, and into the White House in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:41.4 | when Ted was 13. |
| 1:49.5 | Despite his famous heritage, Ted would have to build his own success. |
| 1:52.6 | His larger-than-life father had been a sickly child and was a firm believer in the benefits of living a strenuous, vigorous life. |
| 1:57.4 | After attending both public and private schools, |
| 1:59.9 | young Ted hoped to serve in the military |
| 2:02.0 | and considered the military academy at West Point. His father preferred that Ted volunteer for |
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