Bully TR Gets Medal of Honor - SuffolkJournal.com

Bully! Roosevelt Awarded
Medal of Honor
by Nancy A. Bock

UPDATE!
April 2, 2001
Roosevelt's Medal of Honor, presented to his family on January 16, 2001 has arrived at Sagamore Hill for a short visit. It will be displayed alongside the Medal of Honor awarded to TR's son, General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. until April 30 when it will return to the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

After nearly 103 years, the nation's highest military honor will be bestowed up our 26th President, New Yorker, Theodore Roosevelt in a ceremony at the White House on January 16. Roosevelt, who became President on September 14, 1901 following the assassination of William McKinley was a Lt. Colonel leading a volunteer force during the Spanish American War three years earlier.

The list of accomplishments of this active individual are almost too numerous to list, as are the parts of the world in which he made his mark.

Following the explosion of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana Harbor, the war began. Roosevelt resigned his post as Secretary of the Navy to help form a volunteer calvary regiment called the Rocky Mountain Riders (popularly come to be known as the Rough Riders). The July 1, 1898 battle for the San Juan Hills was a turning point in the War, empowering the U.S. to call for Spain's surrender. It was his leadership during the Battle of Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill that made Roosevelt a national hero. Writing a friend shortly after the battle he noted he beleived he would get the Medal of Honor, as had 22 others for the battle that day. "I am entitled to the Medal of Honor and I want it," he wrote.

During his subsequent tenure in the White House from 1901 to 1909, Roosevelt was instrumental in preserving almost 230 million acres through the establishment of the national parks system. He designated 150 National Forests, 51 Federal Bird Reservations, five National Parks, the first 18 National Monuments, the first four National Game Preserves and started the first 21 Reclamation projects. Among his other accomplishments while President are the beginning of the construction of the Panama Canal and establishment of the Departments of Commerce and Labor.

Roosevelt was the first American awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor he earned for negotiating the end to the Russo-Japanese War, in 1906.

Roosevelt becomes the only U.S. President to win both the Medal of Honor and Nobel Peace Prize. With his son, Brig. General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during D-Day in World War II, the Roosevelts become only the second father-son pair to both earn the Medal of Honor. The first were General of the Armies, Douglas MacArthur (WWII) and his father, General Arthur MacArthur (Civil War).

The legislation authorizing and requesting President Bill Clinton award Roosevelt the Medal of Honor was co-sponsored by former Congressman Rick Lazio (R-Brightwaters) and passed both houses of Congress in October, 1998. President Clinton will confer the postumous honor at a ceremony attended by many of Roosevelt's decendent's in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, where it is anticipated the medal will ultimately be displayed.

Ryan Jackson, a 7th grader at Elwood Middle School won first place and a prize $200 savings bond in the Youth Essay Contest sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Warts Post 9263. Ryan's essay "What does it mean to be Patriotic?" depicted the meaning of patriotism and loyalty. He is congratulated above by his English teacher, Susan Masserwick.