The
General Roosevelt
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His men admired him for his courage and his humility. He talked
to them as if he did not have a star on his uniform, using
words which went down well with his men who had little time
for grand speeches. When the Afrika Korps were defending fiercely
against the American assaults in Tunisia, Roosevelt told his
men: "When we have finished with the Germans, we’ll
get back to Oran and sort out the Military Police". The
MP were not very popular with the tough soldiers of the 1st
Infantry Division, and they took Roosevelt at his word.The
top military brass finally became exasperated with the unruly
1st Infantry Division. Roosevelt left the Division to take
part in his third landing, in Corsica with the Free French.
After the campaign, General Roosevelt was placed in the position
of Chief Liason Officer between General Mark Clark and General
Juin of the Free French Forces, for which service he was awarded
the Legion of Honor. But shuffling paper was very frustrating
for a man who was an explorer before entering the US Army.
He wrote to his superior officer General Bradley: "If
you want to send me swimming with a 105 shell in my back,
that’s OK by me. I’ll agree to anything. Just do
everything you can to get me out of this rat-hole." Bradley
admired Roosevelt, even if his strengths and weaknesses were
the exact opposite of his own. He told him: "There is
no question of you returning to the ‘Big Red One’.
But there is another Division which will be leading the attack
— the 4th Infantry Division. Its men have never fired
a shot in battle.
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