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History of the
6th june 44 |
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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. |
The General Roosevelt
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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. Your presence will certainly
be a great support to the men, but I should warn you that this will be a batlle where you
might well lose your life." It was thus that Brigadier General Roosevelt found
himself for the fourth time in a landing craft, this time heading towards the beach in the
early dawn of 6 June 1944. |
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