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thedrifter
08-08-06, 10:44 AM
August 14, 2006

The lore of the Corps
President’s son earned accolades for bravery

By Charles A. Jones
Special to the Times

James Roosevelt, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s son, began his Marine Corps career not as a second lieutenant but as a lieutenant colonel.

He entered the Reserve in 1936 as a lieutenant colonel to act as his father’s aide on a goodwill tour to South America, according to a book he wrote about his father, “Affectionately, F.D.R.,” in 1959. In 1939, however, he resigned amid criticism of his entrance into the Corps as a lieutenant colonel with no prior service. In resigning, he cited his age and lack of experience.

He then requested and received an appointment in the Reserve as a captain, entering at that grade the following month.


He remained in the Reserve while working as a Hollywood film executive until November 1940, when he was assigned to extended active duty as his command was mobilized. He commanded an artillery battery until he was ordered overseas in January 1941.

Roosevelt became an assistant naval attaché in London, attached to British Army Headquarters in Egypt. While the Germans were attacking Crete, Roosevelt delivered a message to the king of Greece there.

After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, he requested combat duty and became executive officer for what would become 2nd Marine Raider Battalion under Lt. Col. Evans Carlson.

Both men helped create the Raiders. Carlson, who was on friendly terms with President Roosevelt, proposed a unit specializing in guerrilla warfare. The younger Roosevelt wrote the commandant of the Marine Corps advocating a unit similar to the British commandos.

The Raiders became a formal organization in 1942. In August of that year, Roosevelt, then a major, was one of Carlson’s Raiders riding the submarines Argonaut and Nautilus from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to Makin Atoll.

Although he was the president’s son, Roosevelt landed on Butaritari during the famous Makin raid, earning a Navy Cross for exposing himself to enemy fire and saving three men from drowning. His efforts to maintain communi-cations with Nautilus resulted in its surface guns sinking two enemy vessels.

Upon returning to the U.S., Roosevelt became commanding officer of the Corps’ 4th Raider Battalion and was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

The battalion sailed to New Hebrides to train for the New Georgia operation. However, Roosevelt became ill and was evacuated to the U.S.

Roosevelt later served as an intelligence officer for the commander of Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, and was attached to the Army division that invaded Makin in November 1943. During the raid, he earned a Silver Star for bravery, calm under fire and constant exposure to danger.

Promoted to colonel in 1944, Roosevelt participated in the invasion of Okinawa before returning to the U.S. in 1945, when he was transferred to the inactive list until his retirement in 1959. He was advanced to brigadier general because of his combat record.

Roosevelt served in the House of Representatives from 1955 until 1965. He died in 1991 — the last surviving child of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt — and was buried with military honors in Newport Beach, Calif.

Ellie