Sleeping Giants

by Nathan Mellor

  On the same day, June 5th, 1944, General Eisenhower recorded a historic speech about D-Day that would be heard throughout the world via radio. It was an inspirational rally cry for those involved in Operation Overlord. After delivering the message that morning, he sat down in his trailer and composed a second one to be given if D-Day proved to be unsuccessful.

  He folded the note, which had been scrawled on a 4.5 by 7-inch piece of nondescript notebook paper, and placed it in his wallet. It remained there until July 11th. When he discovered it, he casually showed it to his naval aide, Captain Harry C. Butcher. Butcher, sensing its historical importance, asked if he could have the note, and General Eisenhower gave it to him. The message is now preserved at the Eisenhower Library.16

  The “In Case of Failure” note speaks volumes about General Eisenhower’s approach to leadership and life. He wanted it to be clear that if the invasion did not work, the blame rested squarely on his shoulders. It is a clear example of someone who has a strong internal locus of control. He does not offer excuses nor does he assign blame. He owns it.

  The note states the following:

  Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold, and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air, and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone. July 517, 18

  There are a handful of things to notice in the image of the handwritten note, and I will highlight two. The first is that he used the wrong date. Although he stated it was July 5, it was June 5. He was exhausted. The second is that historians have suggested that he underlined the words “mine alone.” Whether he did so intentionally or the straight line below the words was simply meant to imply the end of the message, the fact remains he used the words “mine alone.”

  MINE ALONE

  When contemplating your life, there will likely be some significant decisions that must be made for you to regain control of your life. The decision to change direction in life can be made in an instant, but the process of actually changing your mindset may take months or years. The difference between success and failure is often the willingness to take ownership of the situation. You cannot move forward in life until you claim control of it. Claiming control of your life requires accepting responsibility for it.

  General Eisenhower was willing to look the soldiers he was sending into battle in the eye because he believed in what he was asking them to do. When he reminded them of home, he was being reminded too. He concluded that fighting for freedom was worth the sacrifice.

  What are you willing to sacrifice to experience freedom?

  How are you reminding other people of “home?” What does “home” look like for you?

  Chapter 10

  “We Will Start the War From Here”

  Intentionally Courageous

  Ted Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt III) was born on Tuesday, September 13, 1887, at his family’s home in the village of Cove Neck, New York. He was the eldest son of T.R. (Theodore Roosevelt Jr.) and Edith Kermit Carow. Ted’s siblings included Kermit (born 1889), Ethel (born 1891), Archibald (born 1893), and Quentin (born 1897). In addition to his three brothers and a sister, he also had a half-sister, Alice Lee (born 1884).1 She was the daughter of his father and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee, who died due to Bright’s disease on February 14, 1884.

  Although Ted would never meet his paternal grandparents, who both had died before he was born, they impacted his mental model nonetheless. His grandfather, Thee (Theodore Roosevelt Sr.), was born on Thursday, September 22, 1831, in New York City. By the time Thee was born, the Roosevelt family was well on its way to becoming one of the most prominent families in New York. Thee’s father, who went by C.V.S., grew the wealth of the family significantly by importing plate glass, which was used to help build buildings of all sizes in the growing city. C.V.S. was among the founders of the Chemical Bank (now Chase Bank). He was a real estate investor in Manhattan, and by the end of his career, considered among “the five richest men in town.”2

  Martha “Mittie” Bulloch was born on Wednesday, July 8, 1835. Mittie and Thee were married at Bulloch Hall, the family estate, in Roswell, Georgia, on December 22, 1853. Their home, which had been constructed in 1839, was a Greek Revival mansion, which was purported to have been “the model for Margaret Mitchell’s Tara Plantation in Gone With the Wind.”3 In addition to Ted’s father, the couple had three other children including Anna “Bamie” (born 1855), Elliott Bulloch (born 1860), and Corinne (born 1861).

  When C.V.S. died on July 17, 1871, he left behind a sizable inheritance to his family. These resources gave Thee the freedom to focus his efforts on philanthropic pursuits. Although C.V.S. had provided him access to wealth, Thee’s mother, Margaret Barnhill Roosevelt, had instilled in him a great sense of purpose and responsibility. An English-Irish Quaker, she taught each of her children that those who have influence should use their power to help others.

  GREAT HEART

  Thee did not use his wealth to provide a life of leisure. He worked tirelessly to help build and strengthen institutions that enhanced life. In recognition of his efforts, friends and family bestowed upon him the name “Great Heart.” The moniker was a nod to the character in John Bunyan’s classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress. In the story, Mr. Great-heart is a strong and brave man who fights lions to clear the way for the pilgrims to continue on their journey.4

  Great Heart set the pace for service and generosity in his family. Each week, he set aside time to visit poorhouses, assist the needy, and personally teach mission school. He was involved in the establishment of organizations such as the American Museum of Natural History, the American Museum of Art, the Children’s Aid Society, and the New York Orthopedic Hospital. On Sunday evenings, Thee took his children with him when he visited the Newsboys Lodging House. From the earliest moments in their lives, they watched as their father used his considerable power and wealth to serve others.5

  Thee was just 46 years old when he died of stomach cancer on February 9, 1878. The loss was devastating to the family. In a letter written years later, T.R. provides Edward S. Martin, a noted journalist and fellow Harvard graduate, a description of his father. The following is an excerpt from that 1900 letter. He said:

  I was fortunate enough in having a father whom I have always been able to regard as an ideal man. It sounds a little like cant to say what I am going to say, but he did combine the strength and courage and will and energy of the strongest man with the tenderness, cleanness, and purity of a woman. I was a sickly and timid boy. He not only took great and untiring care of me—some of my earliest remembrances are of nights when he would walk up and down with me for an hour at a time in his arms when I was a wretched mite suffering acutely with asthma—but he also most wisely refused to coddle me, and made me feel that I must force myself to hold my own with other boys and prepare to do the rough work of the world. I cannot say that he ever put it into words, but he certainly gave me the feeling that I was always to be both decent and manly, and that if I were manly nobody would laugh at my being decent. In all my childhood he never laid a hand on me but once, but I always knew perfectly well that in case it became necessary he would not have the slightest hesitancy in doing so again, and alike from my love and respect, and in a certain sense, my fear of him, I would have hated and dreaded beyond measure to have him know that I had been guilty of a lie, or of cruelty, or of bullying, or of uncleanness or cowardice. Gradually I grew to have the feeling on my account, and not merely on his.6

  Noted presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, ranked fathers of U.S. Presidents from best to worst. He ranked Thee as the best. Declaring, “He’s in a league of his own,” he stated, “The elder Roosevelt took Young Teddy to the Amazon, instilling in him a love and respect of the outdoors. He got his son priva
te tutors in foreign languages, taxidermy lessons with a student of Audubon, and weights after a bully beat up Teddy.” In many ways, it was Thee that activated his son for greatness by teaching him to serve.7

  A HOUSE DIVIDED

  The only part of his father’s life T.R. found difficult to reconcile was his unwillingness to fight in the Civil War. To avoid being drafted following the 1863 conscription bill, Thee utilized a broker to secure a replacement to fight on his behalf. He paid the broker $1,000, of which his replacement Abraham Graf received $38.

  Graf was described as a “slight, fair, blue-eyed, thirty-six-year-old German just off the boat.”8 Within two months of enlisting with the 7th New York Infantry, he was taken prisoner, paroled, and then placed in a Union hospital at Point Lookout, Maryland.9 He died the next year on March 31, 1865. Upon his passing, no one claimed his effects, which included a knapsack, shirt, hammock, underwear, a woolen blanket, towel, knife, fork, and a spoon.10 He had passed alone and nearly penniless.

  The reason Thee used a replacement was not likely cowardice; it was much more a matter of devotion to Mittie. His wife’s family owned slaves and lived on a plantation. To fight against the South would mean he would be fighting against his wife’s family, and she could not bear this thought. As a compromise, he would not fight but would use his considerable influence to promote the North, and he would send a replacement on his behalf.

  His staunch support of the North could not have been misinterpreted. He was a charter member of the Union League Club of New York, which raised funds for food and supplies for the Union forces. In 1864, the Union League provided Thanksgiving dinner for the entire Army of the Potomac.

  In addition, he campaigned for legislation intended to prevent price gouging of sales made to the Union forces. He also lobbied for an allotment system, which created a process that allowed soldiers to forward their pay to their families, and helped relieve the financial stress created by their service. When the allotment system was enacted, Thee was named New York’s allotment commissioner. He toured all New York divisions of the Army of the Potomac, at his own cost, to explain and promote the system.11

  According to family members, Thee regretted his decision to not fight for the rest of his life. This regret appears to be among the key influencers in T.R.’s mental model, which would in turn influence Ted’s choices. In adulthood, T.R. sought opportunities to prove himself through war. When the chance to do so presented itself in 1898, through the Spanish American War, T.R. emphatically demonstrated his capacity as a leader and warrior. Ted was ten years old when his father and the Rough Riders fought the Spanish in what T.R. would often describe as his “crowded hour.”12

  When he returned to the United States, T.R.’s postwar fame propelled him to the vice presidency. When President William McKinley succumbed to an assassin’s bullet on September 14, 1901, he became the 26th President of the United States. Ted turned 14 the day before.

  Not only did President Roosevelt have high expectations for himself, he expected the same from his children. The intensity was hard on Ted, and his frequent migraines were attributed to the constant pressure being placed on him by his father. President Roosevelt was warned by a family friend and physician to change course with how he was rearing his children.13

  As he grew, Ted was given access to high-quality educational opportunities. He attended Groton School, and following graduation, he enrolled at Harvard, where he graduated in 1909. While in college, Ted played football and was selected for membership in the prestigious Porcellian Club. After receiving his diploma, Ted became a partner in the Philadelphia banking firm of Montgomery, Clothier, and Tyler. The Tyler family were cousins of his mother, Edith.14

  THE GREAT WAR

  When World War I began, the Roosevelt family responded by enlisting. Ted seized the opportunity to become an officer in the U.S. Army. Although he had been successful as an investment banker, he had long-desired to serve in the military.

  The Roosevelt family served with distinction in the Great War, but it came at a high price. Ted’s lungs were damaged when he inhaled poisonous gas. While still recovering, he made his way back to the battlefield and was shot in the left leg, a wound from which he would never recover feeling in his left heel. His youngest brother, Quentin, who was engaged to marry the granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, was a pilot for the British when he was shot down and killed on July 14, 1918. While leading a platoon of troops against a German position, his brother Archie was severely wounded when shrapnel broke his arm, leaving his arm paralyzed, and shattered his kneecap.15 The only sibling that was neither wounded nor killed was Kermit. A remarkable linguist, he learned Arabic while serving in Iraq. He commanded an armored car, and in an impressive display of courage, knocked down a door during the battle for Baghdad. When he entered, he used his British swagger stick to demand the surrender of the Turkish soldiers inside. Confused, they complied.16

  The former president learned of the death of his son, Quentin, on July 17, 1918, when it was confirmed through the Red Cross. In honor of his service, German airmen buried him with full honors. When T.R. was given the news, he responded, “But Mrs. Roosevelt, how am I going to break it to her?” The next day, in what can only be described as a blend of shock and defiance, T.R., who was racked by grief and in poor health, traveled from his home to Saratoga, New York, to speak to an awestruck audience at a program where he had committed to speak.17

  Following WWI, Ted continued as an officer with the Army Reserves and pursued public service. He was elected to the New York Assembly in 1919 and remained in this position until President Warren Harding requested that he serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Ted’s father had served in the same role from 1897-1898, as had his cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt who served from 1913-1920. He ran for governor of New York in 1924, and although he won the Republican Party nomination, he lost the race to Governor Al Smith. He was named the Governor of Puerto Rico (1929-1932) and then Governor General of the Philippines (1932-33). He resigned his post in the Philippines following the election of his cousin Franklin, as the president of the United States. Upon his return to New York, he served as vice president at Doubleday Publishing Company and would later serve as the chairman of the board of the American Express Company, as Vice President for the Boy Scouts of America, and as President of the National Health Council.18

  WORLD WAR II

  Ted was initially opposed to entering World War II, but when it became clear the war was unavoidable, he looked for an opportunity to do his part. As a reservist, he had participated in annual training programs, and when the war began, he started active duty as a colonel and was soon promoted to brigadier general with the command of the 26th Infantry Regiment, a part of the 1st Infantry Division. This Division is also known as the Big Red One, due to their distinctive insignia, which is in fact a red number one.

  For World War II historians, Generals Terry Allen and Ted Roosevelt will forever be linked. Allen was the commander of the “Big Red One,” which was considered the most effective fighting division against the Germans in North Africa and Sicily. Beginning in 1943, Ted was the Assistant Division Commander (ADC). Recovering from the initial setbacks in North Africa, the 1st Infantry Division fought two German panzer divisions to a stalemate. By checking the German advance, the “Desert Fox,” German General Erwin Rommel, was forced to withdraw. Rommel stated, “I was forced to the conclusion that the enemy had grown too strong for our attack to be maintained.”19

  A decorated war hero from WWI, Ted was already known for his courage, but he quickly proved he was not content to rest upon the successes of the past. His first assignment was in North Africa, and it appeared he had only grown bolder with time. In recognition of his efforts, Roosevelt was awarded the Croix de Guerre. The award stated:

  As commander of a Franco-American detachment on the Ousseltia plain in the region of Pichon, in the face of a very aggressive enemy, he show
ed the finest qualities of decision and determination in defense of his sector.

  Showing complete contempt for personal danger, he never ceased during the period of 28 Jan-21 Feb, visiting troops in the front lines, making vital decisions on the spot, winning the esteem and admiration of the units under his command and developing throughout his detachment the finest fraternity of arms.20

  Although their courage was never questioned, there was concern regarding a lack of discipline in the 1st Infantry Division, which was the responsibility of Allen and Roosevelt. For example, when in combat, the soldiers had learned not to salute officers as a matter of safety. Even when they were not in combat, the soldiers in the “Big Red One” had continued the practice of not saluting. In addition, Allen and Roosevelt were very close to the soldiers under their command and were criticized for their approach to leadership, which relied on inspiration and strength of relationship.

  When General Bedell “Beetle” Smith, General Eisenhower’s Chief of Staff, was told that Allen made the 1st Division one of the best in the Army, Smith exclaimed:

  Made the 1st Division! He ruined the 1st Division. He started out to make it a rough, tough outfit that would win battles. He thought it was enough to win battles, to have battlefield discipline. He didn’t realize the importance of discipline when the troops are out of the line.21

  The Sicily campaign was coming to a successful close in 1943 when Allen and Roosevelt were relieved of command. It remains unclear who made the decision to remove them, but it appears that General George Patton recommended the removal with concurrence from General Omar Bradley and General Dwight Eisenhower.22 Although the decision was challenging to accept, both Allen and Roosevelt would quickly find their footing, and their actions in 1944 would further prove their value as leaders.

  D-DAY

  As a result of the change, Ted was eventually sent to the European Theater of Operations. When he learned of the Allied plan to invade Europe through Normandy, he asked to be included in the invasion. At 56 years of age, with an arthritic knee that required the use of a cane, and other health issues, the request was denied. Undeterred, he requested a second time but was denied again. The third request was a written petition to Major General Raymond “Tubby” Barton, the 4th Infantry Division commanding general. Ted’s argument was straightforward and transparent. He said: