[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8435]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 THE TALLEST WARRIOR ON THE LONGEST DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, growing up, I knew that my dad, when 
he was a teenager, fought in the ``Great World War II.'' Because my 
father never spoke much about it until recently, I was curious about 
what happened. My fascination with World War II began when I saw the 
movie ``The Longest Day'' as a kid. Young Americans--mainly boys, 
really--who had never been far from home were sent to a faraway land to 
free a people they had never met. They charged onto a beach through a 
hail of gunfire in order to stop the spreading threat of evil in 
Europe.
  This action-packed movie depicts the graphic details of the longest 
day on June 6, 1944, D-day. Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., 
played by Henry Fonda in the movie, was the son of President Theodore 
Roosevelt. You remember President Roosevelt. He led the charge up San 
Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War.
  Teddy, Jr., fought in World War I as well with his brothers. His 
brother Quentin, a fighter pilot, was killed in action. General 
Roosevelt was crippled from the wounds of World War I and had a heart 
condition, but he was not finished fighting. At the age of 56, General 
Roosevelt was the highest ranking officer that landed on the shores of 
Normandy. He was determined to lead this new generation of warriors--
who became the Greatest Generation--as they took on the Nazis.
  His son Quentin Roosevelt II, named after Teddy Jr.'s late brother, 
the fighter pilot, was also on the beaches of Normandy that day. They 
were the only father and son duo known to fight on D-day. Roosevelt and 
his boys were part of Operation Overlord. The greatest invasion in 
history was expected to come at a high cost. And, it did. American 
youth gave their lives that day for the future of others.
  Armed only with a walking stick and a pistol and under constant enemy 
fire, Roosevelt led several groups of 20-something Americans up Utah 
Beach and inland. General Omar Bradley described Roosevelt's actions as 
the ``single greatest act of courage'' he witnessed in the entire war.
  On D-day, thousands of American boys charged out of the sea onto 
French soil, beginning the liberation of Western Europe. Our boys laid 
claim to the beachheads inch by bloody inch. The remarkable Army 
Rangers climbed the cliffs at Pointe due Hoc under heavy, brutal German 
fire. They had to.
  Americans did not go to Normandy to conquer. They went and they 
sacrificed to ensure that Hitler would no longer be a threat. Hitler 
had little regard for American GIs. He was certain that the ``soft'' 
sons of America would never become soldiers. He thought the Nazi youth 
would be able to outfight the Boy Scouts. He was wrong. The Boy Scouts 
took them on D-day. The sand was stained red with the blood of American 
warriors and that of our allies.
  Mr. Speaker, to my left is a photograph of the Cliffs of Normandy, 
where Americans are buried. In all, 9,387 Americans are buried at the 
top of the beach at Normandy. Buried on the cliffs, their white crosses 
and Stars of David shine and glisten in the morning sunshine over now 
peaceful Omaha and Utah Beaches. One of the ones buried there is the 
tallest warrior on the longest day, Brigadier General Theodore 
Roosevelt, Jr. This is his grave. It is at the front of Normandy. 
Fittingly, he is buried next to his brother Quentin. Quentin was the 
only person from World War I to be buried at Normandy. General 
Roosevelt, who died of a heart attack shortly after the Normandy 
invasion, later received the Medal of Honor for his heroics at 
Normandy. In this photo is his cross in Normandy's cemetery.
  Today, we express our gratitude to the Greatest Generation of 
Americans who defied danger and fearlessly fought for freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, where does America get such people? They were the young 
breed, the rare breed, the American breed, who took to the treacherous 
beaches of Normandy under the leadership of a remarkable man who stood 
tall to lead his troops into battle on the longest day, Theodore 
Roosevelt, Jr., the tallest warrior.
  And that's just the way it is.

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