TIL Teddy Roosevelt's 2nd son Kermit Roosevelt joined his father's Amazon expedition and had a river named after him, resigned from US Army in 1917 to join the British Forces to fight in WWI. To join the first fight in Finland/Norway, he took help of Churchill to secure a commission in British Army.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Satvahana t3_zo98qb in todayilearned
Satvahana OP t1_j0ljwxh wrote
In the Roosevelt-Rondon expedition, the main river was named after Theodore Roosevelt as Rio Roosevelt (now called by people as Rio Teodoro) and a tributary of the river was named after Kermit as Rio Kermit. There is also a town in Texas named after him where he had once hunted.
In the WWI, he was working as an Assistant Manager in a Bank and was posted in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was transferred to Russia around the time US decided to enter the War. Not wanting to be left behind, he volunteered in British Forces after resigning from the US Army. He saw heavy fighting in the East and after discovery of his status as an ex-President's son was sent to Mesopotamia with a light assignment. However, he continued to exalt himself by learning Arabic and establishing relations with the locals. He was awarded the Military Cross for his efforts. In 1918, he discovered that his youngest brother Quentin who was an aviator was dead and had been buried by the Germans with full honor.
Between the two wars, he had founded few businesses and undertaken an expedition in the Himalayas with his father and brother.
In the 2nd World War, he fought with distinction in the raid into Norway. He was also sent to North Africa where he saw little action. He had been injured in Norway (Battle of Narvik) and had started drinking. This led to an enlarged liver and his debilitation. He was medically discharged from the Army.
This sent him to a state of severe depression. He turned to the bottle heavily. His wife Belle sought help of his cousin; the President Roosevelt (FDR) who helped locate him by enlisting the FBI. Lt. Col. Archibald (his younger brother) sought to commit him to a sanatorium to prevent him from killing himself.
To get Kermit back to his routine, FDR provided him commission as Major in the US Army and sent him to Alaska for Intelligence work in creating militia troops of the local Eskimos and Aleuts.
On June 4, 1943, Kermit Roosevelt committed suicide by a gunshot to the head. The news of his death was reported to his mother, Edith, as a heart attack. He is buried in Ft. Richardson National Cemetry in Alaska.