July 16, 1918: Son of President Theodore Roosevelt Killed in Germany Following Brave Resistance

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

July 16, 1918: Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt, a son of President Theodore Roosevelt, has been killed. He was under the command of Major Carl A. Spatz in the American Aviation School in Issoudun, France, helping Spatz set up the school.

In a massive aerial engagement at the commencement of the Second Battle of the Marne, Roosevelt was shot down behind German lines. Two days after he fell, the following German communiqué was intercepted by our wireless: “On July fourteenth, seven of our chasing planes were attacked by a superior number of American planes north of Dormans. After a stubborn flight, one of the pilots—Lieutenant Roosevelt, who had shown conspicuous bravery during the fight by attacking again and again without regard to danger, was shot in the head by his more experienced opponent and fell at Chamery. He was buried by German aviators with military honors.”

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