Archie Goes to France
Back in June, 1917, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., went across with Archie. Theodore was a Major then; Archie a Captain. Both were assigned to General Pershing’s staff. In August it was reported that the two, anxious for real action, had been transferred to the 26th Infantry. So anxious was Archie to get into line duty that he accepted a reduction to Second Lieutenancy in order to get into the trenches.
All this had happened quickly. It was only in April that Archie had been engaged to Grace Lockwood. Some five days after that he had passed his examination for the Officers’ Reserve Corps. By April 15 he had married. June 20 he left Plattsburg with confidential orders. June 25 his father announced that Archie and Theodore had left for France.
Archie did not stay long as a Second Lieutenant. By Christmas, following distinguished service in leading patrols in No Man’s Land, General Pershing recommended that Archie be promoted. In February Archie was made a Captain. One month later Captain Archie was wounded in the arm and leg by shrapnel. He received the French War Cross while lying on the operating table. “He lay wounded for fourteen hours unattended,” writes an American surgeon in a letter home. In May Archie was reported able to walk again.
His wounds did not make Archie callous to the suffering of others. In July (1918) we read that “Archie’s request for aid for Sergeant F. A. Ross whose hand was amputated will be heeded by Colonel Roosevelt.”
A shrapnel wound of its nature usually results in more serious complications than an ordinary bullet wound. On July 13 the Captain had to undergo another operation for partial paralysis of the left arm. His spirit never wavered. When wounded he had directed that the wounded men in his command be attended first. Archie was hurt worse than he knew. It would take eight months, at least, for him to recover. In September he was brought back to the United States for special treatment.