In the meantime Theodore was making himself feared, loved and famous.
He was a Major, we said. He had been a Major once before, but under
what different conditions—a Major in the Connecticut National Guards.
He got into action from the very start. You could find him at the head
of the most dangerous charges. In June (1918) he was cited for bravery
after he had been gassed in the fight at Cantigny.
Theodore, too, retained his tenderness despite war’s horrors. In July
we read of his paying homage to Lieut. G. Gustofson, Jr. In September
he writes to the widow of Lieut. Newbold telling her that he would be
proud to have his two little sons grow up to live and die like the
Lieutenant. Theodore’s men made an idol of him. That, however, did not
save him a second wound—this time (July 24) it was in the left knee. He
received it while leading a battalion in a charge at Ploisy. It was the
same fearlessness which a month before had called forth the official
citation.
“On the day of our attack on Cantigny, although gassed in the lungs and
gassed in the eyes to blindness, Major Roosevelt refused to be removed
and retained the command of his battalion under a heavy bombardment
throughout the engagement.”
After his second operation Major Roosevelt was promoted once more,
and it was as Lieutenant-Colonel that in November he occupied the
headquarters of von Hindenburg’s son at Luxemburg.