Lost in the Shadow of Fame Read online

  [11] *Similar to the United States in the twenty-first century, the British also applied the same level of diplomatic condescension and subterfuge by the 1917 Proclamation of Baghdad of Major General Sir Stanley Maude: “but our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators.” President George Bush’s claim was that Democracy was the goal.

  [12] *Of the 11,800 men who left Kut-al-Amara with their captors on 6 May 1916, 4,250 died either on their way to captivity or in the camps that awaited them at the journey's end.

  [13] *The British had 205,000 casualties, the French 47,000 and more than 33,600 ANZAC losses.

  [14] *Schutztruppe was the colonial armed force of the German Government in Africa from the late 19th Century to the end of World War I in 1918 when Germany lost her colonial possessions.

  [15] *Similar to Kermit, Finch Hatton suffered an untimely death in middle-age when the Gypsy Moth plane he was piloting crashed in the African bushveld in the 1930‘s.

  [16] *The British Military Cross was instituted on 28 December 1914 as a means of formally recognizing the courage of junior officers during wartime (officially for "gallantry in the field" for the rank of Captain and below).

  [17] *This was the first wound Archibald Roosevelt was to suffer in defense of his country which classified as a 100 percent disability. After he imposed upon his cousin, President Franklin Roosevelt for entry into the Second World War, he was severely wounded again, gaining him the unique distinction of being the only American to ever be classified with two 100 percent disabilities in two different wars.

  [18] * The 1st Infantry, the Big Red 1 is the oldest division in the United States Army and has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917

  [19] *The Meuse-Argonne was the greatest battle yet fought by the U.S. Army. Almost 1,250,000 American troops had participated during the course of the offensive. Casualties were high—120,000 total.

  [20] *Authored by Kermit Roosevelt describing his service in Mesopotamia. Published in New York shortly upon his return to the United States.

  [21] *Astor was an avid yachtsman with a penchant for philanthropy, social concerns and the drama of cloak and dagger intrigue. In 1917, after planning with his friend, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Roosevelt for the creation of a new flotilla of yachts to assist in the war effort, he loaned his own 262 foot yacht, the Noma to the Navy and volunteered himself as a young ensign. Astor saw action on the vessel off the coast of France and the flotilla concept eventually became the United States Naval Reserve. Later, during the Second World War, Astor donated his new yacht, the Nourmahal, to the war effort and became a Lieutenant Commander serving as a clandestine intelligence operative in New York for President Franklin Roosevelt.

  [22] *This region is within central Asia where Great Britain and the Russian Empire conducted their strategic cat and mouse game of conquest during the 19th and early 20th centuries which the British called the Great Game. Just prior to the Great War, the British were concerned with the northern exposure to India as the Russian Empire expanded into Transcaucasia while both vied for control of Afghanistan and Persia. The only few Westerners who travelled this land were those on spying missions to gain vital intelligence for their respective countries.

  [23] *The Rowland Ward record book currently lists (in 2010) the world record of Tien Shan Ibex at 54 ½ inches taken by Kermit Roosevelt.

  [24] *Following this period Belle sent their son, Kermit Jr. a copy of her diary in letter form while in England with Kermit from February 1, 1940 to April 30, 1940. The diary (with others of the period) now resides in the Library of Congress in Washington DC in the Belle and Kermit Roosevelt Collection.

  [25] *In the excellent study of the Roosevelt children, “The Lion’s Pride” by Edward J. Renehan Jr., he records Kermit’s mistress as named Carla Peters. However, “The Louis Nichols Official and Confidential File and the Clyde Tolson Personal File” within the Confidential Files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation cite her name as Herta Peters.

  [26] *The following narrative is based upon 633 pages of documents contained in Kermit Roosevelt’s military file acquired by the author from the National Archives. The file was closed to the public and only declassified in 1959, sixteen years following his death and even in 2010 was very difficult to obtain. Despite repeated requests to the National Archives by the author the government still resisted disclosure and only responded after the author enlisted the help of Congressman John Hall.

  [27] *Witness Testimony per the Report of Investigation of the Death of Major Kermit Roosevelt o-188985, dated June 4, 1943. Conducted by Lt. Col. Morris R. Moore, Inf., Claims Officer, Alaska Defense Command. File resides in the National Archives.

  [28] *Even in the 21st Century, Iran is the second largest producer of oil in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

  [29] *Renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1935 and then the British Petroleum Company (BP) in 1954.

  [30] *Iranian paramilitary police force trained and commanded by Schwarzkopf.

  [31] *West Point graduate and first Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, Schwarzkopf is the father of four-star general Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of Operation Desert Storm.