Lieutenant Roosevelt lying beside his aircraft, a Nieuport 28. He is buried on the exact spot where he fell. Today it is marked by a star set in a stone circle. Quentin Roosevelt (November 19, 1897 - July 14, 1918) was the youngest son of President Theodore Roosevelt. He was only three years old when his father became president, and he grew up in the White House. As a young man, he displayed a natural mechanical aptitude and could fix almost anything. He dropped out of college in May 1917 to join the newly formed 1st Reserve Aero Squadron, the first air reserve unit in the nation. He helped in setting up the large Air Service training base at Issoudun. He was a supply officer and then over time ran one of the training airfields. Eventually he became a pilot in the 95th Aero Squadron, part of the 1st Pursuit Group. Extremely popular with his fellow pilots and known for being daring, he was killed in aerial combat over France on Bastille Day (July 14), 1918. He was 20 years old at the time of his death. The following is a German communique that was intercepted: "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." His resting place became a shrine and an inspiration to his comrades in arms. His death was a great personal loss to his father. It is said that he never fully recovered from Quentin's death. Within six months, Theodore himself would be dead.
