For most people viewing the third installment of Ken Burns’ sprawling seven-part documentary, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, Theodore Roosevelt’s 1913 expedition with his son Kermit into the Brazilian jungle was harrowing to watch.
But for University of Pennsylvania Law School Professor Kermit Roosevelt III, it was much more. He was watching his great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather fight off illness that almost killed both men as they traveled down the uncharted River of Doubt. When the former president contracted malaria and a serious infection, he told his son to leave him behind so he would not be a burden to his companions. Kermit contracted malaria as well but rejected his father’s request and used his survival skills to save Theodore Roosevelt’s life.
“In many ways, that was Kermit’s finest hour,” Kermit Roosevelt III said in an interview this week. “He wouldn’t leave him behind. But he was really sick too. So when I watch it, I think if he hadn’t lived, I wouldn’t be here.” Read full article here.
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