Some context: Roosevelt was born in New York City at 123 East 36th Street. He attended the Potomac School and the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., and the Groton School in Massachusetts. At Groton, he rowed and played football, and was a prefect in his senior year. After graduation in 1926, he attended Harvard College, where he rowed with the freshman and junior varsity crews.
After Japan's Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt requested assignment to combat duty and was transferred to the Marine Raiders in January 1942, a new Marine Corps commando force, and became second-in-command of the 2nd Raider Battalion under Evans Carlson (Carlson's Raiders) whom Roosevelt knew when Carlson commanded the Marine Detachment at the Warm Springs, Georgia residence of Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt's influence helped win presidential backing for the Raiders--influenced by the British Commandos--which were opposed by Marine Corps traditionalists.  Despite occasionally debilitating health problems, Roosevelt served with the 2nd Raiders at Midway as a major in early June 1942 and in the Makin Island raid on August 17-18, 1942, where he and 22 others were awarded the Navy Cross. In October, he was given command of the new 4th Raiders, but during training for an upcoming combat operation he became ill enough to be hospitalized in February 1943. Beginning in August 1943, he served in various staff positions during the rest of the war. He was attached to and landed with the U.S. Army's 165th Regimental Combat Team, 27th infantry Division during the invasion of Makin on November 20-23, and was awarded the Silver Star by the Army. He was promoted to colonel on April 13, 1944. He was released from active duty in August 1945 and was placed on the inactive list in October 1945. That same month he became a Compatriot of the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.  Roosevelt continued in the Marine Corps Reserve, and retired on October 1, 1959 with the advanced rank of brigadier general. Roosevelt suffered from flat feet, and while other Marines were required to wear boots, he was allowed to wear sneakers.
Did anything notable happen during his time with the 2nd Raiders at Midway?
A: he served in various staff positions during the rest of the war. He was attached to and landed with the U.S. Army's 165th Regimental Combat Team,
Some context: James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, actor, author and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. He is known for such hip hop hits as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells" and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as romantic ballads such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover".
James Todd Smith was born on January 14, 1968, in Bay Shore, New York, the son of Ondrea Griffeth (born January 19, 1946) and James Louis Smith, Jr. In an episode of Finding Your Roots, LL learned his mother was adopted by Eugene Griffith and Ellen Hightower. The series' genetic genealogist CeCe Moore identified LL's biological grandparents as Ethel Mae Jolly and Nathaniel Christy Lewis through analysis of his DNA. LL's biological great-uncle was hall of fame boxer, John Henry Lewis.  He began rapping at the age of 9, influenced by the hip-hop group The Treacherous Three. In March 1984, sixteen-year-old Smith was creating demo tapes in his grandparents' home. His grandfather, a jazz saxophonist, bought him $2,000 worth of equipment, including two turntables, an audio mixer and an amplifier. Smith stated that "By the time I got that equipment, I was already a rapper. In this neighborhood, the kids grow up in rap. It's like speaking Spanish if you grow up in an all-Spanish house. I got into it when I was about 9, and since then all I wanted was to make a record and hear it on the radio." This was at the same time that NYU student Rick Rubin and promoter-manager Russell Simmons founded the then-independent Def Jam label. By using the mixer he had received from his grandfather, Smith produced and mixed his own demos and sent them to various record companies throughout New York City, including Def Jam.  In a VH1 documentary (Planet Rock: the Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation), LL Cool J, at 14 years of age, revealed that he initially wanted to call himself J-Ski but did not want to associate his stage name with the cocaine culture (the rappers who use "Ski" or "Blow" as part of their stage name e.g., Kurtis Blow, Joeski Love were associated with the rise of the cocaine culture as depicted in the 1983 remake of Scarface).  Under his new stage name, LL Cool J (an abbreviation for Ladies Love Cool James), Smith was signed by Def Jam, which led to the release of his first official record, the 12-inch single "I Need a Beat" (1984). The single was a hard-hitting, streetwise b-boy song with spare beats and ballistic rhymes. Smith later discussed his search for a label, stating "I sent my demo to many different companies, but it was Def Jam where I found my home." That same year, Smith made his professional debut concert performance at Manhattan Center High School. In a later interview, LL Cool J recalled the experience, stating "They pushed the lunch room tables together and me and my DJ, Cut Creator, started playing. ... As soon as it was over there were girls screaming and asking for autographs. Right then and there I said 'This is what I want to do'." LL's debut single sold over 100,000 copies and helped establish both Def Jam as a label and Smith as a rapper. The commercial success of "I Need a Beat", along with the Beastie Boys' single "Rock Hard" (1984), helped lead Def Jam to a distribution deal with Columbia Records the following year.  LL Cool J married Simone Smith in 1995. They have four children.
How did he get started in the music industry?
A:
Under his new stage name, LL Cool J (an abbreviation for Ladies Love Cool James), Smith was signed by Def Jam,