Gordon Byrom Rogers

Gordon Byrom Rogers
Rogers as a West Point Cadet. From the 1924 USMA Yearbook.
Born	August 22, 1901 Manchester, Tennessee
Died	July 3, 1967 (aged 65) Washington, DC
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1924-1961
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	3rd Cavalry Regiment 12th Cavalry Regiment 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division 5th Cavalry Regiment United States Military Advisory Group to the Republic of Korea 3rd Armored Division Southern Area Command, West Germany Seventh Army
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit Purple Heart Bronze Star Medal Combat Infantryman's Badge
Relations	Brigadier General Gordon B. Rogers, Jr. (son)
Other work	Director, NATO Mutual Weapons Development Team

Gordon Byrom Rogers (August 22, 1901 – July 3, 1967) was a United States Army Lieutenant General who served in several command positions during World War II and the Korean War, including the United States Military Advisory Group to the Republic of Korea and the 3rd Armored Division.

Early life

Rogers was born in Manchester, Tennessee.^[1] He attended the University of Tennessee for a year, graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1924, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Cavalry.^[2]

Start of military career

After graduation Rogers was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Regiment.^[3]

In 1929 he completed the Cavalry Officer Course and in 1930 he graduated from the Advanced Equitation Course, both at Fort Riley, Kansas.^[4]

For several years Rogers played on the Army Polo Team. In 1930 he was a member of the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team.^[5][6]

During the 1930s Rogers served with the 10th and 2nd Cavalry Regiments.^[7]

In 1939 he graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College. He was then assigned to the 6th Cavalry at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, where he commanded a cavalry troop and then a cavalry squadron.^[8]

World War II

In February 1942 he joined the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and soon advanced to regimental commander. He was the final commander of the regiment as a horse cavalry formation, and in the summer of 1942 it fielded tanks and was reorganized as the 3rd Armored Regiment.^[9]

In July, 1942, Rogers was named deputy chief of staff for intelligence, G-2 at I Corps during training and mobilization in South Carolina, remaining with the Corps during its move to Australia and subsequent combat in the Pacific Ocean Theater.^{[10][11][12][13]}

General Rogers was next assigned as G-2 for Army Ground Forces, serving in this post until September, 1945.^[14]

Post World War II

After the war Rogers was assigned to the War Department General Staff as chief of the Training Branch in the Office of the Director of Intelligence.^[15]

Beginning in September, 1946 Rogers took part in the post-war occupation of Japan as commander of the 12th Cavalry Regiment (part of 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division), and the 5th Cavalry Regiment.^[16]

In July, 1949 Rogers was appointed director of intelligence for the Command and General Staff College.^[17]

Rogers graduated from the Army War College in 1951, afterwards remaining at the college as a member of the faculty and acting deputy commandant.^[18][19]

Korean War

In June, 1952 General Rogers went to Korea as assistant division commander of the 40th Infantry Division.^[20]

After briefly serving as deputy commander, in May, 1953 Rogers was named commander of the United States Military Advisory Group to the Republic of Korea, where he served until October, 1953. In this assignment Rogers was responsible for providing training and logistics support to the Republic of Korea Army.^{[21][22][23][24]}

Post Korean War

Following that assignment he was appointed commanding general of the 3rd Armored Division based at Fort Knox, Kentucky. During his command the division was reorganized from a training unit to a deployable one and plans were made to relocate it to West Germany.^[25][26][27]

Following his division command Rogers served in Munich, West Germany as commander of the Southern Area Command and deputy commander of the Seventh Army. In 1958 he became commander of VII Corps.^[28][29][30]

From 1959 until his 1961 retirement Rogers was deputy commander of the Continental Army Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia. In this position he chaired the Army Aircraft Requirements Review Board (or Rogers Board), which made recommendations contained in the Army's long term Aircraft Development Plan, as well as recommendations for the creation of air assault units.^{[31][32][33][34][35]}

Post-military career

After his retirement from the Army General Rogers served as Director of the NATO Mutual Weapons Development Team.^[36]

Awards and decorations

General Rogers' awards included: the Distinguished Service Cross (two awards); Distinguished Service Medal; Silver Star (two awards); Legion of Merit (three awards); Purple Heart; Bronze Star Medal (two awards); and Combat Infantryman's Badge.^{[37][38][39][40]}

Retirement and death

In retirement Rogers resided in Severna Park, Maryland.^[41] Rogers died at Walter Reed Hospital on July 3, 1967 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 1, Site 943-A.^[42][43][44]

Family

In 1934 Rogers married Mary Louise Watson (1910–1963) in Washington, DC.^[45] One of their children, Gordon Byrom Rogers, Jr. (born October 21, 1934) graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1957. The younger Rogers was a career Army officer who served in the Vietnam War and attained the rank of Brigadier General.^[46][47][48]

In 1964, Rogers married Mildred Montague Kimball at her ranch in Sedalia, Colorado.^[49]

Other

In his memoir David Hackworth cites Rogers as an example of Korean War senior officers who received undeserved awards for valor. According to Hackworth, Rogers received the Silver Star for nothing more than spending a short time at a forward command post while serving as assistant division commander of the 40th Infantry Division. Hackworth indicated that his perception of this incident led him to decide that the military's awards process had become devalued, and that senior officers should almost never be recommended for valor medals.^[50]

External resources

• Find A Grave page, Gordon B. Rogers, accessed April 23, 2011
• Arlington Cemetery.net page, Gordon Byrom Rogers, accessed May 8, 2011

References

1. The Distinguished Service Cross, U.S. Army Recipients, WW II, Home of Heroes web site, accessed April 23, 2011
2. Official U.S. Army Directory, published by U.S. Army Adjutant General, 1961, page 459
3. Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, George Washington Cullum, Volume 7, 1930, page 1845
4. Official U.S. Army Directory, published by U.S. Army Adjutant General, 1957, page 733
5. The Patton Mind: The Professional Development of an Extraordinary Leader, by Roger Hurless Nye, 1993, page 88
6. Polo in the United States: A History, Horace A. Laffaye, 2011, page 75
7. Armor Magazine, Volume 44, 1935, page 69
8. Army and Navy Journal, Volume 76, Issues 1-26, 1938, page 564
9. Newspaper article, Third Cavalry Is Shifted From Ft. Myer to Georgia, New York Times, February 14, 1942
10. Victory in Papua, Samuel Milner, 1957, Volume 2, Part 7, page 205
11. Dear Miss Em: General Eichelberger's War in the Pacific, 1942-1945, by Jay Luvaas, 1972, page 40
12. Our Jungle Road to Tokyo, by Robert L. Eichelberger, 1950, page 25
13. Forged by Fire, by John F. Shortal, 1987, page 37
14. War Department Staff Directory, United States Government Manual for 1945, published by U.S. Government Printing Office, 1945, page 250
15. Preliminary Report, by Committee Appointed to Study War Department Intelligence Activities, November 3, 1945, page 1
16. Occupation Diary, First Cavalry Division, by Charles A. Rogers, 1950, page 36
17. Military Review magazine, published by U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 1951, Volume 30, page 116
18. Of Responsible Command: A History of the U.S. Army War College, by Harry P. Ball, 1994, page 302
19. Register of Graduates and Former Cadets, United States Military Academy, published by West Point Alumni Foundation, 1989, page 342
20. The Fighting Pattons, by Brian Sobel, 1997, page 74
21. From the Danube to the Yalu, Mark W. Clark, 1954, page 185
22. The Unfinished War: Korea, by Bong Lee, 2003, page 222
23. From Pusan to Panmunjom, by Paik Sun Yup, 1992, page 230
24. Newspaper article, Rhee Decorates U. S. Aide, New York Times, October 25, 1953
25. Armed Forces Journal International, 1955, Volume 92, Issues 27-52, page 810
26. Army Magazine, published by Association of the United States Army, 1955, Volume 6, page 59
27. Commanders of the 3d Armored Division 1941-1992, published by Association of 3rd Armored Division Veterans, accessed April 23, 2011
28. Newspaper article, Army Command Change, Edison Township and Fords Beacon, July 2, 1958
29. Assembly Magazine, published by West Point Alumni Association, Volumes 18-19, 1959, page 48
30. Newspaper article, Army Command Shift in Europe, New York Times, June 13, 1958
31. Conceptual Underpinnings of the Air Assault Concept, The Hogaboom, Rogers and Howze Boards, by Mark A. Olinger, published by the Institute of Land Warfare, Association of the United States Army, 2006, page 5
32. Howard Hughes: His Life & Madness, by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, 1979, page 352
33. Vietnam Studies: Airmobility, 1961-1971, by Lieutenant General John Tolson, published by Department of the Army, 1973, page 8
34. Newspaper article, Army Plans to Eliminate Foot Slogging Soldier, Chicago Tribune, August 10, 1960
35. Newspaper article, Three Army Chiefs Shifted, New York Times, August 21, 1959
36. Mutual Weapons Development Data Exchange Agreement Concerning Armored Vehicles, published by North Atlantic Treaty Organization, November 27, 1961, page 208
37. List of major military awards presented, Papuan Campaign: The Buna-Sanananda Operation, 16 November 1942 - 23 January 1943, published by U.S. Army Center for Military History, 1945, page 84
38. Citation, Distinguished Service Medal, Gordon Byrom Rogers, Citations for Major Military Awards, published by Military Times Hall of Valor, accessed April 23, 2011
39. List of Major Military Awards, Gordon Byrom Rogers, Military Times Hall of Valor, accessed April 23, 2011
40. Official U.S. Army Register, published by U.S. Army Adjutant General, 1960, page 920
41. Social Security Death Index
42. Newspaper article, Lieut. Gen. Gordon Rogers, Ex-Intelligence Officer, 65, New York Times, July 3, 1967
43. Newspaper article, Gen. Rogers Rites Held; Graduate Of West Point Had Varied Military Career, Baltimore Sun, July 6, 1967
44. Nationwide Gravesite Locator, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
45. Obituary, Mary Louise Rogers, Baltimore Sun, February 22, 1963
46. Genealogical Succession, Graduates of the United States Military Academy, published by the West Point Association of Graduates, updated February 2011
47. Assembly Magazine, published by West Point Alumni Association, 1967, Volumes 26-27, page 92
48. Register of Graduates and Former Cadets, United States Military Academy, published by West Point Alumni Foundation, 1973, page 686
49. "Lt. Gen. Rogers Wed in Colorado". Mt. Vernon Register-News. Mt. Vernon, IL. April 3, 1964. p. 5. (subscription required (help)).
50. About Face, by David H. Hackworth and Julie Sherman, 1990, page 256