Gordon Byrom Rogers
Rogers as commander of US VII Corps, 1958. From the September–October 1967 edition of Armor magazine.
Born(1901-08-22)August 22, 1901
Manchester, Tennessee
DiedJuly 3, 1967(1967-07-03) (aged 65)
Washington, DC
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1924–1961
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands held3rd 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/warsWorld War II
Korean War
AwardsDistinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Purple Heart
Bronze Star Medal
Combat Infantryman's Badge
RelationsBrigadier General Gordon B. Rogers Jr. (son)
Other workDirector, 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.

Start of military career

Rogers as a West Point Cadet. From the 1924 USMA Yearbook.

He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1924, and was commissioned a second lieutenant of cavalry.[2] 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 Fort 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. Under 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 with his wife at Arlington National Cemetery.[42][43][44][45]

Family

In 1934, Rogers married Mary Louise Watson (1910–1963) in Washington, DC.[46] 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.[47][48][49]

In 1964, Rogers married Mildred Montague Kimball at her ranch in Sedalia, Colorado.[50]

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.[51]

References

  1. ↑ The Distinguished Service Cross, U.S. Army Recipients, WW II Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, 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, p. 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, p. 88
  6. ↑ Polo in the United States: A History, Horace A. Laffaye, 2011, p. 75
  7. ↑ Armor Magazine, Volume 44, 1935, p. 69
  8. ↑ Army and Navy Journal, Volume 76, Issues 1-26, 1938, p. 564
  9. ↑ "Third Cavalry Is Shifted From Ft. Myer to Georgia]". The New York Times. February 14, 1942.
  10. ↑ Victory in Papua, Samuel Milner, 1957, Volume 2, Part 7, p. 205
  11. ↑ Dear Miss Em: General Eichelberger's War in the Pacific, 1942–1945, by Jay Luvaas, 1972, p. 40
  12. ↑ Our Jungle Road to Tokyo, by Robert L. Eichelberger, 1950, p. 25
  13. ↑ Forged by Fire, by John F. Shortal, 1987, p. 37
  14. ↑ War Department Staff Directory, United States Government Manual for 1945, published by U.S. Government Printing Office, 1945, p. 250
  15. ↑ Preliminary Report Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine, by Committee Appointed to Study War Department Intelligence Activities, November 3, 1945, p. 1
  16. ↑ Occupation Diary, First Cavalry Division, by Charles A. Rogers, 1950, p. 36
  17. ↑ Military Review magazine, published by U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 1951, Volume 30, p. 116
  18. ↑ Of Responsible Command: A History of the U.S. Army War College, by Harry P. Ball, 1994, p. 302
  19. ↑ Register of Graduates and Former Cadets, United States Military Academy, published by West Point Alumni Foundation, 1989, p. 342
  20. ↑ The Fighting Pattons, by Brian Sobel, 1997, p. 74
  21. ↑ From the Danube to the Yalu, Mark W. Clark, 1954, p. 185
  22. ↑ The Unfinished War: Korea, by Bong Lee, 2003, p. 222
  23. ↑ From Pusan to Panmunjom, by Paik Sun Yup, 1992, p. 230
  24. ↑ "Rhee Decorates U. S. Aide". The New York Times. October 25, 1953.
  25. ↑ Armed Forces Journal International, 1955, Volume 92, Issues 27-52, p. 810
  26. ↑ Army Magazine, published by Association of the United States Army, 1955, Volume 6, p. 59
  27. ↑ Commanders of the 3d Armored Division 1941–1992 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, published by Association of 3rd Armored Division Veterans, accessed April 23, 2011
  28. ↑ "Army Command Change" (PDF). Edison Township and Fords Beacon. July 2, 1958. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  29. ↑ Assembly Magazine, published by West Point Alumni Association, Volumes 18-19, 1959, p. 48
  30. ↑ "Army Command Shift in Europe". The New York Times. June 13, 1958.
  31. ↑ Conceptual Underpinnings of the Air Assault Concept, The Hogaboom, Rogers and Howze Boards Archived 2011-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, by Mark A. Olinger, published by the Institute of Land Warfare, Association of the United States Army, 2006, p. 5
  32. ↑ Howard Hughes: His Life & Madness, by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, 1979, p. 352
  33. ↑ Vietnam Studies: Airmobility, 1961-1971, by Lieutenant General John Tolson, published by Department of the Army, 1973, p. 8
  34. ↑ "Army Plans to Eliminate Foot Slogging Soldier". Chicago Tribune. August 10, 1960.
  35. ↑ "Three Army Chiefs Shifted". The New York Times. August 21, 1959.
  36. ↑ Mutual Weapons Development Data Exchange Agreement Concerning Armored Vehicles Archived 2011-08-26 at the Wayback Machine, published by North Atlantic Treaty Organization, November 27, 1961, p. 208
  37. ↑ List of major military awards presented Archived 2010-02-24 at the Wayback Machine, 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. ↑ Burial Detail: Rogers, Gordon G (Section 1, Grave 943-A) – ANC Explorer
  43. ↑ "Lieut. Gen. Gordon Rogers, Ex-Intelligence Officer, 65". The New York Times. July 3, 1967.
  44. ↑ "Gen. Rogers Rites Held; Graduate Of West Point Had Varied Military Career". The Baltimore Sun. July 6, 1967.
  45. ↑ Nationwide Gravesite Locator Archived 2020-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  46. ↑ "Obituary, Mary Louise Rogers". The Baltimore Sun. February 22, 1963.
  47. ↑ Genealogical Succession, Graduates of the United States Military Academy, published by the West Point Association of Graduates, updated February 2011
  48. ↑ Assembly Magazine, published by West Point Alumni Association, 1967, Volumes 26-27, p. 92
  49. ↑ Register of Graduates and Former Cadets, United States Military Academy, published by West Point Alumni Foundation, 1973, p. 686
  50. ↑ "Lt. Gen. Rogers Wed in Colorado". Mt. Vernon Register-News. Mt. Vernon, IL. April 3, 1964. p. 5.
  51. ↑ About Face, by David H. Hackworth and Julie Sherman, 1990, p. 256
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