From POW to Senior Master Sergeant

By Brigid Miller

Ernest G. Rogers Jr.

January 1, 1915 – August 12, 2009

Ernest Rogers pictured in the middle courtesy of Horan and McConaty at horancares.com.

Ernest served the United States from around the world. Whether it was in a Japanese Prisoners of War Camp during World War II, serving at the northernmost operational Air Force Base in Greenland, or the huge refueling base in Libya, Ernest served in the U.S. Air Force with pride.

Ernest G. Rogers Jr. was born to Ernest G. and Robbie Rogers on New Year’s Day in 1915 in Saltville, Virginia. His father was a railway clerk managing ticket sales and the cash register.[1] Ernest was the oldest of five children.[2] Dale, Robert, and Irvin were his three younger brothers (in order of oldest to youngest), and the youngest child was Eunice, his only sister.[3] Although his family moved around a little bit, they always stayed within Saltville. In 1920, Ernest lived with his two younger brothers, Dale and Robert, his father, mother, and his aunt and uncle on his mom’s side of the family.[4] By 1930, Ernest’s other siblings had been born and the 7 of them lived together. Ernest was 15 at the time and Eunice was 3.[5] Ernest graduated from high school in 1932 in the middle of the Great Depression. Work was difficult to find and keep during the Great Depression, but a few months after graduating, he found a job delivering telegrams for $22 a month. He eventually learned how to be a telegraph operator and he got a part-time job making $65 per month. While working as a telegraph operator, Ernest felt rich, but it didn’t last very long because this position was only for the duration of the summer. Telegraph operators were soon replaced by teletype operators, and he was out of a job again. Because he didn’t have a job, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1939.[6]

When he enlisted, the army had a rapidly increasing number of enlisted men, so the basic training covered the bare essentials in two weeks before the men were shipped off to duty. Ernest trained and started his career in Hawaii.[7] In January of 1941, Ernest went to radio operating school for three months. Later that year the radio operators in the Air Corps were asked for two volunteers to go to Wake Island, an island approximately halfway between Hawaii and the Philippines. Ernest “had been in the army long enough to know not to volunteer,” but the pay was $4 a day, so he and one other man volunteered to go.[8] They were told to provide any communication support required on the island and that they would only be there for 90 days. Staff Sergeant Rogers and the other five Army Air Corps men arrived at Wake Island on November 11, 1941.[9] On December 8 Ernest was on duty at the communications truck when an S.O.S message came in. He initially thought that someone had sent a false message and was going to get in trouble, but then the message continued: “S.O.S. [Japanese] attacking Pearl Harbor; this is the real thing, this is no drill.”[10] Ernest had a marine take him to the officer in charge to relay the message, followed by going to the marine camp mess hall to warn his fellow servicemen. Everyone thought he was messing with them, just as he had thought when he first heard the message.[11] Later that same day, Japanese forces arrived at Wake Island and launched an attack.

The Japanese fighter planes started by bombing the marine fighter planes. They kept bombing the island around 11:00 am each day after the initial attack. Because the Air Corps personnel were radio operators, they didn’t bring any weapons, so the marines issued some old rifles to them without any ammunition. One marine was showing Ernest how to clean his rifle when another bombing raid occurred, and they scattered to get underground. When the bombing ceased, Ernest went back to where he was learning to clean his rifle looking for the bolt, but it wasn’t there. Ernest carried around a useless rifle for a few days before ditching it.[12] A few days later, the Japanese Navy arrived to launch an invasion. The Japanese overestimated the damage caused by the bombing runs. Despite the small number of American military personnel on the island, they managed to cause a lot of damage to the Japanese forces during the first invasion attempt and repel the Navy. On December 23, the Japanese Navy returned with reinforcements and successfully occupied the island after the Americans forces surrendered. The American troops took approximately 1,000 Japanese lives and seven warships before the island fell.[13] Although the Japanese did successfully occupy the island, the story of the Wake Island troops represented a morale boost for Americans after the defeat at Pearl Harbor.[14]

After the Americans surrendered, all of the personnel were told to stay at their posts and wait for someone to come get them. After a little while of waiting, some Japanese soldiers arrived at Ernest’s group. They first searched them for any valuables like watches and rings, and then stripped the Americans down to their underwear and shoes. Ernest’s group was lucky to keep their underwear and shoes; some of the American troops were not so lucky and were stripped completely naked.[15] The whole surrender and invasion felt like a dream to Ernest and it never really registered to him that he was now a prisoner of the Japanese.[16] The Americans were kept on the island for about a week before being moved. During that time, they were fed twice a day, usually something somewhat unsubstantial. Some of the Japanese soldiers were kinder than others. Ernest didn’t have a mess kit, so he found some rusty scrap tin to eat off of and one Japanese soldier gave him something to scratch the rust off. After that about 400 of the servicemen and 800 American civilians on the island were put into small, hot compartments and shipped to Japan, followed by some being moved again to China as prisoners; 300 Americans were left on Wake Island for manual labor and construction.[17] Of the Americans remaining on the Island, 98 were executed at the end of the war. They are immortalized with the engraved rock monument above their mass grave on the Island.[18]

The American prisoners were kept in close quarters in the dark cargo pit for about a week before arriving in Japan. Five of the men he served with on Wake Island were tortured and beheaded before reaching Japan. Ernest and some others were taken off of the ship to a house where they got a hot bath, some good food, and haircuts. While they were there, they were asked some questions, but he was never pressed particularly hard for any answers. Ernest was taken to the Zentsuji Prison Camp, which was one of the only POW camps in Japan Proper until April in 1942, and primarily had prisoners from Guam and the Wake Islands.[19] He arrived at the camp around January 20, 1942 with 20 fellow soldiers from Wake Island. In May 1942, 24 wounded and injured men from Wake Island joined the other POWs at Zentsuji.[20] The prisoners were fed three times a day, but they never asked what they were eating because more often than not they wouldn’t want to know.[21] Most of the POWs at Zentsuji were used by Nippon Express Company, which is a transportation company. Prisoners who were forced to work would have had long, brutal days doing manual labor for the company loading and unloading cargo at railroad docs.[22] For a few weeks Ernest was allowed to work at a bakery and was able to eat some of the bread that they made.[23] The Japanese Imperial Army was paid by each company utilizing prisoner labor, but the prisoners themselves rarely saw any of the money they should have made.[24] If they were actually paid it amounted to approximately 3 yen per month that they could spend at the little cantina. Most of the items they could buy were notebooks and pencils. Ernest was the only enlisted army person at Zentsuji earning him the nickname, “Soldier.” As the war continued, the prisoners could only guess how the war was going by how many beatings were given and by reading where the battles were taking place from the English newspaper. They could tell that the Americans were getting closer and closer. This gave them a lot of hope, which is something that is very necessary for surviving a POW camp. As soon as someone gave up hope, they wouldn’t last much longer.[25] Ernest and the other Wake Island men were prisoners of war for four years until the Japanese garrison formally surrendered.[26] All of the six Army Air Corps men on Wake Island survived the war.[27]

While Ernest was a prisoner in Japan, the rest of his family was still living together in Saltville aside from Dale who was a Postmaster living with his wife.[28] During the course of World War II, all three of Ernest’s brothers registered for the draft. Dale registered in 1940, Robert in 1941, and Irvin in 1945.[29] Dale went on to become a school Principal, but unfortunately died at the age of 48 in 1964.[30] Robert finished his education at King’s College with experience in Chemistry, Metallurgy, and as an Assayer.[31] After college he followed Ernest by enlisting in the U.S. Air Corp in 1942. [32] Irvin also worked for the U.S. Army after being drafted.[33] Eunice grew up to be a nurse and got married to a steel worker in 1951.[34]

After the war ended, Ernest reenlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1946 for the Hawaiian Department.[35] Throughout the 1940s the Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces both were aviation support for the Army. The prestige of the Air Corps (AAC) declined as the Air Forces (AAF) increased because they were utilized for different purposes. The AAC became more of a training branch while the AAF was more active. In 1947, the Air Corps was dis-established with the National Security Act of 1947, which established the U.S. Air Force. Most of the enlisted personnel from the AAC and AAF were transitioned over to the new branch of the U.S. military.[36]

In 1950, the United States got involved in the Korean War which lasted until 1953. Ernest was serving in the Air Force during this war. The Air Force had been growing fairly slowly, but steadily, since the end of World War II, but grew significantly during the Korean War. The U.S. Air Force increased their active air wings from 48 to about 93 and from 416,314 officers and enlisted personnel to 977,583 personnel by the end of June in 1953, as the war was ending. This expansion was spurred in part because of demands of the war itself, but also because Russia was expanding their own nuclear airpower. People in the U.S. generally supported the growth of the military and actions in Korea because they saw it as protecting democracy from the looming communism and thus protecting Americans from communism as well.[37]

Shortly after the Korean War ended, Ernest was stationed abroad in Greenland; in 1954, his wife, Marie, flew to join him.[38] Thule Air Force Base (AFB) was constructed in Greenland in the early 1950s and was considered by many to be the jewel air base because of its strategic proximity to the Soviet Union by crossing the North Pole. Thule AFB would eventually be a key base for an early missile warning system.[39] In 1955 the U.S. was steadily increasing involvement in another proxy war, this time in Vietnam, and by 1956 Ernest had been promoted to Master Sergeant. [40] Over the course of the Vietnam War, military troops in South East Asia increased until July 1969 when American Forces started to retreat. The Air Force was no exception, reaching 58,434 Air Force personnel in 1968 in South Vietnam alone.[41] Throughout the course of the Vietnam War, Ernest was stationed at various Air Force Bases all over the world, including, Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts and Wheelus Air Force Base in Libya. Wheelus was a large AFB that was in a good location for refueling transports as well as an optimal operating location for Strategic Air Command bombers and tankers due to the clear weather.[42] In 1969 58 Air Rescue and Recovery Service (ARRS) aircrafts based at Wheelus flew relief supplies and evacuated around 2,500 civilians from Tunisia after severe flooding decimated parts of the country.[43]

Ernest G Rogers, courtesy of Wake Island Spirit, Facebook.

At the beginning of the Vietnam War, Ernest and Marie adopted two kids from Newfoundland, Russell (in 1956) and Linda (in 1957). Both Russell and Linda were naturalized in Wisconsin, Marie’s home state. [44] Ernest’s family came to visit him in Libya and returned home to the U.S. in 1962.[45] Ernest retired from the military as a Senior Master Sergeant in his fifties in the same place where he started, Hawaii. In 1966 Ernest was working as a Resident Manager for Channing Corporation in Hawaii.[46] In 1970, the Rogers family moved to Aurora, Colorado. [47] Ernest and Marie eventually moved and settled down in Littleton.[48] Marie passed away in 2003 followed by Ernest six years later in 2009, who was 94 years old. Ernest and Marie are buried together in Fort Logan National Cemetery.[49]

Footnotes ↓

[1] “Virginia, Births, 1864-2016,” Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, ancestry.com (accessed July 21, 2020), entry for Ernest George Rogers, 1915; “1940 United States Federal Census,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 10, 2020), entry for Ernest Gammon Rogers, Virginia.

[2] “Virginia Birth Records,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 10, 2020), entry for Ernest Rogers, 1915.

[3] “1930 United States Federal Census,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 10, 2020), entry for Ernest Rogers, Hawaii.

[4] “1920 United States Federal Census,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 10, 2020), entry for Ernest Rogers, Hawaii.

[5] “1930 United States Federal Census.”

[6] Ernest Rogers, The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum: Oral Histories, Oral History, 2008, https://www.ww2online.org/view/ernest-rogers.

[7] “1940 United States Federal Census,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 10, 2020), entry for Ernest Rogers, Hawaii.

[8] Ernest Rogers, Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid. Note: The interviewee utilized a racial slur describing the Japanese.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] “Where Glory Abounds: Heroic Story of Last Days of Fighting on Wake Island Is Told by Two Marine Officers Who Escaped Prison,” Augusta, July 21, 1945, National Newspapers, accessed 7/15/2020.

[14] Battle of Wake Island (1941), YouTube (Simple History, 2018), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkCti6VBhRM.

[15] Ernest Rogers, The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum.

[16] Ibid.

[17] “Heroes of Wake--,” Augusta Chronicle, Augusta, Georgia, August 27, 1945; “Where Glory Abounds: --,” Augusta July 21, 1945.

[18] “The 98 Rock,” Monument Details, accessed August 2, 2020, https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=284.

[19] Bonnie Gilbert, “Wake Rosters;” Toru Fukubayashi, “POW Research Network Japan: Researches: POW Camps in Japan Proper,” POW Research Network Japan, Researches, POW Camps in Japan Proper, accessed August 2, 2020, http://www.powresearch.jp/en/archive/camplist/index.html.

[20] Roger Mansell, “Wake Island Men,” Wake Island POWs at Zentsuji, accessed August 5, 2020, http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/wake-list.html.

[21] Ernest Rogers, The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Ibid.

[24] Gary K Reynolds, “U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured,” Naval History and Heritage Command, December 17, 2002, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/u/us-prisoners-war-civilian-american-citizens-captured.html.

[25] Ernest Rogers, The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum.

[26] “World War II Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941-1945,” database, Ancestry.com (accessed July 10, 2020), entry for Ernest Rogers.

[27] Bonnie Gilbert, “Wake Rosters,” Wake Rosters, April 25, 2020, https://bonitagilbert.com/wake-rosters/.

[28] “1940 United States Federal Census,” entry for Ernest Gammon Rogers VA; “1940 United States Federal Census,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 10, 2020), entry for CD Rogers, Virginia.

[29] “WWII Draft Cards,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2020), entry for Charles Dale Rogers, 1940; “WWII Draft Cards,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2020), entry for Robert Gammon Rogers, 1941; “WWII Draft Cards,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2020), entry for Irvin Campbell Rogers, 1945.

[30] “Texas Death certificates,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 17, 2020), entry for Charles Dale Rogers, 1964.

[31] “WWII draft card,” entry for Robert Gammon Rogers.

[32] “WWII Enlistment records,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2020), entry for Robert Gammon Rogers, 1942.

[33] “U.S. City Directories,” database, ancestry.com (July 19, 2020), entry for Irvin Rogers, Virginia.

[34] “Virginia Marriage Records,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 19, 2020), entry for Eunice Eva Rogers, 1951.

[35] “WWII Army Enlistment Records,” National Archives (accessed July 10, 2020), entry for Ernest Rogers, 1946.

[36] John T. Correll, “But What about the Air Corps?” Air Force Magazine, July 2009, 64-65.

[37] Robert F. Futrell, The United States Air Force In Korea 1950-1953, originally published by Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1961, revised 1983, 1991, https://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329903/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-022.pdf.

[38] “Records of Immigration and Naturalization Service” in Passenger and Crew Manifests of Airplanes Departing from Westover Air Force Base, Chicopee, Massachusetts, National Archives, entry for Marie T Rogers, 1954.

[39] Harold “Phil” Myers, “American Aerospace Events,” Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency, Lackland AFB, TX, 2009.

[40] “Records of Immigration and Naturalization Service” in Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessel and Airplanes Arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, National Archives, entry for Ernest G Rogers, 1956.

[41] The Air Force Association, “The Air Force in The Vietnam War,” Air Force Magazine, Arlington, Virginia: Aerospace Education Foundation, 2004, https://secure.afa.org/Mitchell/Reports/1204vietnam.pdf.

[42] Walter J Boyne, “The Years of Wheelus,” Air Force Magazine, January 1, 2008, https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0108wheelus/.

[43] Meyers, “American Aerospace Events,” 343.

[44] Wisconsin federal naturalization records for Russell Wynn Rogers, 1956; Wisconsin federal naturalization records for Linda Marie Rogers, 1957.

[45] “U.S. City Directories,” database, ancestry.com (accessed July 28, 2020), entry for Ernest G. Rogers, Chicopee, Massachusetts, 1958; “Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service” in Passenger and Crew Manifests of Airplanes Arriving at Charleston, South Carolina, National Archives, entry for Marie T Rogers, 1962.