LZ: During his time with the groundbreaking World WAR II aviation unit, Willie Rogers was largely based on the ground in logistics. He was so “low-key” about it and so rarely talked about it with others that some close to him did not even know of his participation.
He passed away at age 101 in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he had lived for the past 50 years, CBS Tampa affiliate WTSP reported.
I’ve kicked myself so many times about these guys. Maybe 15-16 years ago I got on a flight here in Dallas and found I was surrounded by these guys going home after their reunion, and I didn’t ask any for an autograph. No cameras on phones then as well.
I met one of the Tuskegee Airmen. He was one of my customers and lived in Fairfield, Ohio. He was a quality guy. There is a story of a bomber pilot who wanted to look up one of the black fighters who protected his plane in WWII. He did and it turns out they went to school together here in Cincinnati. The were photographed together in a class picture when they were in grade school. Now I look at the BLM movement and shake my head at how far Obama has taken this country backwards in race relations.
So few of our WWII vets are with us.
They are greatly missed.
RIP sir
We owe you a debt we cannot repay
RIP Mr. Rogers. You were a fine role model and inspiration, sir.
Some a movie about them some years back and did a little reading about them as well. They were very, very good at their jobs and extremely professional as well. I imagine that when they saw the “Redtails” coming there were more then a few Luftwaffe pilots sitting in a puddle. I believe their history and performance were a major reason that the armed forces were desegregated by Harry Truman which in turn was a driving force behind overall desegregation in the coming years. Indomitable spirit, professional attitude and deadly warriors when called upon. America should be proud.
Just an aside. And I already mentioned it in a previous post. But a new book is streeting on Friday. From one of the few survivors of uss Arizona. All the gallant men
I cannot wait to read it.
Quite a generation. Last month I went to the CAF airshow her in Dallas. One of the speakers was Col. Richard Cole, also 101 years old. He was Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot and the last surviving veteran of the raid on Tokyo.
The guy was sharp as a tack, never missed a beat and talked about the war years like it was yesterday.
Greatest generation . RIP . Was it me or was very little said about the passing of leftist hack Gwen Ifill?
My dad was a bomber pilot in the European Theatre during WWII. I once asked him about these flyers. He said that on their way back from a bombing mission, they would be so glad to see these airmen coming out to see them safely home.
He said you could always count on them to be there.
God bless you sir. thank you for your service and for leaving a wonderful legacy for us.
We owe everything to these people who fought that war, and especially These men who excelled at what they did in spite of racism and abuse. Real racism. Not the ridiculous pablum that Black Lies Murder whines about. These were men to be admired and remembered by all of us no matter what color we may be. Job well done. Job well done.
Rest in Peace Sir.
I have an immeasurable amount of appreciation for these guys. They had the smarts, the intelligence, and the intestinal fortitude to step up for this country.
I would love to be the vanguard that stood vigilant for these heroes.
I wish I could have known them personally, I have never known of a finer group of human beings.
Nothing to add here other than it is interesting to read all the respectful comments regarding a valuable part of history. I too wish I could have known some of them personally.
God, our old soldiers are disappearing. I don’t want them to ever be forgotten or to be lied about just to change history to make a phony point (lame stream media). If you have or had an older soldier in your family, please keep telling their stories so that he or she will not be forgotten.
These were the TRUE Black Lives that Mattered, not this whiny hood rat generation of government reliant ghetto monkeys we have today.
These were MEN. These MEN put up with more true racism and bullshit than anyone living today in America.
God Bless them and their memory.
That’s right, I said it!
God bless you sir. Thank you for your service.