This Military Service Page was created/owned by
MAJ Mark E Cooper
to remember
Rogers, Bernard (Bernie), GEN.
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Last Address Fairfax, VA
Date of Passing Oct 27, 2008
Location of Interment U.S. Military Academy West Point Post Cemetery (VLM) - West Point, New York
Gen. Bernard W. Rogers Dies – 28th Army Chief of Staff
10/29/2008
Gen. Bernard W. Rogers, USA, Ret., the 28th Army chief of staff and a member of the Association of the United States Army’s Council of Trustees since June 1990, died Oct. 27 at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va.
He was 87.
Born in Fairview, Kan., after a tour as an enlisted man in the Kansas Army National Guard, Rogers entered and later graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1943 as a second lieutenant of infantry.
He retired from the Army in 1987 as the supreme allied commander Europe and commander-in-chief, U.S European Command.
Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, AUSA president said, “Today our nation lost a great American soldier, warrior, scholar, statesman and patriot who served his country in uniform with distinction, dedication and honor for 44 years.”
Adding, “As Army chief of staff in the 1970s, General Rogers, with uncanny vision and boundless energy, realized the need for a seamless active, Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve force. He inspired and supervised the Army’s move to a 24-division, all-component force to fight our nation’s wars into the future. And, he established priorities and programs for near-term readiness, midterm force modernization and long-term sustainability.
“With uncanny foresight, he was the prime mover in establishing the National Training Center that to this day prepares our soldiers for current and future battles on battlefields not yet known or imagined.”
Sullivan also said, “With his love for soldiers and his abiding concern for their families – and realizing their well-being is of paramount importance – he pioneered effective and realistic measures to ensure an enhanced quality of life for those who sacrifice so much to serve their country.”
Recognizing his unmatched contributions to the nation, not only while serving on active duty, but also after his retirement, in 1999, AUSA presented its highest award – the George Catlett Marshall Medal – to Rogers saying,” For nearly six decades, General Rogers has been a formidable force of inspiration for America’s Army, our country’s national defense and the peace-loving people of the world … during very extraordinary times and under very trying circumstances,”
Graduating from West Point as the first captain of the Corps of Cadets, Rogers returned to his Alma Mater and, due to his academic achievements as a cadet, the young captain became an instructor in the Department of Economics, Government and History.
Following an assignment as the aide to the High Commissioner to Austria, he was the aide to the commanding general, 6th U.S. Army.
With his probing mind, extraordinary talents and intellectual capacity, he won a national competition to attend Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
Here he received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics in 1950. He returned in 1954 and was awarded a master’s degree in the same fields.
After graduation, he returned to the United States, attended the Infantry Advanced Course and was deployed to Korea where he commanded the 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry – first as a temporary major then as a temporary lieutenant colonel. The division was engaged in sustained combat.
This led to becoming an aide to the commander-in-chief and staff intelligence officer for the United Nations and Far East Commands.
After the war, Rogers was back in the States, graduated from the Command and General Staff College, commanded the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry, was the executive officer and senior aide to the Army chief of staff and attended the Army War College.
Following his promotion to brigadier general, he was deployed to Vietnam where he was the assistant division commander, 1st Infantry Division.
It was during this assignment that Rogers distinguished himself in a series of combat operations and actions that marked him a warrior and hero.
For his gallantry in action, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device and 36 Air Medals with “V” Device.
After Vietnam, he again returned to West Point to become the commandant of cadets – reforming the cadet disciplinary system and making sure that the cadet leadership model reflected the leadership abilities to effectively lead soldiers.
He then commanded the 5th Infantry Division, a unit with low morale and even lower combat effectiveness.
Soon the division’s morale and unit readiness were not only restored, but also reached new heights due to the successful initiatives implemented by Rogers which later served as an Army-wide model and framework for the All-Volunteer Army during this critical time of transition.
Following an assignment as chief of Army legislative liaison as a major general, and deputy chief of staff for personnel as a lieutenant general both at the Pentagon, Rogers, now a four-star general, took over the U.S. Army Forces Command, where he stressed the importance of modernization and sustainability.
He became Army chief of staff in 1976, and soon after his four-year term, allied NATO nations selected him to become the supreme allied commander Europe.
For eight years, because his leadership and statesmanship – coupled with his vast knowledge and experiences as a soldier and warrior –NATO became stronger than any time in its history, and, as an alliance of strength, victory of the West was assured in the Cold War.
At the conclusion of his service with NATO, his accomplishments were recognized with the presentation of the Defense, Army, Navy and Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, in addition to numerous foreign awards and decorations.
After retiring, Rogers continued his service to the nation and the Army as a member of The Atlantic Council of the United States, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Association of the United States Army.
In 1995, the West Point Association of Graduates presented him with the Distinguished Graduate Award.
The citation read, in part, “His uncommon devotion to his country and its Army epitomizes the fines qualities of the American soldier and clearly reflects the principles and ideals embodied in the motto of West Point – Duty, Honor, Country.”
He is survived by his wife, Ann E. Rogers, McLean, Va., a son, Michael W., and two daughters, Diane Opperman and Susan Kroetch.
At press time, funeral arraignments were not finalized.
Other Comments:
Decorations
Distinguished Service Cross
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit with Three Oak Leaf Clusters
Distinguished Flying Cross with Two Oak Clusters
Bronze Star with “V” Device and Oak Leaf Cluster for Merit
Air Medal with “V” Device
Army Commendation Medal with Oak leaf cluster
Various Other U.S, Decorations
Vietnamese National Order, 5 th Class
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm (Two Awards)
Various Other Foreign Decorations including those of France, Japan, Italy, Peru, Colombia, Korea, Federal Republic of Germany.
Honorary Degrees
Honorary Doctorate of Law, Boston University
Honorary Doctorate of Law, Akron University
Honorary Doctorate of Civil Laws, Alma Mater, Oxford University, England.
Korean War/UN Defensive (1950)
From Month/Year
June / 1950
To Month/Year
September / 1950
Description
June to September 1950. Communist efforts to divide the South Koreans against themselves having failed, the North Koreans decided to attempt their subjugation by military force. At 0400, Sunday, 25 June 1950 (Korean Time), North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel into the Republic and launched their main effort toward the South Korean capital city of Seoul, down the P'och'on-Uijongbu and Yonch'on-Uijongbu corridors. Strong attacks were also directed through Kaesong toward Munsan on the right, and toward Ch'unch'on on the left. On the west coast the Ongjin Peninsula was quickly captured. On the east coast a land column and a small seaborne detachment met near Kangnung.
By 28 June Seoul had fallen, the North Koreans had closed up along the Han River to a point about 20 miles east of Seoul, and had advanced as far as Samchok on the meat coast. By 4 July enemy forces were along the line Suwon-Wonju-Samchok. In withdrawing, the Republic of Korea ("ROK") forces had suffered such serious losses that their attempts to regroup and retain order were almost futile.
On 25 June 1950 the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling "for immediate cessation of hostilities" and "upon the authorities of North Korea to withdraw forthwith their armed forces to the thirty-eighth parallel." When the North Koreans failed to accede to these demands, the Security Council passed a second resolution recommending "that the Members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and restore the international peace and security in the area."
President Truman announced on 27 June 1950 the t he had ordered American air and naval forces to give cover and support to the South Korean troops (UN Defensive-27 June to 15 September 1950). On the 28th he authorized the Commander in Chief Far East to use certain supporting ground units in Korea, and authorized the U.S. Air Force to conduct missions on specific targets in North Korea. On the 30th the President further authorized the C. in C. Far East to use all forces available to him to repel the invasion, and ordered a naval blockade of the entire coast of Korea.
A Security Council resolution of 7 July 1950 recommended the establishment of a unified command in Korea and requested the United States to designate a commander of these forces. On 8 July President Truman announced the appointment of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command (CINCUNC). On 14 July President Rhee placed all ROK security forces under the United Nations commander, an act which consolidated the anti-Communist forces under the United Nations Commend for the purpose of repelling the Communist aggression.
The U.S. forces at MacArthur's disposal included the four divisions in Japan-the 1st Cavalry Division and the 7th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions-and the 29th Regimental Combat Team in Okinawa. The divisions were lacking a third of their infantry and artillery units and almost all their armor units. Existing units were far under strength. Weapons and equipment were war-worn relics of World War II, and ammunition reserves amounted to only a 45-day supply. None of the divisions had reached full combat efficiency, since intensive training had been largely neglected because of occupation duties.
Initial U.S. strategy, dictated by the speed of the North Korean drive and the state of American unpreparedness, was one of trading space for time. On 2 July 1950 Task Force Smith, composed of two rifle companies and a few supporting units of the 24th Division, was flown from Japan to Pusan and moved by train and truck to defensive positions near Osan, 30 miles south of Seoul. Its mission was to fight a delaying action to gain time for the movement of more troops from Japan. On 5 July this small force was attacked by a North Korean division supported by 30 tanks and compelled to withdraw, after a stubborn defense, with heavy losses of men and equipment.
By this time the remaining elements of the 24th Division had reached Korea and were in defensive positions along the Kum River, north of Taejon and 60 miles south of Osan. ROK elements held positions to the east, some 50 miles above Taegu. By 15 July the 25th Division had arrived in Korea and was positioned east of the 24th Division. The 1st Cavalry Division arrived and closed in the P'chang-dong area on 18-19 July. Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker, Commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, had been placed in command of all U.S. ground troops in Korea on 13 July, and, at the request of President Rhee, of the South Korean Army as well. As the ground troops of other U.N. members reached Korea, they also were placed under Walker's command.
North Korean forces crossed the Kum River and captured Taejon, an important communications center, on 20 July. U.S. and ROK troops continued to withdraw steadily to the southeast under constant North Korean pressure. During the withdrawal our Army's 3.5-inch rocket launcher was used (for the first time on a battlefield) with highly successful results against North Korean tanks. It was in this period that the 24th Division commander, Maj. Gen. William F. Dean, was reported missing when North Korean tanks broke through the forward unite of his division. It was learned later that he had been captured about 35 miles south of Taejon on 25 August.
The final days of July 1950 witnessed a series of hard-fought battles all along the 200-mile front of the United Nations perimeter. The northern front, a line running inland from Yongdok through Andong, Yech'on, Hamch'ong, and Hwanggan to Kumch'on, was defended at critical points by ROK troops and the U.S. 25th Division. The 1st Cavalry Division was battling on the west flank to keep the Yongdong-Kumch'on-Taegu rail line open. To block the southwestern approaches to Pusan, which the enemy was threatening, the 29th RCT advanced to Chinju, but was ambushed by a North Korean division and suffered heavy losses. Enemy pressure continued from Yosu and Chinju in the southwest to Kwan-ni on the Taejon-Taegu railroad, thence northeast through Yech'on to Yongdok on the Sea of Japan.
By the beginning of August the U.S. and ROK forces had withdrawn behind the Naktong River, a position which the U.N. Command was determined to hold. The area held in southeastern Korea resembled a rectangle, the southwestern side of which was guarded by the 24th and 25th Divisions to prevent a breakthrough to Masan. The 1st Cavalry Division was deployed on the western front to guard the Taegu railroad approaches. The northern front was defended by ROK divisions from a point south of Hamch'ang to a point just south of Yongdok on the east coast.
Early in August General Walker declared the strategy of trading space for time to be at an end, and ordered a final stand along this 140-mile perimeter around the port of Pusan, which had become a well-stocked Eighth Army supply base and the hub of a rail and road net leading to the battle front. By now the enemy's lengthened supply lines were under constant air attack, enemy naval opposition had been wiped out, and the blockade of the Korean coast had been clamped tight.
During the next month and a half, fourteen North Korean divisions dissipated their strength in piecemeal attacks against the Pusan perimeter. Walker, by rapidly shuttling his forces to meet the greatest threats, inflicted heavy casualties on the North Koreans and prevented serious penetrations. The enemy, determined to annihilate the Eighth Army and take Taegu and Pusan, massed for a two-pronged attack across the Naktong, one prong from the west and the other from the southwest. The principal actions were fought along the river from Waegwan south through Song-dong and Ch'irhyon-ni to the junction of the Naktong and Nam Rivers, and southwest toward Haman and Chinju.
While U.S. troops were fighting along the banks of the Naktong, other battles took place in the southwest. A veteran North Korean division, which had been concentrated for an assault upon Susan and Pusan, was hit by Task Force Kean. Named for the 25th Division Commander, the Task Force was composed of the 5th RCT, the 35th RCT of the 25th Division, the 1st Marine Brigade, and a ROK battalion. It opened a strong counteroffensive on 7 August 1950 to secure the left funk of the perimeter and prevent the enemy from driving on Pusan. Overcoming initial heavy resistance, it defeated the North Koreans and by 11 August commanded the high ground to the east of Chinju.
On the eastern flank of the perimeter the town of Yongdok was lost by ROK units, some of which then had to be evacuated by sea. On 12 August the port of P'chang-dong was attacked by enemy forces led by tanks which mounted screaming sirens. This force poured through a break in the R0K lines and linked up with North Korean advance agents in the port. These agents, disguised as innocent-looking refugees, carried mortars, machineguns, and other weapons in oxcarts, on A-frames and on their persons. While a force of North Koreans took P'chang-dong, the adjoining airstrip, of great importance to the U.N. forces as a base for tactical aircraft. On 13 August the danger was so pressing that all aircraft were evacuated. Within the next five days, however, ROK troops and a small U.S. task force recaptured P'chang-dong and returned it to U.N. control.
During this time a much larger force of North Koreans breached the U.N. positions at some paints in the Naktong River sector, but failed in their attempt to capture the rail junctions at Taegu. To hold a line near the river, Walker rearranged the defensive positions of the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 1st Marine Brigade, deploying them in a manner which assigned combat zones of 15-30 miles to each division.
The enemy, continuing his efforts to crack the perimeter, massed several divisions above Waegwan to assault Taegu from the north. Despite a bombing raid in which U.N. air forces dropped 850 tons of bombs on the suspected enemy concentration area, the North Koreans launched a powerful attack which carried through the ROK positions and threatened Taegu. Stalwart defense and swift countermeasures in this area on 19 August saved Taegu from almost certain capture, parried the enemy 's three-pronged thrust at the city, and stopped the momentum of the North Korean offensive.
Shortly before midnight on 31 August enemy forces again attacked the Naktong River Line, this time in tremendous force. Disregarding very heavy casualties from U.N. air force bombing and strafing, they mounted a strong offensive against the entire Pusan beachhead from Haman in the south to P'chang-dong in the northern sector. The port of P'chang-dong was captured on 6 September, but again the Communists failed to capture the airfield. Waegwan and the "walled city" of Kasan were lost as the U.N. defenders fell back for a last ditch stand at Taegu. Between 4 and 11 September the enemy made important gains along the Naktong in some of the heaviest fighting of the war; but U.N. forces blunted the drive on Taegu and began to show slow progress of their own against very strong enemy resistance.
On the southern front the North Korean offensive, which opened with a massive artillery barrage near Haman, struck the 25th Division with tanks and waves of infantry, imperiling its forward positions. However, although the enemy had made impressive gains along the U.N. perimeter and General Walker still had to shuttle his units from one critical area to another, a strong beachhead remained in the hands of the U.N. Command.
By mid-August the offensive capability of the Eighth Army had been augmented by the arrival of the U.S. 2d Division, the 1st Marine Brigade, four battalions of medium tanks from the United States, and the 5th RCT from Hawaii. Before the month was out, five ROK divisions were restored to some semblance of order, and Great Britain committed the 27th Brigade from Hong Kong. With the arrival of these reinforcements an attempt could now be made to end the U.N. withdrawal and to begin a U.N. offensive in southeastern Korea.
