Robert Prince Rogers
Military ROLL OF HONOURTop row, from left to right : Pilot Leo Belskis; Co-Pilot Glenn C. Vaugh; Navigator James V. Collett; Bombardier Ross W. Perrin Jr.
Bottom, from left to right : Top Turret Gunner Walter R. Newman; Right Waist Gunner Durward V. Suggs; Tail Gunner Robert P. Rogers; Radio Operator Elvis A. McCoy; Ball Turret Gunner Lynn J. Lauret Jr.
All except Mc Coy and Lauret were killed on the 11 December 1944 mission to Mannheim – B-17G Serial 43-38780 of 381st Bomb Group / 532nd Bomb Squadron. (Photo via the Perrin family).
Added crew photo
Robert’s mother, born in 1896, died in 1930, aged 34, one month after giving birth to her daughter Mary. Her chicken farmer husband Clint was left with raising Charles, Dorothy, Prince (Robert), Billie Jack, Harold (“Gene”) and Mary on the rural farm in Pert, Anderson County.
After his enlistment, Robert Rogers was sent overseas and assigned to the 381st Bomb Group / 532nd Bomb Squadron as a Tail Gunner. He was Killed In Action (KIA) in the loss of B-17G # 43-38780 on the Squadron’s 11 December 1944 mission to bomb the bridge over the Rhine at Mannheim, Germany. The memorial plaque for him at the Olive Branch Cemetery in Brushy Creek, Anderson County, Texas mentions “In Memory of Robert Prince Rogers, Aug. 11, 1923 – Dec. 12, 1945 – Died in Service of His Country – World War II in Germany” [ As he was first considered Missing in Action, his statute was “FOD” (Finding of Death), with the usual 1 year+1 day date of death mentioned in such cases. Robert’s remains were identified later and buried with full honors in France.)
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16002193 and O-886725
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33560548 and O-722281
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18123654
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 38468543
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19042579
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 11 December 1944
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Frankston, Texas, USA | 13 August 1923 | the son of Clint Welborn & Carrie Louise (Lade) Rogers |
Other Killed In Action (KIA) |
near the Neckarauer Waldweg, Mannheim, Germany | 11 December 1944 | in the loss of B-17G # 43-38780 |
Buried |
Hauptfriedhof, Mannheim, Germany | 15 December 1944 | Initially buried at the main cemetery in Mannheim, Germany |
Frankston, Anderson County, Palestine Municipal area, Texas, United States | |||
Buried |
Robert Rogers' remains were brought to France after the war. He rests at Plot D, Row 29, Grave 30. | ||
Other Memorialized |
Olive Branch Cemetery, Brushy Creek, Anderson County, Texas, United States | Robert Rogers is memorialized at the Olive Branch Cemetery, Brushy Creek, Texas. |
Revisions
381st Bomb Group Memorial Association, March 1999, MACR 11341 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 11341 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database