Rogers, Charles Edward
Air Force Major

Charles Edward Rogers, age 38, from Gary, Indiana.

Service era: Vietnam

Spouse: Jean

Children: Three

Parent: Edward Rogers

Date of death: Thursday, May 4, 1967
Death details: Hostile, missing, body not recovered in Laos. Major Charles Edward Rogers told his mother he had to serve a second tour in Vietnam because “this was what a man should do.” He entered the U.S. Air Force from Indiana and was a member of the 1st Air Commando Squadron. On May 4, 1967, he was the pilot of a single-seat A1-E Skyraider (tail number 52-132638, call sign “Hobo 21”) that was the lead aircraft in a flight of two that took off from Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam, on a combat mission over Laos. When the flight was ten miles south of Attopeu, Maj Rogers’ Skyraider was hit by enemy ground fire, causing it to crash and explode on impact. His wingman witnessed the crash and did not report seeing a parachute or hearing a rescue beeper following the crash. Attempts to locate Maj Rogers following the incident have been unsuccessful. Today, Major Rogers is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Indianapolis News (1967)