Biography for review

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7' GEORGE w' ROGERS, 96, resides in Lynchburg, Virginia. Mr. Rogers grew
up in St Louis, Missouri and
enlisted in the U S' ArmyAugust20,lg4l,atJefferson darracks.
uelrrivJo on ttre erritippines october 1 and
was assigned to 4th Chemical company. At first a clerk/typist at Fort
McKinley, he was soon fighting in the
defense of Bataan with L company of the 3'l"tlnfantry Regiment (US)
after Japan,s December g invasion.
American forces were short of food, ammunition, and'reinflrcements
throughout the campaign against the
better equipped and trained Japanese. All forces on Bataan *"ru
,rrr"ndered on April g, 1g42, andmost were
forced on the infamous Bataan Death March. IVlr. Rogers enouieo
the 65-mile trer.|-ip ft,e Bataan peninsula
experiencing starvation, exhaustion, and beatings wh-ile witnessing
merciless murders and torture. At the camp
o'Donnell where 1,500 Americans died over fou-r months, he was a gravedigger.
ln August, he was moved to
cabanatuan #3 to farm rice and vegetables as well as duty building
an airfield. on top of the beatings he
received from the camp guards, Mr. Rogers and his fellowsoldiers
suffered through extreme pain in their feet
and legs due primarily to dry or dry beriberi, a disease affecting
ih" n"ru. and muscles. He also survived
malaria and spent six months quarantined for what was though't
io be amoebic oyientery. on July 17, jg44, he
was one of 1541 Pows taken to Japan via Formosa aboard
ir," H"tt"r,ip lvissyo'Maru. During the .18-day trip
with barely any food or clean drinking water, extreme heat, rampant
illness
both prrysicat and mental-he

said,"l almostlostit,andthen... lgotapeacethatcameoverme,andljustfelteverythingisgoingtobe

God was at work asain ,, After arriving at the port of
f,li?nl]l::'?::^:"^s^"^:._:i*,:fll1i
Moji, Japan, he was sent to Pow camp3._r,I
"gn"^"T?9,
Fukuoka
3-B yawata J"p"1 tron & steet co., ,_il'
it;r1;,';"?.,:'ff1
tqday's Nippon Steel & Sqmitomo Metal Corporation) lo work in
the yawata steel mill ior the rest of the war.
Yawata featured Japan's first blast turnaie ano wai*one the
rmpire's most important armament makers lt was
the primary target for the second atomic bomb. cloud cover from
aeriar bombing on Aug ust g, .l g45, prevented
this' but succeed in des-troying key production facilities and ending prisonerwor"t<
at the mill. ln July 2015, the
sitewasgiu"n,aroertwitrroutmentionofthehundredsofPoWslave
laborers-American, British, Austratian, ou166, peftLrgu;e,

Jamaican, lndian, vr"rry cr.,inese, and Arabians

thesite,JapanesePrimeMinisterShinzoAinJuly2014lo

at

encourage the UNESCo application. on nugustlS, 1gzs, the

camp commander announced that the war had
ended and the guards disappeal, The camp was liberated on
septemoer 13th. n/lr. iogers returned to the U.s.
a gaunt, 6-foot-3, 85 pounds. Military doctors told him that it was
unlikely that he *oudliuu past 45 or 50, keep
his teeth, or have children. At g6, he retains his teeth, has five
children, and displays ,,a contagious joy.,, Mr.
Rogers used the G l Billto obtain an accounting degree in 19a9
from St. Louis UniversitL starting in 1g73, Mr.
Rogers was the cFo for Reverend Jerry FalwelT o,vJrseeing
hir-oio rime Gosp;,io*television ministry and
u6 o""um" Liberty University,s vice president or
ll:]l^"Tff:":i,?llli:t-cl::cl^rn..Lv.l:hlrf'rtVirsinia
finance and administration in 1ee_e, thioush to Rev Farweu's
oeut''in'iool
zbrij:iiffiffii,'""#iJ'l3l""o
g,r
an qvvqrv
award in r\vv'tJ
Rogers'honor.
f tulul
The
llle Georqe Roqers Chamaion of Freerlom A
qward rs
Avirarrt
iq nirron
'r
given annrrarrr,
^annually +^
^ man
to a
-^^ or
woman who served in the United States
the call of duty, disptaying
extraordinary heroism while serving. The award is presented
at a Ftames footbatt #ftH|';J'r_luurty,.
Military Emphasis week, held neaiVeterans Dgy, A bust of
R;g;r stands at the gate of wiiliams stadium, the
home of the Liberty Flames football team, as a tiioute to RogerJ
for his sacrificesl Mr. Rogers was married 67
years to Barbara, who passed away this August.

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POW# unknown

Philippines POW# 1 -06096