John Francis Rogers

“Jack” Rogers began his Marine Corps combat career as a member of VMF-212 – the “Hell Hounds” who made up part of the Cactus Air Force on Guadalcanal. He participated in the defense of Henderson Field in the fall of 1942, and was credited with shooting down a “Zero” in aerial combat. In 1943, Rogers returned to the United States to help train a brand-new fighter squadron: VMF-422. As one of the more experienced pilots, he flew as a division leader for three junior officers.

Captain Rogers and VMF-422 arrived in the South Pacific on 24 January 1944, catapulting from the USS Kalinin Bay and landing on the newly-christened Hawkins Field on the newly-won island of Betio, Tarawa atoll. The squadron was to fly long-distance from Tarawa to Nanumea in the Ellice Islands (Tuvalu). The invasion of the Marshall Islands was underway, and it was anticipated that VMF-422 would base out of an airfield soon to be captured.

The flight of 23 Corsairs departed on the morning of 25 January and proceeded without incident until about fifteen minutes flying time from Nanumea. There, they encountered a “violent tropical hurricane” with rain so thick they could not see straight ahead. The squadron headed down to the deck to fly through the weather; when they emerged, five planes were missing and only three pilots responded to radio calls.

Jack Rogers’ Corsair (F4U-1 18024) was last seen entering the weather front, and the pilot was never heard from again. He was ultimately declared dead on 26 January 1945, and posthumously promoted to the rank of Major.

Only one of the 23 Corsairs that departed from Tarawa managed to reach Funafuti. Six VMF-422 pilots lost their lives in the ill-fated ferry mission.