Otho Larkin Rogers
Major Otho L. “Buck” Rogers served as executive officer of the First Battalion, 7th Marines.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 27 September 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number O-4902
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
History
Otho Larkin Rogers was born in Goss, Mississippi, on 16 February 1901. The Rogers clan, headed by William and Susie Lee (Fortenberry) Rogers, lived on a family farm in Marion County and were regarded as “a splendid family” and “representative citizens” of their community. Otho developed into a highly intelligent young man, studying by turns at Clarke Memorial College and Mississippi College before attending law school at George Washington University. He was admitted to the bar, and settled in Washington, DC, to build his career in government law.
On 29 July 1932, Rogers – now thirty years old – joined the Marine Corps Reserve as a private. He attended regular weekend drill sessions (reservists were not required to complete Marine boot camp at the time) and resigned after six months to accept a second lieutenant’s commission.[1] Soon, Rogers was leading companies of reservists in drills, competitions, and athletic events. The military doings of the 5th Reserve Battalion were much remarked upon in the Washington papers, and Lieutenant Rogers built a reputation as an efficient officer. Under his leadership, Company D even boasted of a waiting list while other companies struggled to fill their rosters.[2]
Over the following years, Rogers rose in rank to captain. Although highly regarded as a “conscientious officer” who always produced “well-trained units,” Rogers was far from the seasoned officer thought typical of the Marine Corps.[3] Rather, he was better known in his regular vocation – as a high-ranking philatelic agent for the United States government, he dealt daily with the issuance of new stamps for the postal service. The career was more than just a job, as Rogers spoke the language of a passionate collector and was regarded as an expert in his field. “I represent my country and am always ready for service,” he said, speaking as a stamp. “I am small but I carry great messages of history, geography, current events, and related subjects. I am necessary to the happiness and education of the world. I usually wind up by being crowned with the cross mark of service.”[4] Such eloquence earned him repeated invitations to philatelist society dinners and events. Rogers even married a post office clerk – Miss Iva Bernice Anderson – in 1937.
All told, the “mild-mannered, soft-spoken, sociable, politically-oriented” Otho Rogers had quite a pleasant life in the capital; he lived in a nice apartment at 4000 Cathedral Avenue, drew government pay for a job he loved, and handled his duties as a Reserve officer with aplomb.
The first hint of wartime change hit the Rogers household in November, 1940, when he received a notice summoning him to active duty. Rogers, who viewed war as “something glorious,” promptly resigned his postal job, kissed Iva goodbye, and set off for advanced training in Cuba.[5] In January of 1941, Captain Rogers was plucked from the 5th Reserve Battalion and sent to a regular Marine infantry unit. Although disbanded for years, the 7th Marines carried the lineage of service in Cuba from 1917-1919 and the Caribbean crises of the early 1930s. For the most part, the men were reservists like Rogers, though they did have a leavening of experienced veterans.
For a time, Captain Rogers held a staff position as the operations officer (Bn-3) for Second Battalion, 7th Marines. In the spring of 1941, though, he got what most Marine officers dreamed of – command of a rifle company, specifically Company B, First Battalion, 7th. He came under the tutelage of Lt. Colonel Amor Sims, a decorated veteran of the Great War and fighting in Central America whose most recent exploit involved commanding guard forces at naval prisons. The “Black Duke” Sims was a tough officer to please, but he prepared Rogers well for yet another command change that was to come.
That change came in the form of a stocky officer named Lewis Burwell Puller, who took command of 1/7 in September, 1941. Like Sims, Puller was a decorated combat veteran with the added glamor of having recently returned from China; his nickname “Chesty” fit his barrel-chested stature as much as it did his attitude. Shortly after his arrival, Puller began to whip 1/7 into fighting shape – sometimes literally. It would be difficult to imagine two Marines more different than Puller and Rogers – the one a decorated veteran of jungle fighting already on his way to becoming a legend in the Corps, and the other a “small, quiet, inoffensive reservist.”[6] The attack on Pearl Harbor would bring them together, and closer than either man could have thought possible.
In the first months of 1942, with the Marine Corps rapidly expanding, the dearth of experienced officers was felt more strongly than ever. Anyone with combat experience was placed in a command position, which meant widespread shuffling of assignments. Puller found himself in need of a new executive officer – he had neither the experience, nor the patience, to be a good administrator – and perhaps for this reason chose Captain Otho Rogers as his second-in-command. The “good gent” captain was a perfect foil for the no-nonsense battalion commander, but the disparity in their experience was plain; Puller was very much the man in charge, while Rogers pulled out all the stops to measure up. Almost inevitably for a Marine of his time, he picked up the nickname “Buck” Rogers – and was so called by his men.
Rogers was promoted to major in the spring of 1942, while the regiment was stationed at Samoa. While Puller alternately brooded and fulminated about being kept out of combat, Rogers was content with garrison duty. “I am well and happy and about the toughest Marine you ever saw,” he joked in letters home. “My waist measure has decreased very much, [and I am] rather thin but plenty tough. Could run (forward) from the Capitol to the White House without even knowing it.”[7] However, Rogers was also keenly aware of the massive responsibility he faced as a senior officer. “My main prayer is that I always will be considerate of the men I command,” he continued, “and that God will give me the leadership and strength necessary never to lose a battle for the land we love so much.”[8]
On 18 September 1942, the 7th Marines arrived at Guadalcanal. Puller embarked on a personal campaign to get his battalion as close to the action as possible, and after a few days of local patrolling led the bulk of the battalion out into the boondocks, following the Japanese troops routed at the battle of Edson’s Ridge. A heavy skirmish on 24 September resulted in nearly forty casualties; ten Marines lost their lives, and more than two dozen others were wounded, some seriously. Puller decided to split his force, and sent his battered Companies A and B back to the perimeter under the command of Major Rogers. (Chesty was personally fond of his exec, but was beginning to realize that the major was “beyond his depth in jungle warfare.”)[9] It was a rather subdued group that returned to the defensive line on 25 September.
Religious services on Sunday, 27 September were underscored by the din of a developing offensive across the Matanikau River. Rogers – dressed, literally, in his Sunday best with clean uniform and polished boots – may have been repeating his prayer for consideration and leadership when a messenger interrupted with a summons from Division. Rogers instructed Captain Charles Kelly to get the men ready to move, and departed for headquarters for final instructions.
The two companies and a few crew-serviced weapons were waiting on the beach when the major returned. They would be boarding Higgins boats, he said, and landing somewhere behind Japanese lines in two waves. Company commanders and platoon leaders waited expectantly for more details, but Rogers offered none. Instead, he attempted a rousing pre-battle speech:
“Men, you belong to the world’s finest body of fighting men, the U.S. Marine Corps – and you’re with the best officers and noncoms in the Corps. There’s only two or three hundred Japs where we’re going now. Let’s wipe ’em out. I hope every man gets the Navy Cross.”
This little injection of blood-and-guts bravado, so out of character for the mild-mannered Rogers, missed the mark entirely – one officer even deemed it “pathetic.”[10]
Some of the enlisted men couldn’t believe Rogers was intending to lead them into battle in his starched khakis. “He had his major’s insignia on, shiny boots and a clean uniform,” recalled PFC Charles M. Jacobs of A/1/7. “To my mind he wasn’t too bright.”[11] PFC W. Ray “Tommy” Thomas, a comms specialist, thought Rogers was “a fine officer” but worried that none of the men carried a radio.[12] The landing force, nearly 400 strong, dutifully boarded their boats and puttered away from the beach.
The landing force rounded Point Cruz and went into a circle pattern offshore, organizing into the two prescribed waves. Once aligned, they peeled off and roared towards the beach. Ramps went down and Marines splashed ashore slightly after 1300 hours. The landing was unopposed, and the Marines hurried into the cover of the jungle across the deserted Government Track. It seemed like an auspicious start, but those close to Major Rogers heard him fretting “Lord! We’ve landed in the wrong place! We landed too soon!”[13]
With the Higgins boats beating a fast retreat back to safety, Rogers had no choice but to continue on. The battalion began snaking its way through a coconut grove and up the slope of a hill, passing signs of recent Japanese occupation but no living enemy. At the crest of the hill, Rogers deployed his men in a defensive position. He summoned his officers and NCOs for a briefing, perhaps intending to divulge the details of the plan before making his next move.
The Japanese moved first. With surprising speed, a sizable force circled behind the Marines, cutting off their retreat to the beach. A machine gun squad left to cover the Government Track was overwhelmed in a few minutes. Almost immediately, mortar rounds began landing on top of Hill 84. Sergeant Joe Goble of Baker Company was making his way towards Rogers’ CP when the shelling began.
Captain Charles Kelly of A/1/7 took command of the battalion, but knowledge of their assigned mission had died with Major Rogers. It was quickly apparent that the Americans were surrounded and outnumbered. Kelly’s men had to fight their way back down the hill towards the beach, where they set up a quick defensive perimeter and fought desperately until the Higgins boats returned. Removing the dead was impossible; somebody secured Otho Rogers’ identification tag, while Sergeant Goble grabbed the major’s field glasses. In all, twenty-three Marines lost their lives, and an additional twenty-four were wounded. The 7th Marines called it “the Dead Man’s Patrol” or “Little Dunkirk.”
In 1943, Senator James Mead paid a visit to Guadalcanal.
We went at once to the big American cemetery, for that was the main reason I came over to Guadalcanal. Sure enough, I found two crosses – one the cross of David and one the cross of the Christian church, for two of my best friends Captain [sic] Otho Rogers and Captain Jackie Joseph. Early this spring my letters to both came back marked “USMC reports undeliverable.” I saw the reason.
Buck Rogers and I used to save stamps together. Buck had worked his way up through the ranks from a mail clerk in the tiny town of Goss, Mississippi, to be assistant chief of the Post Office philatelic agency, in charge of selling about a million dollars’ worth of old stamps a year to collectors throughout the nation…. Extending my sympathy to Buck’s charming and beloved wife when I got back to Washington was one of the toughest things I have ever had to do.[15]
Senator Mead may have invented the story of a graveyard cross for the benefit of Iva Rogers, who was soon to join the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. Otho’s identification tag, a non-standard piece of metal inscribed with his name and rank, was delivered to Headquarters, American Graves Registration Service, with an attached note stating that its former owner was not known to be buried on Guadalcanal.
Searching for his remains became the object of AGRS-PAZ Case Number 7-1645. For several days in February, 1949, a team from the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company searched the general vicinity of the Lunga River for Rogers’ remains – the victims of a clerical error, for Rogers was killed closer to the Matanikau. No remains identifiable as Rogers were ever located, and is likely that today he still lies somewhere on the island.
Otho Rogers is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial and Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado. Iva Rogers, who also reached the rank of Major in the Marine Corps, is buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery.
(1) Jon T. Hoffman, Chesty: The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, USMC (Random House, 2001), 149. As will be demonstrated, this lack of fundamental training would be continually reflected in Rogers’ career and acceptance as an officer.
(2) “Waiting List Setup For Enlistments In Marine Unit,” The Evening Star (Washington, DC) 5 March 1939.
(3) A partial list of Rogers’ accomplishments, gleaned from the October 1935 Leatherneck Magazine: Norfolk Cup for the best drilled close order company, Senior N. C. O.’s Cup for the cleanest company streets, The Elizabeth Harris Cup for the best drilled squad, Dwight L. Harris Cup to the most valuable enlisted man during the entire year, and Colonel Edmonds Cup and Battalion Commander’s 1935 Efficiency Guidon Streamer (awarded to the most decorated company). This was the result of a single competition.
(4) The Evening Star (Washington, DC) 7 July 1940.
(5) Hoffman, 149.
(6) Burke Davis, Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller, ebook, (New York: Open Road Media, 2016), 121.
(7) Hoffman, 150.
(8) James M. Mead, Tell The Folks Back Home (New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1944).
(9) Davis, 121.
(10) Ibid., 121-122.
(11) Charles M. Jacobs, interviewed by Michael Aikey, 8 August 2001, video, New York State Military Museum.
(12) W. Ray Thomas, “A Journey Back In Time.”
(13) Eric Hammel, Guadalcanal: Starvation Island (Pacifica, CA: Pacifica Military History, 1987), 80.
(14) Sergeant Joseph Goble, memoir submitted to The Lower Deck: Newsletter of the Warships & Marine Corps Museum, September 2002.
(15) James M. Mead, Tell The Folks Back Home (New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1944), 321.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Iva A. Rogers
Location Of Loss
Major Rogers was last seen in the vicinity of Hill 84, Guadalcanal.
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Poor guy. I know a bit about the Guadalcanal campaign but I just randomly decided to pursue this guy all the way to this page.
I often think about the randomness of war and the hugeness of the numbers of men who died . . . my dad was a radio operator on a B-24 operating out of England—26 missions without a scratch. But no doubt many people he knew did not return . . . how many families’ lineages ended with their one male dying in some far-off land like Otho Rogers? There are no sons of his around to reminisce, no grandchildren, only a lonely widow who probably lived out the remainder of her life missing this man, whom she no doubt loved dearly . . . it sounds like Rogers was a god-fearing Christian American who truly went to war believing in his need to fight for his country.
I’m no Christian but I *am* American, yet I doubt I love it enough to go lose my life in some malaria-infested swamp somewhere like Rogers did.
Buck, you’re not around to know it, but here’s one guy who thanks you from the bottom of his heart for your incredible, unselfish sacrifice, made so that the likes of me breathe free.