Misplaced Pages

John W. Rogers Sr. (September 3, 1918 – January 21, 2014) was an American attorney and military aviator. He served as a Cook County, Illinois Juvenile Court judge, attorney, U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Pursuit Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen or "Red Tails". He was one of the 1007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.

He was the father of John W. Rogers Jr. (born March 31, 1958), an investor.

Early life

He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 3, 1918. He was the son of John Rogers (circa 1887–1930) and Ann Rogers (died 1922). His siblings included Geraldine Rogers, Anise Rogers and Juanita Rogers.

In 1922, his mother Ann died when he was 4. In 1930, his father died when he was 12. Soon after, he and his sisters were relocated to Chicago to live with their uncle, Henry Tanner, who proved to be very benevolent and an exceptional role model for him and his sisters.

He attended Tilden Technical High School. In 1941, he earned a bachelor's degree in education from Chicago State University. During this time, he earned a pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program offered on the South Side of Chicago.

Military career, Tuskegee airmen

After obtaining his pilot license, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. On August 5, 1942, he graduated from the Tuskegee Advanced Pilot Cadet program as a member of the fifth-ever Cadet Class Single Engine Section SE-42-G, receiving his wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was one of America's first thirty-four African American combat fighter pilots. He was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron and was one of the original 28 99th Fighter Squadron pilots to be deployed overseas.

During World War II, he flew 120 combat missions throughout the European Theater. Fellow pilots considered him a highly skilled dive bomber pilot.

After the war he left the U.S. Army Air Corps with the rank of Captain.

Law career

Rogers Sr. attended the University of Chicago Law School, graduating in 1948 with a Juris Doctor degree. Though the University of Chicago's admissions office initially rejected him, he returned to the office donning his U.S. Army Air Corps' officer uniform, making an argument that anyone who has served America during the war deserved admittance. The University of Chicago Law School rescinded its rejection, admitting Rogers Sr relied on academic funding provided by the GI Bill.

After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1948, he and his then-wife, attorney Jewel Lafontant, formed their own law firm. In 1974, he joined the law firm Earl L. Neal & Associates (now Neal & Leroy), working there until 1977.

In May 1977, he was appointed a Cook County Associate Judge. Several months later, he was assigned to the Juvenile Division where he served 21 years as a Cook County Juvenile Court Judge. In 1998 he retired from the bench.

Personal life

On his first day at law school at the University of Chicago Law School, he met Jewel Lafontant (born Jewel Carter Stradford), a young woman who would become the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Chicago Law School and serve under two U.S. presidents. They married in 1946. After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1948, Rogers Sr and Jewel formed their own law firm.

He and Jewel had only one child, John W. Rogers Jr. (born March 31, 1958), an investor, philanthropist and founder of Ariel Capital Management (now Ariel Investments, LLC), founded in 1983.

In 1961, he and Jewel divorced. In 1968, he met fellow University of Chicago graduate Gwendolyn on a blind date. After dating for 33 years, they married in 2001.

He was a longtime resident of Chicago, Illinois's Hyde Park neighborhood.

Death

On January 21, 2014, he died at the University of Chicago Medical Center. His memorial service was held at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel in Chicago. He was interred at Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago.

Legacy

• In 2007 the collective group of Tuskegee Airmen, received the Congressional Gold Medal.
• In 2012, the University of Chicago Law School named its Admissions Office after him and his late first wife, Jewel Lafontant.
• In January 2012, President Barack Obama, a friend of his son John W. Rogers Jr., invited him and a group of surviving Tuskegee Airmen to the White House to view the movie Red Tails.
• In 2014, the Illinois House of Representatives filed House Resolution HR0839-LRB098-19210-MST 54362 in honor of him and his enduring legacy.
• In 2016, the City of Chicago renamed section of 57th Street between Stony Island and Cornell Drive on the Chicago's South Side in honor of Rogers Sr.

See also

• List of Tuskegee Airmen Cadet Pilot Graduation Classes
• List of Tuskegee Airmen
• Military history of African Americans
• Dogfights (TV series)
• Executive Order 9981 – 1948 order by President Truman
• The Tuskegee Airmen (movie) – 1995 American television film

References

1. ^ Goldsborough, Bob (January 22, 2014). "John W. Rogers Sr., 1918-2014; Tuskegee airman became lawyer, judge". Chicago Tribune.
2. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster". CAF Rise Above. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
3. ^ "Judge John W. Rogers, Lt. USA". Geni. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
4. The History Makers. "The Honorable John Rogers, Sr." https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/honorable-john-rogers-sr
5. "Class SE-42-G". CAF Rise Above. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
6. ^ Wen Huang (23 January 2014). "John W. Rogers Sr., JD'48, judge and member of Tuskegee Airmen, 1918-2014". U Chicago News. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
7. ^ "LEGEND & PIONEER Leaving Behind Legacy of Excellence John W. Rogers Sr". 28 January 2014.
8. "Ariel Investments, LLC". Ariel Investments.
9. Tilson, Whitney; John Heins (December 20, 2005). "Outsourcing For Outsized Profits: Whitney Tilson and John Heins, Value Investor Insight". Forbes. Forbes.com Inc. Archived from the original on December 30, 2005. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
10. House Resolution HR0839-LRB098-19210-MST 54362. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/98/HR/09800HR0839.htm
11. ABC 7. "South Side street renamed in honor of Tuskegee Airman. July 5, 2016. https://abc7chicago.com/john-w-rogers-sr-tuskegee-airman-57th-street-airmen/1414557/

v t e Tuskegee Airmen
Units	99th Fighter Squadron 100th Fighter Squadron 301st Fighter Squadron 302nd Fighter Squadron 332d Fighter Group 477th Bomber Group
Air fields	Chanute Field Mather Field Moton Army Air Field Oscoda Army Air Field Selfridge Air Field Tuskegee Army Air Field
Pilots and crew	Paul Adams Rutherford H. Adkins Halbert Alexander William N. Alsbrooka William Armstrong Lee Archer Robert Ashby Willie Ashley Charles P. Bailey William Bartley Howard Baugh Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler George R. Bolling Herbert V. Clark Granville C. Coggs Woodrow Crockett Harold Brown George L. Brown Roscoe Brown William A. Campbell Herbert Carter Eugene Calvin Cheatham Jr. Milton Crenchaw Lemuel R. Custis Clarence Dart Alfonza W. Davis Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (C/O) Charles DeBow Robert W. Deiz Gene Derricotte Lawrence Dickson Elwood T. Driver Charles W. Dryden Wilson V. Eagleson John Ellis Edwards Joseph Elsberry Raymond Cassagnol James Clayton Flowers Julius Freeman Robert Friend Willie H. Fuller Edward C. Gleed Joseph Gomer Alfred Gorham Oliver Goodall Charles B. Hall Vernon V. Haywood George Hardy Raymond V. Haysbert Percy Heath Mitchell Higginbotham Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. Clarence C. Jamison Alexander Jefferson Carl C. Johnson James H. Harvey William Lee Hill Lincoln Hudson William H. Holloman George J. Iles James Johnson Kelly James B. Knighten George L. Knox II Roy E. LaGrone Herman A. Lawson Walter I. Lawson Clarence D. Lester Wilmore B. Leonard John Lyle Hiram Mann Walter Manning Robert Martin Armour G. McDaniel Charles McGee Walter L. McCreary John Mosley Fitzroy Newsum James O. Plinton Jr. Wendell O. Pruitt Louis R. Purnell Sr. Price D. Rice Lawrence E. Roberts George S. Roberts Curtis C. Robinson Isaiah Edward Robinson Jr. John W. Rogers Sr. Mac Ross Robert Searcy David Showell Wilmeth Sidat-Singh Graham Smith (pilot) Eugene Smith Calvin J. Spann Vernon Sport Lowell Steward Harry Stewart, Jr. Charles "Chuck" Stone Jr. Percy Sutton Alva Temple Roger Terry Lucius Theus Edward L. Toppins Robert B. Tresville Andrew D. Turner James A. Walker Spann Watson Luke J. Weathers Sherman W. White James T. Wiley Malvin "Mal" Whitfield Oscar Lawton Wilkerson Yancey Williams Romeo M. Williams Henry Wise Jr. Coleman Young
Incidents	Freeman Field mutiny
Aircraft	Bell P-39 Airacobra Curtiss P-40 Warhawk North American B-25 Mitchell North American P-51 Mustang Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Media	Fictional films The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) Hart's War (2002) Red Tails (2012) Documentaries Flight of the Red Tail (2009) Red Tail Reborn (2007) Wings for This Man Other Fly (play) Henry Browne, Farmer "Wingmen"
Legacy	Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk Red Tail Squadron Tuskegee University Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
Other	Leslie Edwards Jr. Wilfred DeFour Maycie Herrington Buford A. Johnson Thomas Ellis Theodore Johnson Noel F. Parrish Wallace P. Reed Willie Rogers Thomas Franklin Vaughns
Related	African American military history Buffalo Soldier Golden Thirteen 366th Infantry Regiment U.S. Army Black Panthers United States Colored Troops
Category aviation portal

• Tuskegee Airmen
• 1918 births
• 2014 deaths
• African-American aviators
• Military personnel from Chicago
• People from Illinois
• Aviators from Illinois
• United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
• 21st-century African-American people
• University of Chicago Law School alumni