Скачать или смотреть Staff Sergeant Vincent Rogers Jr. Angel Flight

Staff Sergeant Vincent J. Rogers Jr., was killed In action on 21 January, 1944. This video shows his return home to be laid to rest.

Staff Sergeant Vincent J. Rogers Jr. was born on 1 June 1922. 

He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp on 20 October 1942 in Buffalo, New York, and was eventually assigned to the 38th Bombardment Squadron, 30th Bombardment Group. As a member of the squadron, S Sgt Roger's served as Assistant Radio Operator on a B-24J, no. 4272982. Staff Sergeant Rogers was killed on 21 January 1944 when his plane crashed during a combat mission off of Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands.

In the autumn of 1943, the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet set its sights on the Gilbert Islands. The Gilberts offered the Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch air assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands. Ultimately these islands would serve as stepping stones for U.S. forces with key bases increasingly closer to the Japanese islands. The Gilbert islands were a first crucial 1st step.

The key to the American seizure of the Gilbert Islands was the capture of Betio Island, a small island located within Tarawa Atoll with a key Japanese airstrip abs sizable Japanese garrison. Between 20 and 23 November 1943, Marines from the 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) hurled themselves against strongly entrenched Japanese forces on Betio Island. 

By the end of 23 November 1943, American forces controlled the atoll. In total, the 2nd MARDIV suffered 1,020 dead, and more than 2,000 wounded. On 24 November 1943, the majority of the 2nd MARDIV withdrew from Betio Island. Only the chaplains and a defense garrison, including a series of U.S Navy Construction Battalion ("Seabee") units, remained on island to bury the dead and repair and operate the airfield.