This collection contains correspondence written to Capt Joseph Rogers of the United States Army Air Force during the Second World War as well as military documents, photographs and realia belonging to Rogers. Items in this collection pertain, for the most part, to Rogers' military career in both the United States and China, where he served for a period as a member of the Army Advisory Group in an advisory role to the Chinese Ministry of Defense.

Captain Joseph Rogers was born on 18 March 1924. Rogers, a "lad from Atlanta, Ga" (Tyndall Target Vol. 2 No. 47, Dec. 18, 1943), attended college briefly before enlisting in the Army as an aviation cadet on 1 February 1943. He had entered with the aim of becoming a pilot, but washed out and completed training as a bombardier. Rogers attended pre-flight training at Maxwell Field in Alabama and graduated from Bombardier/Navigation School as a member of Class 44B on 20 May 1944. Rogers became a member of the 8th Air Force and flew a tour of duty consisting of thirty combat missions in Europe (Germany) as lead Bombardier with the 468th Bomb Group (September 1944-March 1945), in recognition of which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Subsequent to this, Rogers received "refresher training" in Bombardiering and Navigation, after which he served as an Assistant Finance Officer at Turner Air Force Base in Albany, Georgia. Rogers' proficiency as a bombardier eventually led to his being selected for the Army Advisory Group's Air Advisory Division, at which point he was sent to Hankow, China, to assist in an advisory role to the Chinese Air Force (CAF). While there, Rogers instructed in bombardiering and navigation for the CAF Unit Staff Course. His diligence led to his being honored with the Mai Chi Decoration, which was awarded to him by Lieutenant General C. J. Chow, Commanding General of the Chinese Air Force. Despite his success as a bombardier, Rogers still wished to become a pilot and reapplied for pilot training. This, his second attempt, proved successful and Rogers was finally awarded his pilot's wings. Rogers actively served in the United States Army Air Force for nearly seven years and was honorably discharged on 24 January 1950. After leaving the service, Rogers attended and graduated from Stanford University as a Business major. Rogers' post-military career included work as a government contractor. He worked for the Foreign Operation Administration as an FSS (Federal Supply Schedule Service [?]) employee (1955- ). In this post, Rogers traveled around the world, working in both New Delhi, India, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He also worked as a Contract Price Analyst for the Procurement & Supply Division of the Office of Administration at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenblatt, Maryland (1962- ). Rogers passed away 26 April 2015, in Washington, D.C.

4.1 Linear Feet (1 carton, 1 document-box, 1 oversize box, 1 specimen multi-compartment box, 1 newspaper box)

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