Obituary: Colonel William Edward Rodgers, 89, of Wallingford

WALLINGFORD, CT - (From Wallingford Funeral Home) William Edward Rodgers, Colonel (Retired) United States Army, a natty chap, rose each morning, shaved and combed and neatly turned out, bright of eye and quick of wit, ever faithful to the spit and polish of a time gone by, died in his sleep on February 12, 2021, at his home in Wallingford, Connecticut.

His beloved wife of 66 years, Marjorie (Willis) Rodgers, who came to wake him that morning found that she could not, and so he leaves to grieve a brother, John, and many dear friends, as well.

One of five children of the late Francis J. and Alma Mae Rodgers, Bill was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1931, grew up in Collingdale, a small borough just outside of Philadelphia, graduated from the high school in 1949, and went on to the Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University), graduating in 1954 with a bachelor of science and the "butter bars" of a newly minted second lieutenant of the United States Army Infantry.

With his bride, Marjorie, at his side and driving a blue, second-hand Plymouth, he reported for duty at Fort Benning, Georgia, arriving just in time to join the 87th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Infantry Division on its way to West Germany to take its place on the front line in the Cold War. There, as a weapons platoon leader, to train, train and train some more (just in case the Cold War got hot), this reluctant ROTC cadet found that he liked it, really liked the army life - they both liked it. Forget the two years and out for him, First Lieutenant Bill and Marjorie were in it for the duration: he went regular army and they never looked back.

The career of a regular army officer is one of never-ending preparation to win a war on the ground. Back in the states, this young infantry officer's preparation for that career began at the Infantry Officer Career Course at Benning, and would continue as he rose in rank at ever more demanding schools. But then all that was in the future.

His first course finished and waiting for promotion to captain and a new assignment, he chose to do what an ambitious young officer in crisp fatigues didn't have to do but ought to do: he went on to parachute school at Benning, and there, under the tough-love tutelage of the "I-don't-give-a-hoot-what-your-rank-is sir-drop-down-and-give-me-ten" jump sergeants, he made it through in one piece and proud of it.

Next up, with "railroad tracks" of a captain on his shoulders and "jump wings" on his chest, Bill's back in Philadelphia teaching ROTC at Drexel, the scene of the crime, he'd say, and made it his business to steer future officers away from the pit falls he faced as a young lieutenant.

Coming out of the Point, you know, or maybe for that matter VMI or The Citadel, is one thing, ROTC is another.

Inevitably, though, three years later, in 1963, It was back overseas for him, to the Korean Peninsula in command of B Company, 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry, 7th Division, later to be elevated to operations officer for the division's 3rd Brigade. The fighting had ended years ago, in 1953, in a stalemate: the two Koreas, North and South, remained (and still do) technically at war, glaring at each other across a Demilitarized Zone. The U.S. Army was there, then and now as part of the United Nations forces keeping the fragile peace.

Back home again and now a new major, Bill was running the Instructor Training Course at the Infantry School at Benning when he received orders for Vietnam, "Lucky me," he said, "I arrived in country, where U.S. forces had been on the ground and in the air since 1964, just as the Viet Cong and North Vietnam regulars were getting ready for the big shoot during the Tet holiday (the Tet Offensive,1968).

The perception in the states was that we took a major defeat during Tet; however, the opposite was true. We won a decisive victory which was not explained as it should have been to the folks at home." The conflict in Indochina raged for 20 years, a gift from the French as it were, from 1955 to the fall of Saigon in 1975.

After returning from Vietnam, Bill was back in school again, at the Command and General Staff College (and spent some time working with the Central Intelligence Agency) before moving on to his next job in the world's largest office building. 6.5 million square feet (150 acres) for 26,000 military and civilian employees and 17.5 miles of corridors for them to trod - The Pentagon.

Assigned to The Office of The Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Department of the Army, Lieutenant Colonel Rodgers was there when America, torn by the cost in lives and treasure of a war that was not winnable at at price anyone cared to pay, demanded a major change in American defense policy.

Let him tell you about it: "At this time, the unpopular military draft was out and the all- volunteer Army was to be the concept for the future. To make it work, career officers were sent to the hinterlands to take command of Army recruiting. Connecticut, a state that had never achieved its recruiting goals since the beginning of time, became my new challenge and, for good or naught, my job.

With a lot of luck and the help of some outstanding young officers and NCOs we were able to turn it around, considering there was a war going on, no draft, and a country suffering from the malaise of Vietnam."

Job done, Bill moved down the hall to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, 8th Army in Korea. Let him tell what came next (and last): "At this point in my career, I was thinking about retirement, and asked a friend of mine, Colonel Chris Evangelos, the Senior Army Advisor to the Adjutant General of Connecticut to get me assigned as his deputy.

Shortly thereafter, and to my surprise, I was promoted to Colonel and succeeded Chris as the new senior advisor. My time with the Connecticut Army National Guard led me to appreciate the important role of the citizen soldier who, like the Minute Men of old, stands ready to defend our shores and our democracy. There to help when disasters strike.”

"The friendships that I made in Connecticut continued to this day. So, after nearly three decades, I retired from the service and we made Connecticut our home. During my time in the Army, in the service of our country, I had the good fortune to serve alongside many outstanding men and women, many of whom entered the ranks of the Army elite. As I look back, would I do it all again? You bet!"

If you'd happened to see Bill in his Class A’s the day he retired you'd have seen the rack of ribbons on his tunic, above his heart. They'd be for the medals and ribbons he'd earned over nearly three decades of military service: the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (2 Awards), Army Commendation Medal (3 Awards), National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal (3 Battle Stars), Korean Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

And thereabouts on his tunic would be his Combat Infantry and Parachute Badges, and the Army General Staff Identification Badge.

Not bad for a reluctant ROTC cadet from Collingdale.

Bill lived a good life in Connecticut, he and Marjorie surrounded by good friends.

"As an old soldier," he said, "I served as president of the local chapter of the Military Officers Association and as president of the council of chapters, and as a citizen of our new community, 38 years a member of the Wallingford YMCA , volunteering and serving on its board of directors, reading stuff as a member of Rose Quiello's Book Club that I probably would never have touched, she opened new worlds to me, ran in the town's annual 10K race and, later when I no longer ran, served as volunteer.

I enjoyed crosscountry skiing with Marjorie, played tennis into my 70’s with a great group of friends, and owned a nifty road bike on which I sailed over the back roads of Connecticut. I loved living in Wallingford and I'll leave you with these words: Where has all the time gone to? Haven't done half the things we want to. Oh well!, We'll catch up some other time.”

Bill’s family will receive relatives and friends in The Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 N. Main St. Ext., Wednesday, February, 17th, from 4 to 6 pm. A funeral service will be held in the funeral home on Wednesday at 6 pm.

COVID precautions will be followed and masks required. Interment with military honors will be in In Memoriam Cemetery. Gifts in his memory may be sent to: the American Cancer Society or the American Heart Association.