Within two days, portions of the 814th rumbled back into action at Manhay, and on January 23, a month to the day after the 7th Armored's withdrawal, General Clarke led the force in taking back St. Vith. The 814th engaged in small-unit actions with the 75th and 99th Infantry divisions before reaching the Rhine River at Remagen, and on March 12, 1945, its 90mm guns began indirect firing missions at targets across the Rhine. From March 23 until the 25th, the 814th and the 7th Armored crossed the Rhine and then began pushing from the bridgehead toward the Ruhr and the industrial heart of Germany. The Ruhr Pocket action consisted mainly of taking prisoners, and the 7th Armored captured more than 45,000. This action resulted in casualties among the attacking troops, however, and one of these was Lieutenant Will Rogers, Jr., who had recently been given command of a tank destroyer platoon. He wrote about the shrapnel wound to his hip: "Wounded in the Ruhr Pocket...and evacuated to England...never did get north to meet the Russians. Bounced around in hospitals and replacement depots until war's end, then discharged (third and final?) at Ft. MacArthur January 1946." Rogers also reported his reconnaissance platoon's total combat casualties: "Of the 21-man 1st Platoon, four were killed; seven, including myself, wounded."
The 7th Armored, including the 814th, moved on toward the Elbe River, meeting little resistance before crossing it on May 2 and 3. Attached to the Second British Army, the 7th headed for Lübeck and the vicinity of the Baltic Sea. As the British and American troops approached the Baltic, they encountered thousands of German soldiers surrendering to anyone other than the Soviets. There were also thousands of displaced persons from almost every country in Europe, as well as German civilians seeking refuge in the West. V-E Day brought a feeling of great relief.
Once the situation stabilized, formal occupation duties began. By December, most of the 814th's soldiers had returned to the United States and were discharged from the service. Many veterans of the 814th maintained contact with each other over the years, including Rogers, who often met in Kansas City with former members of his reconnaissance platoon.
Lieutenant Will Rogers, Jr., enjoys a meal in France in 1944. When the going got tough, his company commander, Captain John P. Reed, would inevitably call out, "Get me Lieutenant Rogers!" (National Archives via Calvin C. Boykin, Jr.)
In January 1946, Rogers entered the California race for the U.S. Senate, won the Democratic Party's nomination, but lost in the general election. Shaking off his disappointment, he jumped into politics again and managed the victorious presidential campaign of Harry Truman. Setting politics aside, he starred in three films: The Story of Will Rogers (1952), with Jane Wyman; The Boy From Oklahoma (1954), with Nancy Olson; and Wild Heritage (1958), with Maureen O'Sullivan. On radio Rogers became known as "Rogers of the Gazette," while he also hosted CBS-TV's morning show in 1957 and 1958. It was broadcast from New York with Andrew Rooney as head writer, assisted by Barbara Walters.
Drawn to public service for most of his life, Rogers served in many capacities, including chairman of the California State Park Commission and assistant to the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Periodically, he served as special consultant to the U.S. Department of the Interior. As the eldest Rogers son, he also acted for 46 years as the family representative on the Will Rogers Memorial Commission of Oklahoma. In later years, Rogers retired to his ranch in the Tubac artist colony south of Tucson, Ariz. At times he appeared on television as a product spokesman, and he continued filling speaking engagements.
The Will Rogers Follies opened on Broadway in 1991, reviving interest in the late humorist. When contacted about the June 1993 reunion of former members of the 814th in Savannah, Mo., Rogers replied that he was not well and seldom traveled, but that he would be attending a Will Rogers Follies reception in New York. A month later, while in a pasture near his retirement home at Tubac, the 81-year-old Rogers died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A family spokesman explained that Rogers had recently suffered strokes, had heart problems and had undergone hip implant surgery. Following a military graveside service, his body was interred next to his wife, Collier, in Tubac Cemetery. Survivors included his two adopted Indian sons, Clem and Carlos, both of Tucson; his brother Jim Rogers, of Bakersfield, Calif.; and three grandchildren.
At their reunions, former members of the 814th tell stories about the dashing commander of a reconnaissance platoon who led an armored force into action. Many recall the words of his captain, spoken when the going got tough: "Get me Lieutenant Rogers!"
Additional Sources:
bhhs.beverlyhills.k12.ca.us
www.pbs.org
lib.lmu.edu
www.armourinfocus.co.uk
freefrench.free.fr
iquebec.ifrance.com
www.probertencyclopaedia.com
ardennes44.free.fr
www.lakemartin.net
www.dean.usma.edu
www.army.mil
users.pandora.be/dave.depickere
