Rank: Staff Sergeant
Unit: Headquarters & Headquarters Troop, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 54E – Nuclear, Biological, And Chemical (Nbc) Specialist
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Unit awards: Meritorious Unit Citation, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Enlisted by: Regular
Date of birth: 11-Sep-1937
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Marital status: Married to Marjorie Y. Rogers, two sons, one daughter
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Entered service: 22-Apr-1968
Start of tour: 23-Aug-1966
Incident date: 16-Jan-1967
Date of casualty: 16-Jan-1967
Age at death: 29
Cause of death: Hostile, died. Small Arms Fire. Gun or small arms fire.
Charles Lee Rogers was on combat operation when hit by hostile automatic weapons fire.
Location of fatality: Binh Duong, South Vietnam
Place of interment: Locust Grove Cemetery, Keavy, Kentucky, USA
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BRONZE STAR MEDAL
WITH VALOR DEVICE
POSTHUMOUS
STAFF SERGEANT CHARLES LEE ROGERS
16 JANUARY 1967
HEADQUARTERS AND HEADQUARTERS TROOP, 3rd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Staff Sergeant Rogers distinguished himself by heroism in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force on 16 January 1967 while serving with Headquarters & Headquarters Troop, 3d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in the Republic of Vietnam. On this date, Sergeant Rogers volunteered, as he had many times in the past, to explore a vast tunnel complex recently located in an area of intense enemy activity. Despite the extreme dangers of booby traps, mines, and Viet Cong inside the tunnel, Sergeant Rogers crawled through a small passageway, armed only with his necessary equipment and a forty-five-caliber pistol. Selecting the most dangerous position for himself, he placed himself well ahead of the other men in the tunnel. Suddenly enemy automatic weapons fire opened up fatally wounding Sergeant Rogers in the chest. His courage and willingness to sacrifice his own life saved the lives of the accompanying men in the exploration party. The courageous attitude and unhesitating devotion to duty displayed by Sergeant Rogers are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
Headquarters, II Field Force Vietnam General Orders No. 377 (15 March 1967)