Background
He was born on April 12, 1928 in Lawrence, Kansas.
He was born on April 12, 1928 in Lawrence, Kansas.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado in 1958.
As a United States Air Force Test Pilot School graduate, Rogers was an experimental test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, California when selected for the X-20 program in April, 1960. He left the program on December 10, 1963 when it was cancelled. After the X-20 program, he remained in the Air Force on active flight duty as a pilot with the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel at the time of his death.
Rogers was killed when the engine of his F-105 fighter plane failed near Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan on September 13, 1967. He ejected from his aircraft, but his parachute failed to deploy properly.
He was 39 years old.