- John Rodgers (naval officer, World War I)
John Rodgers (
15 January 1881 –27 August 1926 ) was an officer in theUnited States Navy and an earlyaviator .The great grandson of Commodores Rodgers and Perry, Rodgers was born in
Washington, D.C. and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1903. His early naval career included service on ships of various types before studying flying in 1911 and becoming the second American naval officer to fly for theUnited States Navy . On September 1911, Lieutenant John Rodgers flew a crated (he then assembled) Wright model B-1 aircraft delivered byOrville Wright at an armory inAnnapolis, Maryland , and then bringing Naval flight as a pioneer to the United States Navy (Air & Space Smithsonian, October/November 2002, Volume 18, Number 4, p. 16).He commanded Division 1, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet in 1916; and, after the
United States enteredWorld War I , he commanded the Submarine Base at New London,Connecticut .Following the war, he served in
Europe an waters and received the Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding work on minesweeping operations in theNorth Sea . After several important assignments during the next 5 years, he commanded Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet, in Langley in 1925. That year he made the first attempt at a non-stop flight fromCalifornia toHawaii while he was in command of the flying boat PN9-1. An additional plane that began the expedition, the PN9-3, was commanded by Lt. Allen P. Snody. The PN9-3 had engine failure and was forced to land about five hours into their flight. The two planes departedSan Pablo Bay , California (near San Francisco) on31 August , but a fuel shortage forced his plane to land short of her destination1 September . While ships searched for the plane, Comdr. Rodgers led his crew in improvising sails from the plane's wing material to continue the trip afloat. Finally, 9 days later, after sailing the plane to within 15 miles ofNawiliwili Bay ,Kauai , Rodgers was found bySubmarine R-4 on routine patrol and was towed near the reef outside of the port. The harbor master and his daughter rowed out to the plane and helped Rodgers and his crew surf over the reef and into the safety of the harbor.After this experience, he served as Assistant Chief of the
Bureau of Aeronautics until his accidental death in an airplane crash after the plane he was piloting suddenly nose-dived into the Delaware River on27 August 1926 .Legacy
Six ships were named in honor of him, his great-grandfather and another related Rodgers. See USS "Rodgers" and USS "John Rodgers". John Rodgers Airport (now
Honolulu International Airport ) was also named after him. He was a cousin of pioneer transcontinental pilotCal Rodgers .In 2007, a full-length feature screenplay, "HAWAII CALLS", depicting these historic events was created by Rick Helin, a California screenwriter. As of early 2008, it is in the early pre-production stage.
External links
* [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/johnrodg.htm John Rodgers] at
Arlington National Cemetery
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