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Contact Info
Home Town Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Last Address Burial At Sea Ceremony for Vice Admiral Bertram Joseph Rodgers. January 4th, 1984 on board the USS JUNEAU (LPD 10) Station Ship's company, firing detail, pall/flag bearers and honor platoon. Officer's Call-"All hands bury the dead."
Vice Admiral Bertram Joseph Rodgers 40 years, U.S.N. Retired Buried At Sea
January 4th, 1984, USS JUNEAU (LPD 10)
Bertram Joseph Rodgers was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 19, 1894. His long and distinguished naval service began with his appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy in 1912. He was commissioned Ensign in June 1916. From there he went to serve aboard the battleship USS SOUTH CAROLINA in the Atlantic Fleet during WW1. He then served aboard the submarine H-4 and commanded the USS H-8 and the R-8. Next, he served as Engineer and repair Officer at the submarine base, Coco Solo in the Canal Zone. He served as the Executive Officer aboard the USS V-3 which was later named the USS BONITA. In 1927, after instruction in Lighter-than-air craft, he was designated Naval Aviator [LTA] and served on the airships LOS ANGELES, AKRON and MACON.
In 1934 he assumed command of the destroyer USS BLAKELY followed by duty as Port Captain, Balboa, Panama Canal Zone; Commanding Officer of the destroyer leader USS SELFRIDGE: as assignment to the War Plans Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, DC; and duty at Headquarters, Commander in Chief, US Fleet, Washington, DC.
On January, 1943 he assumed command of the cruiser USS SALT LAKE CITY where he was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces. In the Fall of 1943 he was assigned duty as Senior United States Planning Officer of the staff of the Supreme Allied Commander, Southeast Asia, as a Commodore. For his service in this assignment he was awarded the Army Legion of Merit.
He assumed duty in April, 1944 as Commander of Task Group Two, Eighth Amphibious Force assisting in the planning for and invasion of Southern France. Task Group Two was later re-designated Amphibious Group ELEVEN, EIGHTH Fleet which was soon after transferred to the Pacific Theater and under his command participated in the Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations.
In February, 1946, he assumed command of Amphibious Group THREE of the SEVENTH Fleet. As commander of Amphibious Group ONE, Pacific Fleet he participated in the first full scale peace time amphibious training exercises conducted off the coast of Southern California.
On April 2, 1948, he reported as Commander Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet. In February, 1950, he became Commandant of the Twelfth Naval district, with additional duty as Commander Naval Base, San Francisco, California. In March, 1954, he was assigned as Commander naval Forces, Germany and in November, 1955, he became President of the Permanent General Court Martial, Twelfth Naval district. On April 1, 1956, 40 years and two months after his commissioning as ensign in the United States navy, he was transferred to the retired list of the US Navy as a Vice Admiral.
Among his many decorations, Vice Admiral Rodgers was awarded the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal with Gold Star, Army Legion of Merit, and the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon with Star.
Other Comments:
Navy Cross
Awarded for actions during the Second World War.
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Bertram Joseph Rodgers, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Heavy Cruiser U.S.S. SALT LAKE CITY (CA-25), during operations in the Aleutian Islands on 26 March 1943. During a 3 1/2-hour engagement with an enemy force of far greater strength, Captain Rodgers handled his cruiser with such excellent judgment and skill that she was able to inflict severe damage on one heavy cruiser and lesser damage on another heavy, and a light cruiser. His outstanding achievement contributed to the withdrawal of the Japanese force and frustrated their desperate attempt to reinforce troops in the Aleutian Islands. Captain Rodgers' conduct throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Navy of the United States.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 319 (October 1943) Action Date: March 26, 1943
Service: Navy Rank: Captain Company: Commanding Officer Division: U.S.S. Salt Lake City (CA-25)
World War I
From Month/Year
April / 1917
To Month/Year
November / 1918
Description The United States of America declared war on the German Empire on April 6, 1917. The U.S. was an independent power and did not officially join the Allies. It closely cooperated with them militarily but acted alone in diplomacy. The U.S. made its major contributions in terms of supplies, raw material and money, starting in 1917. American soldiers under General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), arrived in large numbers on the Western Front in the summer of 1918. They played a major role until victory was achieved on November 11, 1918. Before entering the war, the U.S had remained neutral, though it had been an important supplier to Great Britain and the other Allied powers. During the war, the U.S mobilized over 4 million military personnel and suffered 110,000 deaths, including 43,000 due to the influenza pandemic. The war saw a dramatic expansion of the United States government in an effort to harness the war effort and a significant increase in the size of the U.S. military. After a slow start in mobilising the economy and labour force, by spring 1918 the nation was poised to play a role in the conflict. Under the leadership of President Woodrow Wilson, the war represented the climax of the Progressive Era as it sought to bring reform and democracy to the world, although there was substantial public opposition to United States entry into the war.
Although the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, it did not initially declare war on the other Central Powers, a state of affairs that Woodrow Wilson described as an "embarrassing obstacle" in his State of the Union speech. Congress declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire on December 17, 1917, but never made declarations of war against the other Central Powers, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire or the various Co-belligerents allied with the central powers, thus the United States remained uninvolved in the military campaigns in central, eastern and southern Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
The United States as late as 1917 maintained only a small army, smaller than thirteen of the nations and empires already active in the war. After the passage of the Selective Service Act in 1917, it drafted 2.8 million men into military service. By the summer of 1918 about a million U.S. soldiers had arrived in France, about half of whom eventually saw front-line service; by the Armistice of November 11 approximately 10,000 fresh soldiers were arriving in France daily. In 1917 Congress gave U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans when they were drafted to participate in World War I, as part of the Jones Act. In the end Germany miscalculated the United States' influence on the outcome of the conflict, believing it would be many more months before U.S. troops would arrive and overestimating the effectiveness of U-boats in slowing the American buildup.
The United States Navy sent a battleship group to Scapa Flow to join with the British Grand Fleet, destroyers to Queenstown, Ireland and submarines to help guard convoys. Several regiments of Marines were also dispatched to France. The British and French wanted U.S. units used to reinforce their troops already on the battle lines and not to waste scarce shipping on bringing over supplies. The U.S. rejected the first proposition and accepted the second. General John J. Pershing, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) commander, refused to break up U.S. units to serve as mere reinforcements for British Empire and French units. As an exception, he did allow African-American combat regiments to fight in French divisions. The Harlem Hellfighters fought as part of the French 16th Division, earning a unit Croix de Guerre for their actions at Château-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Séchault.
Impact of US forces on the war
On the battlefields of France in spring 1918, the war-weary Allied armies enthusiastically welcomed the fresh American troops. They arrived at the rate of 10,000 a day, at a time when the Germans were unable to replace their losses. After British Empire, French and Portuguese forces had defeated and turned back the powerful final German offensive (Spring Offensive of March to July, 1918), the Americans played a role in the Allied final offensive (Hundred Days Offensive of August to November). However, many American commanders used the same flawed tactics which the British, French, Germans and others had abandoned early in the war, and so many American offensives were not particularly effective. Pershing continued to commit troops to these full- frontal attacks, resulting in high casualties against experienced veteran German and Austrian-Hungarian units. Nevertheless, the infusion of new and fresh U.S. troops greatly strengthened the Allies' strategic position and boosted morale. The Allies achieved victory over Germany on November 11, 1918 after German morale had collapsed both at home and on the battlefield.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
April / 1917
To Month/Year
November / 1918
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Bertram Joseph Rodgers was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 19, 1894. His long and distinguished naval service began with his appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy in 1912. He was commissioned Ensign in June 1916. From there he went to serve aboard the battleship USS SOUTH CAROLINA in the Atlantic Fleet during WW1. He then served aboard the submarine H-4 and commanded the USS H-8 and the R-8. Next, he served as Engineer and repair Officer at the submarine base, Coco Solo in the Canal Zone. He served as the Executive Officer aboard the USS V-3 which was later named the USS BONITA. In 1927, after instruction in Lighter-than-air craft, he was designated Naval Aviator [LTA] and served on the airships LOS ANGELES, AKRON and MACON.
