Hawai'i patriot brightened Honolulu commute
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
In this year of fallen heroes, another patriot has passed away. He did not die on a battlefield, but the U.S. flag he proudly waved nearly every day was nearby.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
John Rogers Jr., known to all as "The General," is dead at age 55.
Kathryn Rutenschroer comforts Jay Harden of Waikiki after hearing of the sudden death of "General" John Rogers Jr., a Vietnam veteran who would greet commuters by waving the American flag at the corner of Kalakaua and Kapi'olani six mornings a week for the past four years. Motorists, pedestrians, joggers and bus drivers who were used to seeing him expressed grief as they passed the memorial site. Rogers died Saturday morning of a heart attack.
He died Saturday morning of a heart attack while waving his flag on the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Kapi'olani Boulevard, friends said. A memorial service is being planned.
The corner was his spot since Jan. 7, 1998, when he greeted drivers with a sign that read: "Support America's Veterans." He switched to a flag on the Fourth of July.
His goal was simple: He wanted to promote patriotism.
Monday through Saturday, Rogers greeted tens of thousands of morning commuters, waving a billowy U.S. flag, saluting and shouting "Good morning! Aloha! Have a good day!"
He didn't do it on Sundays because that's when his nonprofit group, Bravo Hawaii, fed homeless veterans. He had done it for nearly 15 years, paying for a lot of it with his own money.
The Vietnam veteran, who lived at the YMCA on Atkinson Drive, could turn a military salute into a Hawaiian shaka and a frown into a smile.
People waved back. Commuters. Children on their way to school. Bus drivers and truck drivers and ambulance drivers, sirens blaring.
Drivers honked their horns, a bleating chorus of support as sweet as any patriotic hymn.
"A lot of people, when they see you, they think you're crazy," Rogers told The Advertiser in January 2000, cars whizzing past in the predawn darkness. "Sometimes it takes one person to show millions what they should be doing. That's what I am all about."
Rogers planned to spend Saturday waving his flag from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a way to raise money for a trip to the Mainland. He wanted to wave his flag in the capitals of all 50 states.
About 11 a.m., Rogers told friends he wasn't feeling well and went to use a restroom at nearby Century Center, said Gary Dymally. When he didn't return, they found Rogers outside the bathroom. He was already dead.
"He was the most giving man," said Dymally, who directed a monthly show on Olelo with Rogers as host. "He would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you could use it."
Dymally said his friend had been sick, coughing and sweating ever since he received a flu shot in November. They taped their last show for Olelo on Friday night, and Dymally drove Rogers home.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
"I could see he wasn't his normal self," Dymally said. "You could hear it in his voice."
A memorial marks the spot where Rogers would stand. He was planning to raise money to tour the Mainland and wave his flag in the capitals of all 50 states.
Rogers wasn't really a general. That was his organizational rank with Bravo Hawaii, which he founded.
But he did spend 22 years in the Army — including five years as a noncombatant in Vietnam — before retiring as a master sergeant in 1988. In 1972, he was transferred to Schofield Barracks and fell in love with Hawai'i.
Rogers was born and raised in Oxford, Miss., the third of 11 children.
His mother stressed generosity, and that's why he spent so much time feeding and counseling homeless veterans — and anyone else who was hungry, tourist children included — from behind the U.S. Army Museum at Fort DeRussy.
"Not only did the general give, he gave his all, above and beyond the call of duty," said a friend, Cindy Langpaap. "This man was on a mission to help his fellow Americans and the homeless."
Yesterday morning, as news spread that Rogers had died, friends gathered at his corner.
A pair of gospel singers sang to commuters. People placed flowers near a photograph tied to a chainlink fence. There were tears and hugs.
Solomon David Dennis, a 32-year-old street musician from Waikiki, brought a U.S. flag. He said he hoped to be there every day in memory of his friend.
"We can't let the flag drop," Dennis said. "If you loved General Rogers, you have to wave a flag. If you want to remember General Rogers, wave a flag. If you want to show your patriotism, come to the corner."
As Dennis waved his flag — Rogers' flag — drivers honked. Again and again and again.
Reach Mike Gordon at 525-8012 or send e-mail to mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com
