Services, salute scheduled for John 'General' Rogers

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Services and a burial with a 21-gun salute have been scheduled for John Rogers Jr., the flag-waving patriot called "The General."

Rogers' funeral will be held Saturday at the Fort DeRussy Chapel across from the Hale Koa Hotel on Kalia Road in Waikiki. Viewing will be from 9 a.m. to noon with services to follow immediately.

Burial is at 10 a.m. Monday at Kane'ohe State Veterans Cemetery. The family requests flowers Monday only and casual attire.

Rogers died Dec. 22 while waving his U.S. flag on the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Kapi'olani Boulevard. He had greeted commuters there every morning, six days a week, since Jan. 7, 1998.

Rogers was born in Oxford, Miss. on Jan. 5, 1946. He would have been 56 Saturday.

His passing has prompted a huge display of affection by those who knew him or saw him on the corner. Flowers, flags and notes have created a growing shrine there.

"They are very expressive of their sorrow and their grief," friend Arthur Bennett said.

Rogers, a retired Army master sergeant, had lived in Hawai'i since 1972. He founded a veterans' assistance group called Bravo Hawai'i — where he adopted the organizational rank of general — and hosted a monthly TV show on 'Olelo.

Every Sunday for several years, Bravo Hawai'i fed homeless vets.

His friends have set up a fund in his name at American Savings Bank, in part to pay for funeral expenses, but also to try and continue his Bravo Hawai'i programs.

Donations can be sent to any branch of American Savings Bank or by mail: P.O. Box 8802, Honolulu, HI, 96830.

Rogers is survived by his daughter, Gloria Rogers; brothers Frederick Rogers, William Rogers, Gregory Rogers, the Rev. Thomas Rogers and Charles Rogers; and sisters Virgie Rogers, Carol Robinson, Ava Hilliard, Linda Hill and Sandra Francis.

Arrangements are being handled by Woolsey-Hosoi Mortuary.