Deaths: John W. Rogers, Sr., Tuskegee Airman

From the Jan. 22, 2014, Chicago Tribune. ////JOHN W. ROGERS SR, 95 died Jan. 21st. //// After World War II, he received his law degree and was a successful attorney before becoming a Cook County (Chicago) Juvenile Court judge. //// Born 1918 in Knoxville, Tennessee, and moved to Chicago after the deaths of his parents. Graduated from Tilden Technical High School in Chicago and got his pilot's license before enlisting in the Army Air Force in 1941. //// At that time, blacks were banned from flying, but civil rights groups pressured the government to create a black pursuit squadrom which was based at Tuskegee, Alabama. //// He became a part of the Tuskegee Airmen's 99th Pursuit Squadron, eventually flying 120 missions and becoming a captain. //// He was one of the 300 Tuskegee Airmen invited by President Obama to the White House to view the movie "Red Tails" about the group. He had known the president from his days in Chicago. //// Quite a Man Who Never Let Anything Stand In His Way. --GreGen