Person Record

Images

1 of 1977 Pete Rogers

View Image Metadata

Metadata

Name

Rogers, James F. "Pete"

Born

08/27/1922

Birthplace

Saratoga, Texas

Education

Lamar Tech and Texas A&M

Notes

James Frank "Pete" Rogers was born in Saratoga, Texas and grew up in Batson, Texas. He received his education from Lamar Tech and Texas A&M. Rogers joined the military in 1942 and was a fighter pilot in Europe during World War II. During his military service Rogers won three Distinguished Flying Crosses, twelve Air Medals and the Purple Heart.
Pete joined the Department of Public Safety in 1947 as a Highway Patrolman. He became a Pilot Investigator for the DPS in 1951; in 1952 he was transferred to Lufkin. In 1958 he was promoted to sergeant in the Texas Rangers and was stationed at Company A in Houston and was later promoted to Captain of Company C in Lubbock in 1969. He then returned to Company A in Houston as Captain in 1972. A Ranger for 24 years, Pete Rogers was a blend of the old and the new. He was a skilled horseman experienced with a lariat, and a pilot with a jet rating.
Rogers' leadership helped to end the Huntsville Prison Siege in 1974, where three inmates took hostages in the library of the Walls Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections. After an eleven day stand-off, Rogers, assisted by Ranger Captain G. W. Burks and FBI agent Bob Wyatt, led the final assault to free the hostages. In the end, convict Fred Gomez Carrasco and inmate Rudolpho Dominguez were killed along with hostages Yvonne Besede and Julia Standley. Rogers' career also included investigations into illegal gambling primarily in the Galveston area, policing a wildcat strike, which is a strike action taken by workers without the authorization of their trade union officials, at the Shell Refinery at Pasadena in 1967, and further investigation into the Huntsville Siege.