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Born in Taylorsville, N.C., in 1912, Turner C. Rogers (‘TC’) graduated from high school at Statesville, N.C. 
and attended Mars Hill College in North Carolina for one year. In July
1932 he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., graduated and was commissioned a second lieutenant, Infantry on June 12, 1936.
Later in that year, Lieutenant Rogers began flying training and graduated from primary and advanced flying schools at Randolph and Kelly fields in Texas. After winning his pilot's Wings, he transferred to the 18th Pursuit Group in Hawaii ... an assignment that was to later develop into a long and successful relationship with the historic 18th Fighter Group.
Two years later, he was assigned to the 31st Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field, and in May 1941 Captain Rogers was assigned to the Air Defense Section of the Air Force Combat Command
at Bolling
Field, Washington, D.C. He was promoted to major in December 1941.
In March 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Rogers was named chief of the Personnel section in the Directorate of Air Defense at Army Air Forces headquarters, and a year later became chief of the Fighter and Reconnaissance section. He was transferred to the Fourth Fighter Command at Oakland, Calf., as assistant operations officer, and in March 1944 was appointed chief of the Fighter Division at Headquarters Fourth Air Force. He was promoted to Colonel on May 12, l944.
In January 1945 Colonel Rogers was appointed as head of the Fighter Evaluation Team, Air Evaluation Board, in the Southwest Pacific, and in May, 1946 he was named a staff planning officer in the War Plans Division at Air Force headquarters. In August 1949 he entered the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., from which he graduated in June 1950, just as the Korean War broke out in Asia. Colonel Rogers was promptly transferred to Korea as assistant Deputy for Operations of Fifth Air Force.
In February 1951 he enjoyed a form of ‘homecoming; when he assumed command of the 18th 
Fighter-Bomber Wing ... the first Fighter unit he had been assigned following graduation as a pilot.
While commanding the multi-national Wing (which by then consisted of 12th and 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons, the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, and No. 2 Squadron, South African Air Force),
he managed to leave his paper-stacked desk often enough to fly 50 of their dangerous low altitude close-support and interdiction missions in the World War II vintage propeller-driven F-51
Mustangs.
To point up the importance of recognizing and staying within one’s own personal limitations, General Rogers described his first Korean combat mission early in the winter of 1951, soon after he had assumed command of the historic 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing.
He had not flown an F-51 Mustang for eight years – not since 1943, but after a hurried checkout he had scheduled himself for a two-ship armed reconnaissance mission far behind the lines, over mountainous central North Korea.
"The engine was rough on take-off, but as the 'new wing commander', pride would not let him abort his first combat mission. All of the Korean peninsula was covered by a thick overcast, but we found a hole and managed to deposit our napalm and rockets on the enemy targets. My engine then coughed, and I decided to seek higher altitude for a possible bailout. I left my leader, climbed into the overcast and struggled up to fifteen thousand feet to get on top, where I suddenly lost my direction. I called for a DF steer, but hours seemed to pass before I was able to receive a clear response.
"I finally recognized familiar territory through the broken clouds, and my confidence returned. ‘Why land at K-6, the location of the direction station’, I thought, ‘when we had a forward detachment at Kimpo, (K-13)’? I headed down, only to fly into a blinding snowstorm, but I was still confident I could find K-13.
"I soon recognized the enemy-held Han River below, ‘did a quick one-eighty, and then with my last fuel tank reading zero, I prepared ... for the third time, in case I had to leave the ship.Suddenly I caught a glimpse of a runway on my left -- never has a piece of concrete looked so beautiful. The engine sputtered to a stop from fuel starvation just as I turned off the end of the runway. “
‘TC’ Rogers was promoted to Brigadier General on October 9, 1951, and was awarded the Legion of Merit with an oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal, with oak leaf cluster, while in Korea.
Returning to the United States in February 1952, General Rogers became deputy commander of the Crew Training Air Force at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. He assumed command of the Air Training Command's Jet Fighter-Bomber training at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., on Aug. 15, 1953. He also served as base commander of Luke AFB during this period and while base commander, in 1955, won the Training Command Gunnery Competition and several trophies with highest individual score, flying an F-84G in special weapon gunnery, over the shoulder bombing, and other newly developed techniques and represented the Training Command at a National Gunnery Meet. He was awarded a second oak leaf cluster to the Legion of Merit prior to his departure from Luke AFB in 1956.
General Rogers assumed command of the nation's Air Force ROTC program on Oct 1, 1956, and on Aug. 5, 1957, he was promoted to the rank of Major General. During this tour of duty, he was awarded a third oak leaf cluster to the Legion of Merit.
On July 31, 1959, General Rogers assumed command of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), Japan.
General Rogers has been awarded the Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with oak leaf cluster, Republic of Korea Military Merit Ulchi Medal, Republic of Korea Unit Citation, Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, as well as the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, American Defense Service Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Korean Service Medal, UN Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Air Force Longevity Service Award with six oak leaf clusters.
General “T-C” retired from active Air Force duty in August, 1966, 
and returned to the land of his youth, North Carolina, where, at this writing in 2001, at age 89 he resides in a
retiree’s residence near Chapel Hill. He reads current news, historical novels, poetry and fiction, likes most music, is inspired by fine paintings; but doesn't care for surrealistic
art. He no longer yearns for far away places, and considers the amount of traveling required by the Air Force during his thirty-four active duty years to be sufficient. He likes Arizona and the
arid climate of the Southwest United States.
When asked to recall a major accomplishment of his Air Force career, General Rogers noted that “getting out from under the stigma of just being a ‘good staff officer’ and into a Command position was the greatest professional difficulty he had overcome”.
"January 1941 had been the date of my first command - a newly activated pursuit squadron which had no other officers, forty airmen, and no aircraft. When both officers and aircraft arrived, I was disappointed to be transferred to staff work in Washington, D.C. It took ten years of pushing papers before I was chosen to be a fighter-wing commander in Japan -- an assignment that was foiled by the sudden beginning of the Korean War. I was almost resigned to my fate when General 'Pat' Partridge, then head of Fifth Air Force, came to my rescue and broke the jinx by giving me the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing in Korea, which coincidentally had been my first organizational assignment out of flying school.
“Commanding the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing in combat was a highlight of my entire career."
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