He was raised with a traditional love of country and God. His older brother, also an officer, was killed in 1940. The German invasion in May 1940 and defeat of France was deeply distressing to him; when he learned that Marshal Philippe Pétain requested an armistice from the Germans in June, he collapsed. A few days later, a friend informed him that a young General De Gaulle was continuing the war in England, and Rogerie resolved to join him.