Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-08

It is hard for the Nation to realize
that death has at last won it's victory
over the brave naval officer, Comdr.
John Rodgers, who. one year ago,
slipped out of the fingers Of the grim
Reaper that waited for him and his
companions on the tossing Pacific.
But he has gone. Flowers lie on
his grave and the press Of the coun-
try lays with them it's laurel Wreaths
of praise for an intrepid soul.
The tragedy brings to the mind Of
the Memphis Commercial Appeal the
words, 1--WE come like water and like
wind we So" and I'VE cannot tell
when the going will be-
"It is not in the method of going.
It is the spirit with which it is faced
daily and with which it is met in
whatever form it arrives" comments
the Fort Worth acknowledgement, say
ing further: 1.-THE Comdr. Rodgers
Who was pinned beneath his wreck
ed machine was the same man who
worked out the salvation of himself
and his crew out in the middle of the
Pacific. And that is all there is to
being of the service The Shreve-
port Journal records how "Comdr.
Rodgers, with death rapidly closing in
upon him, gave an exhibition of
patience and bravery. Uncomplaln-
ingly he directed his rescuerS toward
the removal of his broken and nangled
body. and then. thoughtfully, request
ed that word be sent to his mother
who unsuccessfully tried to reach his
bedside before he passed away two
hours after the tragic collapse of the
plane
Tributes to Comdr. Rodgers are
widespread and have the ring Of sin
cerity. "He was one of the outstand.
ing figures in the Nays flying serv-
ice and one of the most capable of
pilots in the world" says the Seattle
Daily Times, which also notes that
Ibis modest department and his I'M
usual resourcefulness endeareu him
to his fellow countrymen." The Oak
land Tribune, writing in the city from
which "he took off on the flight to
Hawaii and to which he was welcomed
upon his return after an adventure
which wrote his name and those of
his companions into American his
tory" describes the commander at
that time as "a tall man. embarrassed
at the honors heaped upon him, who
spoke to the hundreds at a community
dinner in Oakland, giving the praise
to his craft. his Superiors and his COM
panionS, and accepting as his response
bility the fact that his plane did not
reach it's destination. He was a brave
man and q modest one" concludes the
Tribune.
1.-THE spirit of Comdr. Rodgers, L.
S. N, still rides the Clouds" conf
IDENTIFY exclaims the Grand Rapids
Herald, while the Trenton Evening
Times declared "'John Rodgers has
become one of the Navy's ennobling
traditions The Baltimore Sun COM
mends the dead hero's answering de-
votion to duty, courage, simplicity and
honesty, all of which he had in re-
markable measure. And such charac-
teristics are rare enough to make the
man who has them rank far above
those whose chief claim to fame is
mere superficial brilliance," continues
this paper. The Bloomington Daily
Paragraph desires to pay the
tribute of praise and appreciation to
Comdr. Rodgers, who met his death in
his line of duty no less than If he
had fallen in action with face to the
foe"
Calling attention to the bravery that
was his even in his younger days, the
Passaic Daily Herald recalls how. ''as
a young ensign. he was one of the
first men of the Navy to go up in the
air as the tail of a kite as he ex-
pressed it. testing the lifting power of
a huge kite" and also notes that che
was one of the first two naval officers
who learned to fly This paper also
records the fact. that with his passing.
for the first time since It's beginning,
the United States Navy today Is with
out q John Rodgers in its officer per,