Private First Class Floyd L. Rogers of C Company, 38th. Infantry Regiment, 2nd. Infantry Division poses for a photographer somewhere in the north of France on June 29, 1944. Rogers was part of a heavy weapons platoon, led by Technical Sergeant Frank Kwiatek. Kwiatek had a score to settle with the Germans when one of his two brothers, Ted Kwiatek, was killed in action during the combat in Sicily, having served as a gunner in a tank crew. A few weeks later, his other brother, Jerry, was killed during the battles in Italy proper. Kwiatek was featured in an article by Sgt. Walter Peters in Yank magazine where he discussed his methods for dealing with German snipers which were a ever present threat as the Allies moved through France. Included in the article was mention of Rogers. Rogers was born on November 29, 1919 in Rising Star, Texas and at the time of the photograph, he was 24.
There appears to be some confusion on the number of kills Rogers was credited with. Most sources give a count of 27 and this appears to be confirmed in General Orders No.32 issued through the 2nd. Infantry Division headquarters in 1944 when Rogers was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in actions which took place on June 11, 1944 in France. Interestingly, it was said Rogers was part of the Rangers which suggests that he had been selected to attend the Ranger Battle Training Course. Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) from select infantry regiments, which included the 38th. Infantry Regiment, attended the two month course at Camp McCoy (in Wisconsin) that started on April 12, 1943 and concluded on June 5, 1943 and graduates from the course were sent back to the units they came from albeit far more highly trained and adding capable NCO leadership to those units. Thus, while Rogers likely received this specialized Ranger training, he was not a part of any of the Ranger battalions created during World War Two. Returning to the Silver Star, this is the third highest award a soldier can receive for valor in combat. The 2nd. Infantry Division, in total, had 741 personnel decorated with the Silver Star during World War Two.
It is said that Rogers used his M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) to vanquish the 27 men which had all been called snipers. The BAR was not a new weapon, having been introduced into service in 1918 and being first blooded in combat on September 13, 1918 in the hands of the 79th. Infantry Division. Typically chambered for the .30-06 Springfield round, the BAR usually used a 20-round magazine and it was deployed as a light machine gun. The U.S. Army did not issue the BAR in large numbers until 1938 when it began to be used as a squad automatic weapon. By World War Two, the main BAR model in use was the M1918A2 though earlier models were also issued to meet the soldier's demand for the hard hitting weapon. Some debate whether or not some of the men Rogers killed were genuine snipers as the BAR was not exactly conductive to precision shooting. It was not uncommon for the Germans to leave behind one or two soldiers to harass Allied troops. The trained and skilled snipers typically were found in German companies, battalions, and other higher echelon formations. At the platoon level, some German soldiers were given the designation of sniper but had no formal training at all. Other Germans who may have been encountered alone or in pairs included artillery forward observers and reconnaissance troops. While not taking away from Rogers' accomplishments, it is possible that some of those in his kill score were not specifically snipers.
Of interest is that Rogers is wearing a helmet cover made of German Buntfarbenaufdruck 31 (literally “Colorful Print 31”) camouflage material. More commonly known as Splittermuster (“Splinter Pattern”), it was introduced in 1931 and continued in use throughout World War Two. The camouflage was mainly used for zeltbahn, tarnhemd (smocks), and tarnhelmüberzug (helmet covers). Rogers likely used a swath taken from a smock or zeltbahn to fashion his helmet cover. Also, he has removed his rank from the sleeves as evidenced by the loose threads where the rank patches would have been. He carries a total of twelve magazines for his BAR (not including the one in the weapon) and a Mk.2 fragmentation grenade is also visible. Finally, he has the M1910 entrenching tool but has cut down the shaft, eliminating the T-handle end.
PFC Rogers did not survive the war. On July 12, 1944, he was killed in action. It was the very same day he posted his Silver Star to his mother, Anne Belle Rogers. He was returned to Rising Star, Texas and was buried in the Rising Star Cemetery in Rising Star, Eastland County off County Road 273.
As for Frank Kwiatek, he survived the war, having a kill score of 38. Later, in 1947, at the rank of Master Sergeant, he would be decorated with the Medal of Honor for his service.
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