William C. Rogers III

Common card · No. 256245

William Chapel Rogers III (December 13, 1938 – June 30, 2025) was an American naval officer and the captain of USS Vincennes, a Ticonderoga-class Aegis cruiser. During his command, the ship shot down Iran Air Flight 655 in the Persian Gulf in 1988, killing 290 civilians in a major international incident, forcing President Ronald Reagan to express deep regret and leading to a settlement in front of the International Court of Justice.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Service Depicted: Navy Camera Operator: PH3 RONALD W. ERDRICH, USN, Public domain