CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Solomon David Dennis saluted passing motorists yesterday morning at the intersection of Kalakaua Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard, where John H. Rogers did the same for nearly four years. Rogers collapsed at the corner and died Saturday.

Salute to ‘the General’

Admirers step up to fill the void
on the corner where he waved the flag

---

By Treena Shapiro
tshapiro@starbulletin.com

As soon as people heard that John H. Rogers Jr. had died, memorials began appearing on "his" corner across the street from the Hawai'i Convention Center -- flags, photographs, candles, cards, even doughnuts and candy.

A handful of friends and admirers decided to further memorialize the patriotic man known affectionately as "the General" by carrying on his morning tradition of waving flags for commuters at Kapiolani Boulevard and Kalakaua Avenue.

This morning, graphic artist Ron Takamoto was one of five people honoring the General at his traditional corner. Takamoto brought his two sons with him -- Jojo, 7, and Rosco, 10.

Wearing a sign that said "God Bless the U.S. & the General," Takamoto also raised a large flag, inherited from his uncle, a World War II veteran from the 442nd infantry division.

A Vietnam veteran himself, Takamoto said he often saw Rogers waving on the corner and shared war stories with him at the Atkinson YMCA, where Rogers lived.

"He kind of restored my pride as a Vietnam vet," Takamoto said. "I just respected what he was doing" for veterans of all foreign wars, he said.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Solomon David Dennis waved flags to passing motorists yesterday. "We just can't let the flag drop," he said.

Three people waved flags in Rogers memory yesterday, while two more sang hymns and patriotic songs in his honor, to the honks, waves and cheers of passing motorists.

Michael Wells, 33, said he had never had a conversation with Rogers but waved to him each morning on his way to work in Waikiki.

On the day after Christmas, Wells decided to stand where Rogers would have been. Dressed in a red, white and blue jogging suit, Wells waved an American flag to keep Rogers' spirit alive.

"I don't do anything in the mornings, so coming out here is just a little part of your day to keep the aloha going," Wells said.

Rogers had waved the flag at the corner for nearly four years to raise awareness for Hawaii war veterans. He died after collapsing at the corner on Saturday.

Street performer and taxi driver Solomon David Dennis, 33, came to the corner yesterday with two American flags and one black flag recalling prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action. He wore camouflage fatigues in honor of all servicemen, including firefighters and police officers.

Dennis emphasized that it was important to carry on Rogers' mission of fighting for veterans' rights and especially caring for homeless veterans, whom Rogers fed at Fort DeRussy every Sunday, using some of his own money.

Because Rogers died on Saturday, "people went hungry on that Sunday," Dennis said. "They depended on him.

"Now it's time for America to serve the veterans," Dennis said. "We just can't let the flag drop."

Kathryn and Ryan Rutenschroer came to the corner to sing for the man they had never met. "General Rogers represented what's good," noted Kathryn Rutenschroer, who said she and her husband minister through music outside the International Marketplace in Waikiki.

Rutenschroer said people from all over the world had come to the corner the past few days to find out what happened to Rogers. "They loved him, and they knew him through his smile," she said.

Gino Carvalho knew him as a friend. When she and her husband were homeless, Rogers helped feed them. As the couple got back on their feet, they were able to help him feed others, she said.

But until yesterday she had never waved a flag at his corner. "He was a one-man band as far as that came," she said.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Angie Tanioka placed flowers yesterday where "the General" waved an America flag for daily morning commuters.

Carvalho wept as she described how Rogers loved to help the homeless and how his favorite expression was "Everything's great!"

"He was the man with the golden heart," she said. "He was untouchable."

Funeral services are pending.

'Olelo Community Television, where Rogers had his own show to raise awareness of veterans' rights, will air "Tribute to the General" today at 2:30 p.m. on Oceanic Cable channel 54 and at 11:30 p.m. on channel 55.

The 20-minute program features loving thoughts, memories and messages for Rogers from his friends and supporters.

The tribute will also be shown on Oceanic Cable channel 52 on tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2:30 p.m., Monday at 11:30 p.m., Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. and Wednesday at 6 p.m.