A half-century later, 91-year-old Rosker will be recognized as a part of Memorial Day observance ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.
To hear Rosker reflect on his military service — which spanned 27 years in the U.S. Army with seven years overseas — he is quick to credit his fellow soldiers. As a captain in his battalion, he occupied an operations post while the rest of his battalion held the line.
"Whenever we were assaulted, there were always three or four rifleman who would come and protect me," he said.
And in return, Rosker's group provided heavy fire whenever the infantry ran into trouble. Over the years, he has received letters and correspondence from the very same men he finds himself indebted to years later.
"All these infantry guys write and tell me that if it wasn't for your artillery, we never would have made it back — and that's true — I protected them and they protected me," he said. "And that feels good inside when they tell me, 'I don't know what we'd do without you.' I always write back and say, 'Well, I don't know what I'd do without you!'"
Rosker's contributions also reached the commanding infantry officer, Col. William Moore, whose letter Rosker keeps to this day. Rosker's "thoroughness" and "detailed coordination" of artillery support are credited with the success of the operation, when Rosker held the front line for nearly 72 hours, finally driving back the enemy forces.
"The close cooperation and very accurate fire of the artillery contributed immeasurably to the success of the patrol,"Moore wrote.
