Rogers was born in Claremont, Fayette County, and graduated from West Virginia State College (now University) in 1951. He joined the military through the ROTC program and served in the Vietnam War.

Rogers earned the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 1, 1968, near the Cambodian border. While leading a fire support base, he directed artillery and led counterattacks even after being wounded three times. He helped repel the enemy and was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Nixon in 1970. Rogers was the highest-ranking African American in the war to receive the medal.

He retired as a major general in 1984 and later became a Baptist minister, serving soldiers in Germany. He's buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and in 1999, a bridge in Fayette County was renamed in his honor.