Lt. Col. Susan Rogers Regele. Her remarkable life of achievement began in 1950 in Wilmington's Gordon Heights. She was graduated in 1968 from nearby Mount Pleasant High, and in 1971 from Washington (D.C.) Hospital Center School of Nursing.
In 1972 she entered the U.S. Air Force (USAF) where she was commissioned a second lieutenant. While at Montgomery Air Force Base (AFB) in Alabama, nurse Rogers learned to fly with the base flying club. When the USAF opened pilot training to women in 1976, Capt. Rogers was selected. She and nine others received their wings in 1977 at Williams AFB in Arizona. They were the first female pilots in the history of the USAF.
Pilot Rogers was assigned to Scott AFB, Ill., flying C-9 "Nightingale" (medical evacuation) aircraft. She was commander of the first all-female G9 crew. Later, at McGuire AFB, she commanded C-141s.
As a member of the Military Airlift Command, she flew missions all over the world, including transpolar. When the Marine Barrack in Beirut, Lebanon, were blown up, she was landing her C-141 and evacuated many victims of the attack.
Rogers earned the rank of lieutenant colonel, regular Air Force, and was rated a senior pilot. Her decorations include Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, AF Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, AF Achievement Medal, AF Outstanding Unit Award, Combat Readiness Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and AF Longevity Service Award Ribbon with three Oak leaf Clusters.
Lt. Col. Rogers married Lt. Col. Harold Regele in 1978. Following a long struggle with cancer, she died in 1992. Her parents, Cecil and Vera Rogers, live in Lewes.
