Will Rogers Jr.(1911-1993)

Will Rogers Jr. was elected as a Democratic congressman for Southern California in 1942. Although he served only 17 months in congress, he is best remembered as the American politician who did the most to try and save the Jews of Europe during World War II. Rogers joined the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe in 1943. He also introduced a bill called the Rescue Resolution that, if passed, would have established safe havens for Jewish refugees from Europe in nearby neutral countries. The bill failed to pass, largely due to opposition from President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration. Rogers resigned from Congress in 1944 and returned to the US Army as a tank commander. He saw combat and was decorated for bravery during the war. In 1946 he made an unsuccessful bid for the US Senate. In the late 1940s he left politics to concentrate on show business and entertainment. In his early 80s, Rogers suffered from heart disease and a series of strokes. At the age of 81 hip implant surgery left him in great pain. To end his suffering, he drove into the desert and shot himself in the head.