Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Rogers, with his sandy hair and blue eyes, carries a deep-rooted commitment to service that shapes his life and Navy career, drawing inspiration from his family’s legacy within the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
His grandfather and a cousin, both seasoned Army veterans from the Lumbee Tribe, fueled his drive to serve. “I always had that … mindset,” Rogers, an engineman, said. “I didn't really see myself staying in North Carolina.” He signed up for the Marine Corps at 18 but stayed home when his mother fell ill, taking on jobs and schooling until the call to duty led him to join the Navy at 24.
Back Down Home
“When I was a kid, I didn't even know what a Lumbee was until my mom told me,” he said. “When we would come back down home, we wouldn't really go out in town when I was younger.” “Back down home” is Rogers’ term for Robeson County and Pembroke, North Carolina, strongholds of the Lumbee Tribe. Born there and later moving to Concord, he returned often with his mother, strengthening his ties to the community.
His frequent visits honed a distinctive dialect, which sometimes clashed with formal expectations. “My English teachers would get mad at me because I'm talking all types of medicine, and they'd be like, ‘That's not how you say things,’” he said. That resilience in holding to his roots reflects the grit he brings to his Navy service.
The Medicine Wheel
Historians debate the Lumbee Tribe’s origins—once linked to the lost tribe of Roanoke, now often tied to Siouan or Cheraw tribes. Recognized by North Carolina, the tribe still seeks federal status. Rogers learned its traditions from his late mother, Sherry Taylor Rogers, and grandfather, James Taylor. “I was proud of it, but I wasn't really proud of it till I got the medicine wheel tattoo when I was 18,” he said.
The medicine wheel—a circle split into four colored quarters—symbolizes life’s stages. “Red is birth, yellow is growth, then maturity is black and white is obviously death,” he explained. “I didn't really know what it meant until my grandfather passed away,” he said, marking a turning point in his appreciation for his heritage and duty.
"He Sounded Like Home"
Military service runs deep in American history, and Rogers found his place within it. A chance assignment under Cmdr. Morris Oxendine, a fellow Lumbee, reinforced his path. “His name was Cmdr. Morris Oxendine,” he said. “He looks like a Lum and talks like a Lum. Everybody thought that man sounded different, but I thought he sounded like home!”
Rogers admired Oxendine’s rise. “That was the first time I'd ever seen a Lum in the military,” he recalled. “To see him at such a high rank was a good feeling.” Oxendine, a sharecropper’s son, joined the Navy in 1982, became an ensign in 1996, and credits his success to teamwork and conviction. “When I came into the Navy, I already knew the value of teamwork, and I understood the value of working for what you believe in,” Oxendine wrote. “The Navy is a team rooted in the values of honor, courage and commitment. I was able to be successful in the Navy because my Lumbee Indian heritage taught me these same values.”
Oxendine saw Rogers’ dedication. “He was always working on that old [Landing Craft Utility],” he recalled. “He was a hard worker and an outstanding sailor.” Rogers’ skill and effort uphold the Navy’s standards.
Rogers thrives in the Navy, with no plans to leave soon. “I always wanted to travel, see the world. I've been to 31 countries by now. It's been a heck of an experience,” he said. Yet, he eagerly awaits a return to Robeson County post-pandemic. “I definitely can't wait to go back down home,” he said, balancing service with a connection to his origins.