Roger Heller

Roger Kenneth Heller Born February 17th, 1922 in Beach, North Dakota passed away in Ojai on November 8th at the age of 88. He is survived by his sister Marion Murdoch of Ojai, nieces Michele Murdoch, Kristine Sanchez, Linda Heller, Kitt Link and Lisa Heller, and nephew Mark Heller. Roger grew up in Oakland, California, where he spent most of his life until moving to Ojai in 2007 to be closer to his sister and niece. Roger served in the U.S. Army during World War II as a noncommissioned officer with the 19th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division. He participated in five campaigns and four amphibious assault landings in the Pacific. He joined the 91st Division in 1949 as a reservist with the 361st Regiment until he received his commission in 1950 upon graduation from The University of California at Berkeley, and served in the Army Reserves until retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1982. LTC Heller's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Clusters, the Good Conduct medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Bronze Arrowhead and one Silver Service Star, the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp, the Philippine Liberation Medal with four Bronze Stars, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Meritorious Unit Citation, Combat Infantryman's Badge and the 2nd Echelon Mechanics Badge. Following World War II, Roger earned his associate's degree from San Francisco Junior College and then transferred to U.C. Berkeley where he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in History and continued studies towards a PhD. His teaching career included assignments at U.C. Davis, the College of San Mateo, Department Chairman for Social Studies at San Carlos High School, and three years as a Master Teacher and Guest Lecturer in the Intern Program at Stanford University. In 1965 he joined the faculty of San Jose State University where he taught History and Social Science until his retirement in 1987. He was voted "favorite professor" by the SJSU student body for several years. In his retirement Roger continued his passion for learning, reading and writing, including authoring the book "Luck or Fate: The Military Saga of Sgt. Roger K. Heller 1942-1946", published in 2009. In Ojai, he was a member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends. A memorial service will be held at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Ojai on November 20 at 3:00 pm.