Photo By Sgt. Brian Stippey | U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Rogers, an explosive ordnance disposal technician,...... read more read more
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On a scorching hot June afternoon, the convoy of a multinational team of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians crawled through the jungle-lined roads of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. Dust swirled around the tires of the military vehicles, the air thick with the weight of what lay hidden beneath the earth — forgotten relics of war, still deadly nearly a century later. Operation Render Safe 25-1, conducted June 3-14, 2025, was nearing its end.
Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Rogers, an EOD technician with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3, sat in the fourth vehicle, eyes scanning the roadside. The EOD teams had already identified and removed over 1,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in just ten days. Still, Rogers knew the work was far from over.
Suddenly, the driver slammed the breaks. The convoy halted.
Outside, a young boy stood barefoot at the edge of the road, clutching a rusted, cylindrical object — a Japanese type-90 75mm unfused, with his small hand gripping it like a toy. The boy’s smile was nervous but proud, as if he had found something valuable.
Rogers and his team jumped from the vehicle and moved quickly toward the growing crowd gathering near the boy. With calm authority, he pushed the onlookers back, creating space between them and the child, knowing any sudden movement could trigger disaster.
Only then did Rogers slowly approach the boy, kneeling low to speak to him. Rogers instructed the boy to gently set the UXO down on the ground — but instead, the boy lobbed it into the space between himself and the EOD technicians. Roger’s heart dropped, fully aware of what could have happened. Immediately identifying the ordnance type, Rogers and the team moved quickly to retrieve the UXO and safely dispose of it with practiced precision.
The boy was unharmed. The convoy exhaled.
“My highlight of Operation Render Safe would be the relief that some of the local populace is getting, the UXO is causing a problem they don’t really have an answer to and there’s not a lot of hope, and being able to provide that, that’s a good feeling.” Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Rogers, an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 25.3.
That night, back where the multinational teams were housed, Rogers didn’t speak much about what happened. But among the many stories told during Operation Render Safe 25-1, one stood out: A Marine, trained for these scenarios, potentially saved a child’s life with calm hands and courage, while making the region just a little safer, one piece at a time.
| Date Taken: | 07.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2025 00:44 |
| Story ID: | 542101 |
| Location: | RABAUL, PG |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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