Roswell Perry Rosengren was born January 8, 1902, in Buffalo, New York. He was educated in the Buffalo public schools, graduated from Colgate University in 1924, received a LLB degree from the University of Buffalo in 1927, and was awarded an M.A. from Georgetown University in 1965. He also holds a Juris Doctor degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Rosengren professional carrier included being a practicing attorney, a university professor, an Army officer, and a government official. After receiving his law degree, he became a member of the law firm of Persons and Blair. He later became the head of his own law firm, Rosengren, Volker, and Murphy.
As a member of the faculty at the University of Buffalo, he served as head of the public speaking department. In addition to these pursuits, he was a charter member and the first vice-president of the Buffalo Junior Chamber of Commerce. During 1933-1934, he was president of the New York State Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1937 he became president of the national Junior Chamber of Commerce and was selected as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Men of America.”
At the onset of World War II, Rosengren commenced a distinguished military career that spanned eighteen years. As an officer in the U.S. Army, he was decorated fifteen times by the American and Allied governments. His decorations include the Legion of Merit and five battle stars. During World War II, he served on the public relations staffs of Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall and also at SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces) under General Dwight D. Eisenhower. During the Korean War, he was chief of public information for the 8th U.S. Army under Generals James Van Vleet and Maxwell Taylor. Col. Rosengren was also chief speechwriter for the War Department General Staff and chief of technical information for SOS and the ETO during World War II. As a member of General Eisenhower's staff, he commanded the unit which had control of physical communications across the English Channel during the invasion of Normandy until he was wounded on June 18, 1944. Following V-E day, he became a member of several Four-Power committees constituting the military government of Germany in Berlin.
In 1958, Col. Rosengren became assistant to Federal Highway Administrator Bertram D. Tallamy, acting as liaison with organizations concerned with federal highway programs as well as assisting with public information activities of the Bureau of Public Roads and the Department of Commerce.
In addition to his official duties he published many articles in general and professional magazines on diverse subjects reflecting the wide range of his interests and activities.
Rosengren died September 13, 1988 in Bay Pines Veterans Hospital, St. Petersburg, Florida.
