Army Staff Sgt. Kristopher D. Rodgers

Died August 16, 2008 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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29, of Sturgis, Mich.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Aug. 16 in Korengal, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

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Southern Mich. soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

BURR OAK, Mich. — A 29-year-old soldier from southern Michigan has been killed while serving in Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Kristopher Dan Rodgers, of Sturgis, died Saturday in the Korengal Valley when a roadside bomb exploded near the Humvee in which he was riding.

Greg Hackman of Hackman Family Funeral Homes in Sturgis said Tuesday that Rodgers was a 1998 graduate of Lakeland High School in LaGrange, Ind.

Survivors include his wife, Selina, and their 3½-year-old son, Kaden.

The Department of Defense said Rodgers was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

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Flags to be lowered in honor of Burr Oak soldier

The Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Jennifer Granholm has ordered U.S. flags throughout the state to fly at half-staff this Friday to honor a southern Michigan soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Army Staff Sgt. Kristopher D. Rodgers of Burr Oak died August 16 when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle.

The 29-year-old was a 1998 graduate of Lakeland High School in LaGrange, Ind., said Greg Hackman of Hackman Family Funeral Homes in Sturgis, which handled the arrangements.

Rodgers’ survivors include his wife Selina and their 3 1/2-year-old son, Kaden.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.