Army Sgt. John M. Rogers

Died June 27, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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26, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died June 27 at Forward Operating Base Blessing, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident.

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Hoped to make a career out of military service

The Associated Press

John Rogers entered the military with his sights set on eventually becoming a police officer. But his plans soon changed.

The 26-year-old grew to see his fellow military members as his “brothers” and planned to make the military his career, said Rogers’ sister Kayla Reynolds, who also enlisted in the Army.

“Eventually he learned to really love it,” said his wife, Zuleika F. Rogers.

Rogers, of Scottsdale, Ariz., died June 27 in an incident not related to combat at Forward Operating Base Blessing, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky.

“He was very distinguished, very decorated,” Reynolds said. “He was really getting there. He loved what he did. He was the most amazing person I ever met. ... He had the ability to make anybody laugh, even when they were in the middle of crying.”

Rogers attended North Canyon High School in Phoenix and met his wife at a local Starbucks, where she worked.

Rogers enlisted in the Army in June 2004.

His survivors include his wife; his father, John H. Rogers of Kansas City; sisters Sally and Kayla; and brother Jimmy.