Army Spc. Philip G. Rogers

Died April 4, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of Gresham, Ore.; assigned to the Army’s 3rd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; killed April 4 when an improvised explosive device hit his military vehicle in Mosul, Iraq.

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Every chance he got, Philip Rogers sketched, especially the Japanese animation character, Robotech, who fights an alien race in a popular TV series. According to his family, Rogers loved to draw, not fight, and he joined the Army with the hope of getting a college education. Spc. Rogers, 23, of Gresham, Ore., was killed April 4 when a roadside bomb blew up the five-ton food delivery truck he was driving to Mosul. He worked first as a cook at Fort Lewis, Wash., and then was transferred to the base's Stryker Brigade. "He didn't plan to stay in the Army. He wanted to become an artist or a cook. He just wanted to start off somewhere," said Mark Rogers, his brother. Rogers graduated from high school in Greshman in 1999 and joined the Army right away. He re-enlisted three years later. First, he wanted to pay off his car, and then it would be time for college. Rex Rogers remembers the first drawing his son made at age 4. "He drew the house across the street from us in exact detail, the big picture window. He even drew the painting that was hanging on their wall," said Rogers. "He could have made it. Now it's all over."

— Associated Press