Memorial set for soldier killed in Afghanistan

A memorial service for U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joshua Robert Rodgers, 29, of Douglas County, will be 10 a.m. Sunday at Douglas High School.

Rodgers, a pilot, was killed May 30 in Afghanistan when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by enemy forces.

He was born in Sun Valley, Calif., on Feb. 17, 1978, to Dan and Debbie Rodgers.

He lived in Carson City most of his life and attended school here through his freshman year of high school. He then completed high school in Douglas County, graduating in 1997.

Prior to graduating, he enlisted in the U.S. Army through the delayed entry program.

According to his mother, Joshua married his high school sweetheart, Casey Lee Gilder, on Oct. 18, 1997.

"He is a loving father, husband, son and friend," Debbie Walker said in an e-mail.

Rodgers is survived by his wife, Casey, and three young daughters Madison, Autumn and Ashlyn; mother and step-father Debbie and Ben Walker of Carson City; dad and step-mother Dan and Wanda Rodgers of Arkansas; step-sister Jessica Walker of Reno; two half-brothers Matt and Jordan of Arkansas; a half-sister Sara of Arkansas; aunt and uncle Susie and Mike McElfish and family of Carson City; Uncle Ron Moshier Rosamond, Calif.; uncle and aunt Jimmy and Kathy Moshier and family of Rosamond; Aunt Linda Moshier and family of Carson City; and numerous relatives from the Rodgers, Walker and Gilder families.

"He has a great military family that has loved and cared for not only him but his whole family. He was truly blessed by all that knew and loved him," said his mother. "But most of all, we were blessed by the presence of his life."

Walker went on to quote Casey Rodgers as saying, "God speed - go Army - hooah!"

Sunday's memorial will be followed by a private graveside service.

A story which ran in the Nevada Appeal on Thursday had incorrect information concerning the day of the memorial service.

Rodgers deployed to Afghanistan in January and had previously served a year in Iraq.

The helicopter he was co-piloting went down May 30 in southern Afghanistan's Helmand Province, killing the five American soldiers and two others on board - a Briton and a Canadian.

Shortly before the crash, the twin-rotor helicopter had dropped off at least 30 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne in an air assault on a Taliban position.

The U.S. soldiers were assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-82.

According to a Department of Defense news release, killed in the crash were U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher M. Allgaier, 33, of Middleton, Mo.; Staff Sgt. Charlie L. Bagwell, 28, of Lake Toxaway, N.C.; Sgt. Jesse A. Blamires, 25, of West Jordan, Utah; and Sgt. Brandon E. Hadaway, 25, of Valley, Ala.; Canadian military combat photographer Master Cpl. Darrell Jason Priede, 30, of Burlington, Ontario and British soldier Cpl. Mike Gilyeat of the Royal Military Police, 28, working as a photographer in the British Army's media operations team.