Jonathan Rojas slain by sniper

(CBS) HAMMOND, Ind. A Chicago-area soldier has died, one of the latest casualties in the war in Iraq.

CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reports that 27-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan Rojas from Hammond, Ind., was killed by a sniper Tuesday.

American flags were flying in his home town Wednesday as family members mourned the loss of a hero.

Rojas' family struggled to focus on the good times when the serious soldier fought to hold back his smile.

"I think I remember most just the times when my whole family would sit down and eat dinner," his sister Isaura Rojas said. "And we always used to laugh about everything. And just joke around. Couldn't stop laughing. And we would get in trouble actually, because we couldn't stop laughing."

Rojas was a 1997 graduate of Hammond High School, and a man with big plans for the future. He had been stationed in Alaska with his wife.

"We talked in January, because he got to come home for two weeks," Rojas' cousin Diana Cruz said. "It was like a break for him. He got to come home with his wife, actually. We talked over the phone. And we just talked about the future and, you know, what was going to be of it and how we were gonna, you know, how he was gonna come back and come to my wedding and stuff like that."

Being told of Rojas' death has been difficult enough -- but family members say their greatest struggle may be having to say goodbye.

"It's gonna be hard," Isaura Rojas said. "We really haven't encountered the worst. But us, together, we'll make it."

From WCBS 2