Nicholas Rogers remembered

DELTONA -- The flag outside Bob and Penny Rogers' home hung at half-staff Monday as family and friends circled around the red and white wreath that decorated 27-year-old Nick Rogers' picture.

Army Pfc. Nick Rogers of Deltona was killed in action in Baghdad on Sunday. In a bittersweet twist, the parents received a letter from him Monday talking about his life in the war-torn city. The father, brother, son and friend was deployed to Iraq on Aug. 15 to serve as a medic with the 10th Mountain Division.

Rogers was on foot patrol with a group when they took on small arms fire, said Pete Behnke, a family friend.

"In the course of the battle, Nick was shot," he said. He was rushed to a nearby aid station, where he died.

Growing up with a father who has spent more than 25 years as a fire service veteran in Deltona and is currently deputy fire chief of the city, Rogers was always encouraged to serve, said Behnke.

"I remember in the '80s when Bob was the (Deltona Fire) district commissioner, Nick was the kid still in his diapers sitting in the Jeep Cherokee while Bob was on call," Behnke said. "This family is some of the most giving, caring people."

"He looked up to his dad a lot," added another friend, Jeff Payne.

Rogers was a certified emergency medical technician before enlisting in the U.S. Army in February 2005. He hoped to go to school and become an emergency room nurse when he got out, friends said.

Though the family learned of his tragic death Sunday evening, Monday was a difficult day as well because a letter from the soldier arrived. In it, Rogers described everyday life in Iraq -- the lack of good showers, the dusty terrain, questions about family, said Payne.

"It was like he was sitting there talking to you," Payne said.

Though Payne said Rogers didn't strike him as the type to go into the military, one day the Deltona High graduate decided to join as a chance to get some direction in his life and take advantage of an opportunity to go somewhere.

Payne, a friend of Rogers through childhood in the Boy Scouts and high school, remembers him as someone who had a lot of energy and was always up for anything, no matter the time of day or night.

Now, Payne says, Rogers' 3-year-old daughter Jocelyn will serve as a reminder of all the joy and energy he had.

"She's Nick Jr. in a small little girl," Payne said. "She's a handful, just like him; she runs around and gets into everything."

A drummer in high school who loved all things "Star Wars" as well as poker, Rogers is survived by his wife, Kelly, and daughter Jocelyn. The couple expects a second daughter, Isabelle, in about three months.

He is the second Deltona resident from the 10th Mountain Division to lose his life this month, though the two deaths have no connection, said Behnke. Army Cpl. Angelo Vaccaro was killed Oct. 2 when his unit encountered enemy forces.

In addition to his wife, daughter and parents, survivors include a sister, Crystal Rogers, who also works at the Deltona Fire Department, his grandmother Dorothy Meurer, all of Deltona; and his grandfather, James Meurer of Orlando.

Plans for the funeral will be announced later.

"He will forever be missed and will remain always in our hearts," the family said in a statement.

From the News Journal

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Nicholas Rogers killed by small arms fire