By Tiffiny Woo
The Eufaula Tribune
A young man stares intently at the photograph in his hand.
The face of a U.S. Army soldier dressed in desert fatigues smiles back, the Afghan landscape in the background.
At the bottom of the picture, the words “God Bless Jerry” are written in bold black marker and signed by President Barack Obama.
To Eufaulian Jonathan Rogers, the photo is priceless. But it’s not the Commander in Chief’s signature that gives it value. The soldier in the photo is his brother, Sgt. Jerry Evans, killed in action Aug. 7, 2009.
The photo hung on the wall at Fort Drum, New York, where Evan’s unit was based. Rogers visited Fort Drum last week to attend a remembrance ceremony held in honor of fallen soldiers such as Evans. Rogers attended on behalf of his family.
Another soldier, who served with Evans at the time of his death, was Rogers’ escort for the week. They traveled past a wall where the faces of fallen soldiers had been posted. The soldier slowly pulled the photo from the wall and handed it to Rogers.
“It felt like I was walking in my brother’s footsteps in a way,” said Rogers. “Some of the guys there on the base were with Jerry when he was killed.
“They told me about how he died, about them catching the guys who did it.”
Knowing that the ones responsible for his brother’s death were caught gave Rogers a sense of closure, something few family members of fallen soldiers ever receive. The following ceremony, gave him pride, something he shared with more than 100 other family members attending the memorial service that week.
On Wednesday, those attending the ceremony gathered for refreshments beneath an aircraft hangar. Rogers heard what sounded like thunder, but soon realized it was the jet engines of Air Force One.
President Obama arrived and greeted family members. He spoke briefly during the ceremony, which included a 21-gun salute.
“They were cannons, actually,” said Rogers, “21 cannons sitting way off in the field but you could still feel them pounding in your chest.”
After the ceremony, family members lined up to meet the president and take photos. Rogers showed Obama the tattoo on his left forearm.
“It’s a cross, and it says, ‘In Memory of Jerry Jr.,’” he explained. “We were supposed to get a tattoo together when he came back. When he died, I got this one in memory of him. It’s the only one I have, but I think he would have done the same thing if it had been me.”
When it came time to take a photo, Rogers had an unusual request.
“I asked him if he would do The Rock’s eyebrow thing with me,” said Rogers. “I saw him do it once, and I said if I ever met him, I’d ask him that.
“He laughed, and put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘John wants me to do The Rock eyebrow with him’. And that’s how we took the picture.”
Rogers’ request even had Secret Service personnel cracking a smile. He must have left an impression. Before he left, the president signed the photo that Rogers had earlier received.
“Jerry died three months before he was supposed to leave Afghanistan,” Rogers said. “He was going to be a drill sergeant at Fort Benning. He was coming home.”
From The Eufaula Tribune:
www2.eufaulatribune.com/news/2011/jul/04/late-eufaula-native-commended-president-ar-2056044/
The Eufaula Tribune
A young man stares intently at the photograph in his hand.
The face of a U.S. Army soldier dressed in desert fatigues smiles back, the Afghan landscape in the background.
At the bottom of the picture, the words “God Bless Jerry” are written in bold black marker and signed by President Barack Obama.
To Eufaulian Jonathan Rogers, the photo is priceless. But it’s not the Commander in Chief’s signature that gives it value. The soldier in the photo is his brother, Sgt. Jerry Evans, killed in action Aug. 7, 2009.
The photo hung on the wall at Fort Drum, New York, where Evan’s unit was based. Rogers visited Fort Drum last week to attend a remembrance ceremony held in honor of fallen soldiers such as Evans. Rogers attended on behalf of his family.
Another soldier, who served with Evans at the time of his death, was Rogers’ escort for the week. They traveled past a wall where the faces of fallen soldiers had been posted. The soldier slowly pulled the photo from the wall and handed it to Rogers.
“It felt like I was walking in my brother’s footsteps in a way,” said Rogers. “Some of the guys there on the base were with Jerry when he was killed.
“They told me about how he died, about them catching the guys who did it.”
Knowing that the ones responsible for his brother’s death were caught gave Rogers a sense of closure, something few family members of fallen soldiers ever receive. The following ceremony, gave him pride, something he shared with more than 100 other family members attending the memorial service that week.
On Wednesday, those attending the ceremony gathered for refreshments beneath an aircraft hangar. Rogers heard what sounded like thunder, but soon realized it was the jet engines of Air Force One.
President Obama arrived and greeted family members. He spoke briefly during the ceremony, which included a 21-gun salute.
“They were cannons, actually,” said Rogers, “21 cannons sitting way off in the field but you could still feel them pounding in your chest.”
After the ceremony, family members lined up to meet the president and take photos. Rogers showed Obama the tattoo on his left forearm.
“It’s a cross, and it says, ‘In Memory of Jerry Jr.,’” he explained. “We were supposed to get a tattoo together when he came back. When he died, I got this one in memory of him. It’s the only one I have, but I think he would have done the same thing if it had been me.”
When it came time to take a photo, Rogers had an unusual request.
“I asked him if he would do The Rock’s eyebrow thing with me,” said Rogers. “I saw him do it once, and I said if I ever met him, I’d ask him that.
“He laughed, and put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘John wants me to do The Rock eyebrow with him’. And that’s how we took the picture.”
Rogers’ request even had Secret Service personnel cracking a smile. He must have left an impression. Before he left, the president signed the photo that Rogers had earlier received.
“Jerry died three months before he was supposed to leave Afghanistan,” Rogers said. “He was going to be a drill sergeant at Fort Benning. He was coming home.”
From The Eufaula Tribune:
www2.eufaulatribune.com/news/2011/jul/04/late-eufaula-native-commended-president-ar-2056044/
Jerry Evans Jr. is not just a Eufaula native, he was and is Eufaula's HERO!
ReplyDeleteI first met Jerry Jr. at White Oak Vol. Fire Dept. when he was just a kid and even then I could tell he was a leader waiting to break loose. When the Youth Group were told to do something, they all followed Jerry, not because they were supposed to, it was because they had to. Jerry was all ways the first to jump up and get to it, and most of the time John Rodgers was right behind his brother and the rest had to follow to keep from looking bad. I am 100% sure had Jerry made it home he would have been Fort Benning's #1 drill sergeant.
I am so glad that John Rodgers got to make this trip. I'm sure it is what his brother would have wanted.
Eufaulian's will always be PROUD to call John and Jerry Jr., One of Our Own!