MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2011 1st Extraordinary Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Kirby, Burton, Blount, Browning, Butler (38th), Carmichael, Clarke, Collins, Davis, Dawkins, Dearing, Fillingane, Frazier, Hopson, Hyde-Smith, Jackson (32nd), Jones, Lee (35th), Mettetal, Michel, Montgomery, Powell, Stone, Ward, Wilemon
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REMEMBERING THE GALLANT SERVICE AND MOURNING THE LOSS OF USMC STAFF SERGEANT JASON ROGERS OF BRANDON, MISSISSIPPI, WHO WAS LOST IN ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN ON APRIL 7, 2011.
WHEREAS, United States Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Jason A. Rogers, 28, of Brandon, Mississippi, was lost in action on April 7, 2011, while conducting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when a bomb detonated nearby; and
WHEREAS, Sergeant Rogers was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, supporting Operation Enduring Freedom; and
WHEREAS, born on April 9, 1982, the 2000 Brandon High School graduate had been married to his wife, Angie, for less than one year. Jason was a charismatic soldier who loved the Marine Corps. Jason was an experienced Combat Engineer in the Marines for 8 years in which he attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was deployed on six overseas assignments, five of which were combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a highly decorated Marine not only with his uniform, but in spirit. He was proud of his country and in the end gave the ultimate sacrifice a soldier can give in honor of it; and
WHEREAS, carried by a Marine Honor Guard, he returned to the family and community he loved and was buried with full military honors on Saturday, April 16, 2011, at New Brandon Cemetery. During the funeral, he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Mississippi Medal of Honor. His memory is celebrated by his wife, Angela Rita Marie Rogers; parents, Tracy Aaron Rogers and Liz M. Rogers, and Jennifer Cunningham Smith and William Edward Smith; brothers, Brad Wesley Bynum, Michael Brandon Smith (Lauren) and Jordan Rogers; sisters, Leigh Ellen Smith Barnes (Jason) and Michelle Lynn Smith Bennett (Alan); maternal grandparents, Theron Donald Cunningham and Sarah Jane Cunningham; paternal grandparents, Judi Rogers and the late Aaron J. Rogers, and Ruby Chapman Smith and the late James Alton Smith; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Rosanna and George Paidousis; aunts, Sherry Rogers Griggers (Brien R.) and the late Phyllis Smith Harris; uncles, Christopher Donald Cunningham, Theron Douglas Cunningham, Dennis Carl Smith (Robin), Gene Allen Smith (Barbara), and Ronnie Alton Smith (Genia); and several nieces and one nephew; and
WHEREAS, since operations began in the War on Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, at least 77 soldiers with Mississippi ties have died in action. Jason was a loving husband and son who is counted among America's heroes, committed to our nation's safety and security. To a country, a fallen soldier means a national loss; to a community, a fallen soldier means a true hero; to a wife or parent, a fallen soldier means a husband or son who won't be coming home. Mississippians understand the costs of conflict, because we have paid them in the past, and it is with great pride and humility that we recognize the heroic action of this great American and Mississippian, who was the guardian of civilization as we know it today:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby remember the gallant service and mourn the loss of USMC Staff Sergeant Jason A. Rogers of Brandon, Mississippi, who was lost in action on April 7, 2011, while conducting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, and extend our thoughts and prayers to his family in honor of their sacrifice and our sorrow on his passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Staff Sergeant Rogers' wife and parents, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.