Chicago pays tribute to fallen Bloomington soldier Josh Rodgers

Posted on May 29, 2017

By Howard Packowitz

CHICAGO – The mother of U.S. Army Ranger Josh Rodgers took part in Memorial Day ceremonies at a site that was once the hub of anti-war protests during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.

Vonda Rodgers was joined by another Gold Star parent at Chicago’s Grant Park to lay a wreath at the monument for Civil War Major General John A. Logan, who founded Decoration Day, which is now known as Memorial Day.

Joining Mrs. Rodgers was James Frazier. His son, Sergeant Jacob Frazier of St. Charles, was an Illinois Air National Guardsman and part of the Peoria-based 182nd Airlift Wing. He was killed in Afghanistan in 2003.

Mrs. Rodgers’ grief is much more recent, having lost their son in Afghanistan only a month ago.

Josh Rodgers, a 2013 graduate of Normal Community High School, is the most recent of 262 Illinois soldiers making the ultimate sacrifice since the start of conflicts in Irag and Afghanistan.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

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