Army Officer Remembered as Hero

It was Long who accepted the folded flag at Rogers's grave site.

After high school, Rogers attended Santa Fe Community College, then enlisted in the Army as a chaplain's assistant. Four years later, he went to the University of Florida. He graduated with a theology degree in 1995 and accepted an Army commission.

He became an ordained minister through his Florida church, his family said.

In 2005, Rogers earned a master's degree in policy management at Georgetown University as part of a selective program meant to fast-track the next generation of Army leaders.

Mark Nadel, a visiting Georgetown professor who was his thesis adviser, recalled Rogers as an officer with leadership qualities that made him think, "This is a guy I'm going to hear from in 10 years, and he's going to be a general."

Tami Sadowski, a close friend in Washington, said Rogers had asked her to shop for a house he could buy after his Iraq tour ended in November. Instead, Sadowski organized events in his memory, including a gathering in the District the night after his burial. Friends came with their recollections.

It was the same place they had gathered for his send-off party before he left for war.

Staff writer Mark Berman contributed to this report.