By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – One year after Army Ranger Joshua Rodgers of Bloomington was killed in Afghanistan, a sniper who served with Rodgers and another fallen soldier is paying tribute with a Memorial Day event.
Matt Summers had served on several combat missions with Rodgers and Cameron Thomas, but was back home when they were killed in a friendly fire incident last April. Only later did Summer realize he and Rodgers were both from Bloomington.
PODCAST: Listen to Sam Wood’s interview with Summers on WJBC.
“This was the first deployment that I did not go on with my teammates,” Summers said. “I had just talked to Cameron that morning. When I got the phone call later that afternoon. It was pretty devastating.”
Summers is a manager at Gold’s Gym Express in Bloomington which is hosting the ‘Memorial Day Murph.’ It is a first-time event on May 28 at 10 a.m. It is named after the Navy Seal in the movie ‘Lone Survivor’ and will include two, one-mile runs, and a series of pull ups, push ups and squats.
Summers said the event, most importantly, serves as a reminder of the sacrifice Rodgers, Thomas and countless others in the Armed Forces have paid.
“I had formed a close connection with the (Rodgers) family, and this event is all about remember these heroes who sacrificed so much on that night,” Summers said.
He added Joshua’s parents Kevin and Vonda are expected to attend, as well as their daughter who works with Summers at Gold’s Gym Express.
Registration is $30. Forms can be submitted to any Bloomington-Normal Gold’s Gym or Gold’s Gym Express.
Proceeds go to the Sergeant Joshua P Rodgers Memorial Fund, which provides financial support to eligible veterans from the Army 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and youth sports in the Bloomington-Normal area.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
