Spec. 4 Robert Gene Rogers

Sept. 27, 1949 - Jan. 25, 1970

Paradise

Although he was born in Louisiana, Bobby Rogers lived most of his life in Paradise.

His mother remembered how her son loved nature and used to hike in the surrounding hills. He also pitched a mean ball for the Paradise Little League. Rogers dropped out of Paradise High School in late 1966 at age 17 to join the Army.

He trained in Germany, and in July 1968, with a year left on his first enlistment, was shipped to Vietnam.

Rogers surreptitiously re-enlisted, and volunteered for another tour in Vietnam.

On Jan. 25, 1970 near the Cambodian border, he was driving a jeep with a huge searchlight mounted on the back. Suddenly a pack of dogs ran into the road. Rogers swerved to avoid them. His jeep overturned and rolled into a canal.

The Paradise soldier was trapped under the vehicle and drowned.

Rogers’ mother said her son empathized with the Vietnamese. “He felt the women and children were being hurt the most.”

Chico News & Review, May 26, 1988

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Chico News & Review