[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17450]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                LANCE CORPORAL CHRISTOPHER BLAKE RODGERS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LYNN A. WESTMORELAND

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2010

  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, Lance Corporal Christopher Blake 
Rodgers answered his nation's call of duty by joining the Marines in 
2008 after graduating from Spalding County High School; on September 1, 
2010 he made the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country and 
fellow servicemen abroad. He was killed while conducting combat 
operations in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.
  Lovingly known as Blake to his family and friends. Lance Corporal 
Rodgers was a man ready to serve his country since the tender age of 
eleven years old. Like many Americans, Blake watched in horror on 
September 11th as our nation faced one of the most tragic days in its 
history. It was on that day that he told his parents that he wanted to 
help those people who tragically lost their lives; that he wanted to 
serve his country, that that he wanted to become a Marine.
  Blake always impressed his superiors in all of his endeavors. In high 
school he was a member of the JROTC program, rising to the rank of 
First Lieutenant. Under his leadership his company won the year's Best 
Marching Company award. His JROTC service in high school only furthered 
his resolve to join the Marines upon graduation.
  After Marine boot camp and advanced infantry training Blake was 
assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where he was assigned as a 
rifleman and member of First Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd 
Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. His unit was away from North 
Carolina for the bulk of late 2009 and early 2010, on training missions 
and pre-deployment work-ups designed to prepare them for the war they 
would soon be fighting. He deployed to Afghanistan in March 2010 in 
support of Operation Enduring Freedom. His first and only combat tour 
ended September 1, 2010.
  Two weeks ago Lance Corporal Rodgers came home to Georgia for the 
final time. There he was met in the small community of Griffin, Georgia 
with a procession of people who had come to welcome their local hero 
home. He was laid to rest on September 11th, a somberly fitting tribute 
to a man for whom the date had overwhelming significance.
  Lance Corporal Rodgers was a true hero and I ask that you join me 
today in saluting one of America's bravest. I honor Lance Corporal 
Rodger's life and mourn deeply for his family's loss.

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