Army Sgt. 1st Class Lance H. Vogeler

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. 1st Class Lance H. Vogeler, 29, of Frederick, Md.

SFC Vogeler was assigned to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.; died Oct.1, 2010 at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained in Helmand, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire.

Sgt. 1st Class Lance Vogeler died during his ninth combat deployment in the last nine years. He was serving his eighth deployment in Afghanistan, and had been wounded on one of his four deployments in Iraq.

"He was shot a few years ago in his legs and they brought him home and they rehabilitated him and all he talked about was 'I want to go back with my troops,'" said his next-door-neighbor from his childhood days, Sandra Ashcroft.

"Why did he feel that way?" asked 9NewsNow. "He loved America," Ashcroft responded.

"I wish the American people could truly understand the dedication and sacrifice that Lance Vogeler made for his country," said Col. Michael E. Kurilla, commander, 75th Ranger Regiment in a formal Army press release.

"Since December 2001, Lance has either been in combat or training for combat. This was his 12th combat deployment. Lance was the quintessential Ranger; he is a hero to our Nation, the Army, and his family," said Kurilla.

"In an organization full of great men, Lance Vogeler stood out for his leadership, dedication and all of his talents" said Lt. Col. Michael Foster, commander of 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, in comments in an Army release.

"He has done so much for his Nation over the past nine years of combat action it is hard to put it into words. His loss will be felt across the whole Battalion and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family," Foster said.

Sgt. 1st Class Lance Herman Vogeler, who grew up in Maryland, was described Monday as a leader of men, a religious man and a member of an elite Army unit. He had been deployed four times to Iraq and eight to Afghanistan.

Vogeler, 29, who was raised in Frederick, was killed Friday in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said. A member of the 75th Ranger regiment, he was killed by enemy fire in Helmand province during an intense firefight, the Army's Special Operations Command said.

"He died doing what he felt called to do," said his parents' pastor, the Rev. Peter C. Myers. "Lance did not love war," Myers said. "But he had a job to do, and he took it extremely seriously."

Myers said that after serving for a time, Vogeler was given the opportunity to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He decided instead to remain with his men.

Myers said that those who served with the sergeant revered him "for his leadership and for the way he embraced" his responsibilities toward them. Vogeler was "a devout Christian," the pastor said, who had obtained a license to conduct marriage ceremonies after many of his men asked that he officiate at their weddings.

Sgt. Vogeler leaves his parents Timothy and Donna Vogeler of Frederick, his brother Chris, also of Maryland, his children Kyle and Madison, and his wife Melissa Lee Vogeler, of Savannah, GA. Both of his parents are deaf. Vogeler was fluent in American Sign Language.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Lance H. Vogeler was killed in action on 10/1/10.