Lance Cpl. Rodgers Comes Home

Robert Samuels: The proclamation was in the mayor's hands. The marching band, all warmed up. The firetruck and police cars stood on call. And Pinky and Pepe Rodgers were in their beer and wine store in the Kentlands shopping complex, wondering why their store was suddenly so crowded.

But where was Matthew?

Of those assembled, Pinky and Pepe were the only ones who didn't know their eldest son was supposed to come home at 8:40 Saturday night. For seven months, Matthew Rodgers, a 20-year-old lance corporal in the Marines, served in Sangin, Afghanistan, helping troops avoid roadside bombs in an area that has been particularly dangerous. It was the longest he had ever been away from his Gaithersburg home, where his 17-year-old sister, Tori, helps run Pinky & Pepe's Grape Escape. He told Tori he wanted to surprise them.