Decorated Army officer dies while exercising in South Carolina

A lieutenant colonel assigned to U.S. Army Central Command died while exercising Sunday in Sumter, South Carolina, officials announced Tuesday.

The Army identified the soldier as Lt. Col. Roderick Vinson, 55, of Charlotte, North Carolina.

“He left an enormously positive impact on every person with whom he interacted, and we miss him dearly. We send our condolences to his family and friends, and our prayers are with them during this difficult time,” Col. Jason Squitier, the command’s deputy chief of staff, said in a release.

Vinson enlisted in the Army in 1987 as a fighting vehicle infantryman and commissioned as a transportation officer in 1999. He had been assigned to U.S. Army Central since 2018.

In 2011, Vinson, serving as a project manager in the 359th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade’s Joint NetOps Center, was recognized for organizing a fundraising drive for the March of Dimes/March for Babies nonprofit while deployed to Afghanistan. The effort raised funds for research to aid premature babies and the health challenges they may face.

It was personal for the then-Capt. Vinson, whose twin boys had been born prematurely and spent more than a month in the hospital.

At birth, his sons weighed only 2.9 and 3.1 pounds.

“It was a very stressful time for my wife while I was deployed,” Vinson said.

At the time of the fundraising drive, his four-year-old sons were healthy, having benefited from advances in treating premature babies, which Vinson credited to the efforts of March of Dimes.

“Now, you would never know they were premature. They are little monsters,” Vinson said.

Vinson’s awards and decorations include the Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with a campaign star, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal, among others.

No foul play is suspected in Vinson’s death, but the incident remains under investigation by the Sumter Police Department and Sumter County Coroner’s Office, according to the release.