Free Republic

Marine Cpl. Armando Ariel Gonzalez died while serving his adopted country. On Tuesday, the day he was buried, that country adopted him by giving him U.S. citizenship. Eduardo Aguirre, acting director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, presented the citizenship certificate to Gonzalez's family at his funeral Mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Aguirre brought a message from President Bush: "We as a nation share in your mourning." Gonzalez, 25, died on April 14 in Iraq in an aircraft refueling accident. The Hialeah resident, who came to the United States from Cuba about eight years ago, was the...

I truly wish I had been on this flight. H O M E I want to tell you of an experience I had last night flying home from Atlanta. The pilot came on the intercom and went through the usual announcements telling us that "we're just east of Montgomery cruising at 28,000 feet" and "you've picked a beautiful night for flying, just look at the gorgeous southern sunset out of the right side of the plane." He then, however, said this: "Please bear with me as I deviate from the script, but I want you all to know that simply...

<p>ARLINGTON, Va. -- Surrounded by Marines in crisp blue uniforms, Buddhist monks in flowing orange robes prayed over the casket of Cpl. Kemaphoom Chanawongse yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery.</p> <p>Chanawongse, 22, was honored in a rare Buddhist prayer service at the cemetery, a ceremony that celebrated his life and the sacrifice he made in dying last month in a firefight in Iraq.</p>

Fusilier Turrington's coffin is carried by pallbearers from his regiment. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/PA KELAN TURRINGTON, the youngest British soldier killed in the Iraq conflict, was buried with full military honours at a church near his family home yesterday. Fusilier Turrington was 18 years and 131 days old when he died in action as troops stormed the southern Iraqi city of Basra on April 6. The teenager’s coffin was draped in the Cross of St George on which his beret and hackle were placed. The coffin was carried by six pallbearers from the regiment. His parents Ann, 46, and John...

Coalition Troop Casualties, MIAs Monday April 28, 2003 11:00 PM The names of coalition casualties, provided by relatives or military officials. The AP and the Pentagon both counted 137 dead U.S. servicemembers Monday. The British government said 32 of its soldiers had died. DEATHS: April 25: Army Spc. Narson B. Sullivan, 21, North Brunswick, N.J., non-combat weapon discharge. Army 1st Lt. Osbaldo Orozco, 26, Delano, Calif., vehicle accident April 23: Army Sgt. Troy D. Jenkins, 25, of Repton, Ala., cluster bomb explosion April 22: Marine Chief Warrant Officer Andrew T. Arnold, 30, of Spring, Texas., grenade launcher accident Army Spc....

BAGHDAD, Iraq - At a parade ground where Saddam Hussein once reviewed his troops, American soldiers gathered Saturday to remember and shed tears for eight comrades and three journalists who died during the war. "We are standing at the heart of a regime that struck fear into the hearts of the people," said Col. David Perkins of Keene, N.H., commanding officer of the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade. "There are things worth dying for," he said. "Freedom is one of those things." At the center of the ceremony were eight M-16 automatic rifles with bayonets, stuck into a wooden bench....

Family Feels Soldier Was Overshadowed The former prisoners of war have been in the spotlight since their release. So much, that the family of one solider who was killed in action feels little attention was paid to his sacrifice. Thursday, April 24, 2003 -- Ruben Estrella-Soto would've turned 19 years old Tuesday. His family honored his birthday on Wednesday by playing his favorite songs by his grave. Ruben was killed along with eight other soldiers when his maintinence unit was ambushed by Iraquis. Five others were taken prisoner, and have become household names since their return. Edgar Estrella says his...

WASHINGTON -Nearly 400 Americans who died as a result of the Vietnam War -- but who are not eligible to have their names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial -- were honored Monday in a private ceremony that drew more than a thousand people to the memorial's site on the National Mall. The ceremony was part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's "In Memory" program, which recognizes those who died from non-battle-related causes during or after the war. Beneath a gray sky, teary-eyed people of various ages and ethnicities read the names of fathers, brothers and sons, lost primarily to...

HE WAS carried on the shoulders of weeping comrades, a band of brothers who were clearly desolated by his loss, but comforted in the knowledge that war inevitably claims the bravest and the best first. In that belief, there was great comfort to be found in Perth yesterday as the city gave its final salute to Lance Corporal Barry "Baz" Stephen, a soldier who wore the blue bonnet and red hackle with honour. L-Cpl Stephen, 31, of the 1st Battalion Black Watch, was, in the words of those he left behind, the bravest - the only Scottish soldier to die...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Doctors first diagnosed David Carr Montgomery with skin cancer. A year later, he got non-Hodgkins lymphoma; leukemia, the next year. Ultimately, Montgomery died of pneumonia, a complication of the cancers, on Oct. 13, 1991, decades after serving in Vietnam. Montgomery was honored Monday as a Vietnam war casualty during a ceremony that also paid tribute to nearly 400 other Vietnam veterans who died from Agent Orange-related illness, post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments related to their service. Their names were added to the "In Memory" list kept inside the park rangers' kiosk near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial....

FORT WORTH -A rifle salute by a Marine honor guard shattered the silence at Mount Olivet Cemetery, where hundreds of mourners paid their final respects Saturday to Marine Cpl. Jesus Martin "Marty" Antonio Medellin, Fort Worth's first casualty of the war in Iraq. But it wasn't until a lone trumpeter began playing the forlorn sounds of taps that many in the crowd -- including the Marine's parents, Mary and Freddy Medellin -- began to weep. "Their hearts are troubled, but they're not troubled beyond repair," said the Rev. Paul Danielson, a former pastor at Baptist Church of the Open Door,...

<p>NORTH SPARTANBURG — Marine Pvt. Nolen Ryan Hutchings' short life was vividly recalled at his funeral Saturday, and some said he seemed to have matured beyond his years.</p> <p>Hutchings, 20, of Boiling Springs, died in Operation Iraqi Freedom last month.</p>

HIALEAH -- Marine Cpl. Armando González, the first South Floridian to die in the war with Iraq, did not have many blood relatives in the United States. But for the dozens of people who gathered at a backyard Mass in his honor Wednesday, he was an adopted son or brother. Many of the 50 or so people also have loved ones overseas who they have not seen or even heard from for months. They reached out to González's family after hearing that the 25-year-old Marine died when a commercial refueling truck he was working on collapsed on him Monday.

A Marine Corps Legend Is Buried 1st Sgt. Edward Smith Was Killed In Iraq POSTED: 6:16 p.m. PDT April 17, 2003 UPDATED: 6:27 p.m. PDT April 17, 2003 CAMP PENDLETON -- Marines, Anaheim police officers and the family of 1st Sgt. Edward C. Smith gathered under a gray sky Thursday to remember the man whose physical stamina and mental toughness inspired thousands of troops who trained under his command. About 300 people packed the Marine Memorial Chapel at Camp Pendleton, where police officers and Marines eulogized the 38-year-old father of three who had planned to retire from the military...

Letter of thanks 'Your sacrifice will not be forgotten,' says soldier's mom Last week, Post-Tribune reporter Steve Patterson invited Leslie Sanders, mother of Army Spc. Greg Sanders, to write an open letter to Northwest Indiana, expressing, in her own words, the gratitude she has felt from the outpouring of support from our community since her 19-year-old son was killed in Iraq. Saturday, Leslie finished that letter and today, we present it, in its entirety: Like most families who suffer a loss, word spreads quickly. Family and friends arrive to extend their sympathies, share a tear and bring food. We began...

FORT WORTH - It was a time for tears along with Wednesday night prayers at a small Baptist congregation just west of the Fort Worth Stockyards. At the Baptist Church of the Open Door, Marine Cpl. Jesus Martin "Marty" Antonio Medellin was remembered for his warm smile, his mild manner, and his deep brown eyes. Medellin was killed April 7, the first Fort Worth casualty since the war in Iraq started in March. "If I was someone who could paint, perhaps a famous painter, I would paint about the wonderful life of Martin," said Josie Gomez, who like others in...

FORT WORTH - A military chaplain and three members of the U.S. Marine Corps brought the news to the home of Mary and Freddy Medellin on Monday evening: Their second-oldest child had been killed in Iraq. Cpl. Jesus Martin "Marty" Antonio Medellin was Fort Worth's first casualty in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Relatives remembered Medellin, 21, a 2000 graduate of Boswell High School, as a "mild-natured, friendly" person who knew at age 10 that he wanted to be a Marine. "His parents are coping. They are a strong Christian family," Simona Sifuentes, Medellin's aunt, said Tuesday night. "They are very tired...

This was sent to me from a member of the our ANG unit. This touching letter from a gentleman in Mobile. I want to tell you of an experience I had last night flying home from Atlanta. The pilot came on the intercom and went through the usual announcements telling us that "we're just east of Montgomery cruising at 28,000 feet" and "you've picked a beautiful night for flying, just look at the gorgeous southern sunset out of the right side of the plane". He then, however, said this: "Please bear with me as I deviate from the script, but...

<p>GALLATIN — Patrick Nixon was supposed to come home from Iraq a hero in his family's eyes.</p> <p>Instead, the Marine corporal came home a hero, not only to his mourning family and fellow Tennesseans, but to the nation, those who eulogized the serviceman said yesterday at his funeral.</p>

MAXWELL, Neb. - In silence and ceremony that spoke louder than words, Marine Capt. Travis Allen Ford came home to Nebraska. Step by step Wednesday afternoon, Marines in blue dress uniforms executed precise drill movements, in unison and in silence, while carrying Ford's flag-draped casket to the committal shelter at Fort McPherson National Cemetery near Maxwell. Deon Ford, wife of Marine Capt. Travis Ford, is escorted from her husband's burial Wednesday at Fort McPherson National Cemetery near Maxwell, Neb. In tow is daughter Ashley. Seven Marines fired three volleys each - a 21-gun salute - which echoed in the nearby...