Feb. 21, 2005
Brother of Mission crewman who died in WWII found
Associated Press
MISSION, Texas - The brother of a Navy crewman from South Texas who was killed during World War II says he would like his sibling's remains to be buried with his fallen comrades.
James "Red" Hall, 87, learned through an article in Sunday's edition of The (McAllen) Monitor that the Navy had recovered and identified the remains of his brother, whose plane was shot down over western Alaska in 1942.
The remains of Seaman 2nd Class Dee Hall and six other crewmen were found about four years ago on the northwest face of Kiska Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of western Alaska.
Red Hall said he was surprised by the news because someone had told his father that Japanese forces had buried the bodies and the government had later moved them to an Alaskan cemetery.
Red Hall, who now lives in McKinney, said his father had wanted to try to bring his brother's remains home to Mission, but he talked him out of it.
"It wouldn't help, and you didn't always know what you were getting," Red Hall said in Monday's edition of the newspaper.
Red Hall said he would like his brother to be buried in a government cemetery with his crewmates.
Feb. 21, 2005
Texans killed in the Iraq war in February
Associated Press
At least four Texas service members have died in Iraq in February and at least 141 have died since the war began March 20, 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. ( www.defenselink.mil ) The total includes overseas casualties related to Operation Iraqi Freedom, both in combat and otherwise, as reported by the Department of Defense. Here's a brief look at those who have died this month:
_ Feb. 19: Army Spc. Clinton R. Gertson, 26, of Houston, died in Mosul from small-arms fire. Gertson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment at Fort Lewis, Wash.
_ Feb. 13: Air Force Staff Sgt. Ray Rangel, 29, of San Antonio, died during an effort to rescue soldiers from a Humvee that rolled into a canal near Balad while on combat patrol. Rangel was assigned to the 7th Civil Engineer Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.
_ Feb. 6: Army Spc. Jeremy Allmon, 22, of Cleburne, was killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle in Taji, north of Baghdad. Allmon was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood.
_ Feb. 4: Army Sgt. Daniel Torres, 23, of Fort Worth, was killed when a roadside bomb hit his vehicle in Beiji. He was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.