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There is something in Danny Eaglesfield's pale blue eyes that wasn't there a week ago. He still looks ridiculously young. And, at only 5ft 4in in height, he seems barely tall enough to lift his rifle. But the wide-eyed youthfulness I saw when I first met him on the eve of battle last Friday has been replaced. A loss of innocence? Certainly. For Danny Eaglesfield has experienced a great tragedy this past week. His closest friend, Robbie Laws, was killed by a Taliban rocket as the pair of them travelled in the same vehicle, side by side to the last....

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2009 – Bright blue skies above the National Mall today belied the solemnity of the ceremony commemorating the first two American combat casualties of the Vietnam War. U.S. Army Master Sgt. Chester Ovnand and Maj. Dale Buis were the first two U.S. servicemembers killed in the Vietnam War. Their sacrifice was honored in Washington, D.C., Jyly 8, 2009, in a ceremony commemorating the 50th Anniversary of their deaths. DoD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “On this date 50 years ago, two men lost their lives...

Our Fallen Airman and Fallen Soldier Return HomeLFCA MA 09-13 - July 8, 2009OTTAWA – Our fallen airman, Master Corporal Pat Audet from 430 Escadron tactique d’hélicoptères, based at Canadians Forces Base Valcartier and our fallen soldier, Corporal Martin Joannette from the 3e Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment based at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, near Quebec City, return home to Canada tomorrow. Where: 8 Wing, Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario. When: Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. What: At the request of the families, media will be permitted on the tarmac. Present to pay their respects will be the Minister...

Remains of Seven U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan Returned Home By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Benjamin J. Matwey Special to American Forces Press Service DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del., July 8, 2009 - The remains of seven American troops killed July 6 during combat operations in Afghanistan returned to their nation during a dignified transfer this afternoon at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Today's dignified returns were of the following seven servicemembers: U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Tony M. Randolph, of Henryetta, Okla., assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Eight, Sigonella, Italy. U.S. Army Capt. Mark A. Garner,...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-168 Governor Palin Mourns Loss of Fort Richardson Paratroopers July 6, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin offered her condolences to the family and friends of two Fort Richardson soldiers who died in Afghanistan. Private First Class Aaron E. Fairbairn, 20, of Aberdeen, Washington, died Saturday of injuries sustained from small arms and indirect fire. Private First Class Justin A. Casillas, 19, of Dunnigan, California, also died Saturday in the same attack. “These soldiers served with honor and courage,” Governor Palin said. “Both will be remembered as true American heroes. Todd and I offer the...

A day before New York Rep. Peter King called Michael Jackson a “pervert” unworthy of nonstop media coverage, the aunt of a U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan on the same day Jackson died asked why her nephew's death went virtually unnoticed while the King of Pop got memorial shrines across the country. "Mr. Jackson received days of wall-to-wall coverage in the media," Martha Gillis wrote to the Washington Post. "Where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers who died that week?" Gillis' nephew, Lt. Brian Bradshaw, 24, died in Kheyl, Afganistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised...

Helicopter Crash - Two Canadian and one ISAF soldier have died and three others injuredCEFCOM NR–09.019 - July 7, 2009OTTAWA– Two Canadian air crew members and one ISAF soldier were killed when a Canadian CH-146 Griffon helicopter crashed during take-off. The incident occurred at a Forward Operating Base in Tarnak Va Jaldak, Zabul Province, northeast of Kandahar City at around 1:50 p.m., Kandahar time, on 6 July 2009. Killed in action were MCpl Pat Audet from 430e Escadron tactique d'hélicoptères based at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier and Cpl Martin Joannette from the 3e Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment based at Canadian...

Six U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in two roadside bombings in Afghanistan, a representative for NATO forces told CNN. Four were killed in an attack in the northern Afghanistan province of Kunduz, the U.S. military said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it struck a military vehicle, killing five "foreign" soldiers and wounding two others. Two other U.S. soldiers were killed in an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Forces said. It had no further details on the attack.

Canadian soldier dies in Quebec hospital from injuries sustained in AfghanistanCLS NR–09.001 - July 5, 2009OTTAWA– A Canadian soldier who recently sustained serious injuries in Afghanistan passed away in a Quebec hospital yesterday. The deceased is Master-Corporal Charles-Philippe Michaud from the 2e Batallion, Royal 22e Régiment based at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, near Quebec City. At approximately 9:15 a.m. Kandahar time on June 23, 2009, Master-Corporal Michaud was seriously injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his dismounted patrol in Panjwayi District, southwest of Kandahar City. Master-Corporal Michaud was evacuated by helicopter to the coalition medical facility at...

KABUL—Militants exploded a vehicle outside the gates of a U.S. coalition base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, sparking a two-hour gunbattle that ended when American troops called in airstrikes, officials said. Two U.S. troops were killed and four were wounded. More than 30 insurgents were killed by the airstrikes in Zerok district of Paktika province, said Hamidullah Zawak, the provincial governor spokesman. The multi-pronged attack near the Pakistan border came as thousands of Marines in southern Afghanistan pursued the biggest U.S. military operation here since the American-led invasion of 2001, trying to cut insurgent supply lines and win over local...

At the link if the procession carrying the body of SFC John Beale from Falcon Field, Peachtree City GA to the Cannon-Cleveland Funeral Home in McDonough, GA on June 11, 2009. The procession crossed three counties but the turnout was amazing all the way as we saluted our hero who gave his life in defense of freedom. God bless SFC Beale and be with his family. This is a longer video so you will need more tissue.

The most senior British officer to die in action since the Falklands has been killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was commander of a Battle Group spearheading the fight against the Taliban. His command vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosives device. He is the most senior British officer to die in combat since Lieutenant Colonel 'H' Jones, commander of 2 Para, was shot dead by Argentine forces during the battle of Goose Green in the Falklands War of 1982. A soldier of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment,...

The Queen is to honour the families of Britain's war dead with a new award in her name. Those who have lost loved ones on the frontline or in terrorist attacks will be presented with the Elizabeth Cross. In a radio message to the armed forces on the British Forces Broadcasting Service the Queen said: 'I greatly hope that the Elizabeth Cross will give further meaning to the nation's debt of gratitude to the families and loved ones of those who have died in the service of our country.'

6/30/2009 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- A former commanding general of the Washington, D.C., National Guard who was killed June 22 in a subway accident along with his wife was remembered in a June 29 ceremony celebrating his life and accomplishments. Retired Maj. Gen. David Wherley and his wife, Ann, a mortgage banker, both 62, were returning from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where they were learning how to counsel servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Their Metro train car collided with another train, killing nine people. It was a sudden event that shocked Guard members and civilians alike, and drawing...

BAGHDAD - Four U.S. soldiers were killed in combat on the eve of the withdrawal of American troops from Baghdad and other Iraq cities, the U.S. military said, as Iraqi forces on Tuesday assumed control for security in urban areas. The U.S. military said the four soldiers served with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad but did not provide further details pending notification of their families. It said they died as a "result of combat related injuries." The withdrawal that was completed on Monday is part of a U.S.-Iraqi security pact and marks the first major step toward withdrawing all American forces from...

An F-16 pilot missing after his jet crashed overnight during training at Hill Air Force Base was killed, according to a friend of the pilot's family in Candler, N.C. Hill officials would not release the pilot's name or confirm his death, but Bill Jamison confirmed that Capt. George Bryan Houghton, 28, of Candler, was killed during a nighttime exercise over the Utah Test and Training Range in the massive, rugged and remote west desert around 10:25 p.m. Monday. Col. Scott Dennis, commander of the 388th Fighter Wing, said the pilot's body was recovered near Wendover after a seven-hour search. Houghton,...

A Catholic priest who was critically injured while deployed with his Fort Lewis unit died Saturday, more than five years after his Humvee struck a roadside bomb in Iraq. The Rev. Tim Vakoc becomes the first chaplain to die of wounds sustained during the war in Iraq. The former major from Minnesota – known to most as Father Tim – suffered brain damage and lost an eye from the May 30, 2004, attack. He had most recently lived at a nursing home in New Hope, Minn. “He was a great man of God,” said Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek, who...

NEW HOPE, Minnesota, JUNE 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Father Timothy Vakoc, an Army chaplain who was injured in Iraq in 2004, passed away Saturday at the age of 49. The priest's personalized CaringBridge Web site reported that he was "surrounded by family and friends who prayed him into heaven" at St. Therese nursing home in New Hope He was wounded on May 29, the 12th anniversary of his priestly ordination, when his humvee was struck by roadside bomb while returning from celebrating Mass for the soldiers in Mosul. The chaplain was transported through Germany back to Washington D.C., having lost an...

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2009 – Two U.S. servicemembers were killed and at least six other personnel were wounded yesterday during an early morning indirect-fire attack on Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, officials said. The injured were taken to a U.S. medical facility for treatment. “On behalf of the Combined Joint Task Force 82 team, we offer our condolences and sympathy to the families of our two brave servicemembers,” said Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the task force. “Their sacrifice in the name of security and a better way of life for the Afghan people will not be forgotten.” The...

ST. PAUL (AP) ― Click to enlarge1 of 1 Father Tim Vakoc, who was critically wounded in a roadside bomb attack near Mosul, Iraq in May 2004. CBS Close numSlides of totalImages Related StoriesFamily Fights VA For Pulling Chaplain's Benefits (11/14/2007) Priest Wounded In Iraq Continues Recovery (8/29/2006) Related LinksRead More Minnesota News A Minnesota priest who was gravely wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq five years ago has died, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis confirmed Sunday. The Rev. Tim Vakoc was 49. He died at a nursing home in suburban New Hope about 8...

Two US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Sunday in a rare rocket attack on Bagram Air Base, the main US airbase in the country. In addition to the two killed, the attack on Bagram, which lies 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Kabul, left six personnel wounded who were transported to a US medical facility nearby.

Rockets hit U.S. Afghan base, kill 2 troops Rare attack on Bagram north of Kabul wounds six, officials say BREAKING NEWS KABUL - A rare rocket attack on the main U.S. base in Afghanistan killed two U.S. troops and wounded six Americans, U.S. and Afghan officials said on Sunday. U.S. spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker said four military personnel and two civilians were among the wounded. Bagram, which lies 25 miles northeast of Kabul, is surrounded by high mountains and long stretches of open desert from which militants could fire rockets on the base, but such attacks are relatively rare....

This sequel starts relatively modestly with the revelation that Transformers have been around since 17,000 BC (cue cavemen fighting alien robots), before switching to a less-nerdy-than-before Sam (LaBeouf) getting ready to go to college. Mysteriously, his supersexy girlfriend Mikaela (Fox) is still with him - though naturally neither can quite bring themselves to say the 'L' word. Sam accidentally touches a shard of the ancient Transformer technology and finds his mind flooded with hieroglyphics.

One Canadian soldier killed in an explosive device strikeCEFCOM NR–09.015 - June 14, 2009OTTAWA - A Canadian soldier was killed as a result of an explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED). The incident occurred in the vicinity of Panjwayi District, approximately 20 km southwest of Kandahar City at around 12:30 p.m., Kandahar time, June 14, 2009. Killed in action was Corporal Martin Dubé from the 5e Régiment de genie de combat based at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier near Quebec City. He was serving as a member of the Joint Task Force Headquarters. Corporal Dubé was responding to a call...

BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 12, 2009 – NATO officials dedicated a monument here today to personnel killed during alliance operations. NATO officials dedicate a memorial to those who have lost their lives in alliance operations during a ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, June 12, 2009. DoD photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the stone marker outside the front door of the alliance’s headquarters will serve as a reminder of the weight of the decisions made in the facility. Danish Defense Minister Soren...

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2009 – The Baltimore Military Entrance Processing Station at Fort Meade, Md., will dedicate its ceremony room tomorrow to Marine Corps Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell, a fallen hero who processed through its doors and into the Marine Corps two days after her 18th birthday. Army 1st Lt. Rob Lozzi, assistant operations officer at the Boston Military Entrance Processing Station, and Army Staff Sgt. Eric Sansoucie, Boston MEPS operations noncommissioned officer, prepare to mount a memorial plaque during a March 18, 2009, ceremony designating the 1st Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich Ceremony Room. Bacevichprocessed through the station's ceremony...

Richard Hutchison didn't get to see his brother, Maj. Steven Hutchison, return home alive from Iraq. But Monday he got at least a tiny comfort: Laia, the dog the soldier rescued and loved in Iraq, landed in the United States after being saved by his former comrades and Operation Baghdad Pups, an offshoot of SPCA International.

BAGHDAD, May 29, 2009 – He spent his deployment helping to rebuild Iraq, but a Navy Reserve officer who served as chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division’s office in Iraq’s Anbar province fell victim to a roadside bomb this week. Navy Cmdr. Duane G. Wolfe, a reservist who served as chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division's office in Iraq's Anbar province, was among three killed in a roadside bomb attack last week.   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Navy Cmdr. Duane G. Wolfe and two other servicemembers were...

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (CNN) -- The 101st Airborne's senior commander in effect ordered his soldiers Wednesday not to commit suicide, a plea that came after 11 suicides since January 1, two of them in the past week. "If you don't remember anything else I say in the next five or 10 minutes, remember this -- suicidal behavior in the 101st on Fort Campbell is bad," Brig. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend told his forces. "It's bad for soldiers, it's bad for families, bad for your units, bad for this division and our army and our country and it's got to stop...

BAGHDAD (AP) — A roadside bomb struck a U.S. convoy in western Iraq, killing three Americans, including a senior State Department official, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The blast killed Terence Barnich, the deputy director of the State Department's Iraq Transition Assistance Office in Baghdad, as well as a U.S. soldier and a civilian contractor as their convoy left a construction site near Fallujah on Monday, military and government officials said. Two others were wounded. Insurgents once held sway over the western province of Anbar, which was the scene of some of the deadliest fighting of the war. But violence fell...

Honor an Remember In the more than 200 years of our nation’s history there has never been an officially recognized symbol that reminds us daily of the sacrifices made by members of our military and the lives lost in service to our country. We propose the Honor and Remember Flag as a national emblem for that purpose. Click here to sign the petition. Among the many accomplishments this month for Honor and Remember, we reached two significant milestones, when the Virginia cities of Chesapeake and Norfolk officially endorsed and adopted the Honor and Remember flag by resolution. It is our...

BATAVIA, Ohio - They laid Matt Maupin to rest just over a year ago, but to those who knew him, closure is a relative word. They have moved on with their lives, all of them — Mom and Dad, his siblings, friends and Army buddies. Mom is planning a nice vacation. Dad is fishing more. His younger brother re-enlisted with the Marines. His sister is a mom, again. Soldiers he knew are returning to civilian life, and boyhood friends in Ohio are getting married and having children. But the quest for closure means different things to different people. It’s subjective,...

Heather Golczynski and her 8-year-old son Christian hold tightly to the memory of Marine Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski. Choking back tears, Christian Golczynski accepted the flag from his father's casket. Photographer Aaron Thompson described this moment as "the most emotionally moving event I may have ever witnessed and may ever witness in my life." *snip* Just days before he left for his second tour, Marc sent a letter to his family that would be his epitaph. "Due to our deep desire to finish the job we started, we fight and sometimes die so that our families don't have to....

A society as blessed as ours - its people safe even while at war, prosperous even amidst economic crisis - needs to be reminded that such blessings come at a cost. Memorial Day is a time to remember, but it is more than that. Good men and women go off to war on our behalf, and some do not return.

Hot&sunny, ops 24/7, bad guys regrouping. The brawl will begin again...probably tonight. bad guys redistributing ammo&moving for new cover. We're on the edge of town&hear the imam's rail against us...morale extremely high...extra intensity, friends on the line. senior nco's and officers here, feel the pull. They've trained everyone on the line...Today at the Div. Chaplain office. He waded into Ar Ramadi during the firefight three days ago...to provide ministry at the aid station...where he was needed. Second, coordinating Holy Week Services. A)worry about large numbers in one place. B)organists in short supply and no organ.C)We are going to worship..we need...

From the Office of State Comptroller Nancy Wyman Contact: Steve Jensen: 860-702-3308/3301 May 12, 2009 Cell Phone: 860-539-9298 E-mail: Steven.Jensen@po.state.ct.us TWO FALLEN STATE SOLDIERS TO BE ADDED TO WALL OF HONOR Ceremony Also Will Recognize All Connecticut Heroes Killed in Iraq and Afghanistan Two Connecticut soldiers killed in Iraq in 2008 will be added to the Wall of Honor tribute in the State Capitol complex during a ceremony scheduled for Thursday, May 21 at 4:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend the ceremony in the Atrium of the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave. The tribute now includes photographic...

Ariz. man was Vietnam vet who decided to re-enlist after 9/11 attacks PHOENIX - A 60-year-old Vietnam War veteran who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq has become the oldest Army soldier to die in that conflict, the military said Thursday.

(CNN) -- The bodies of five U.S. servicemen fatally shot by a comrade at a stress clinic in Iraq were returned to the United States late Wednesday. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met the bodies -- contained in flag-draped cases -- when they arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Family members of three of those killed permitted photographers to document the return of their loved ones. They were Army Maj. Matthew P. Houseal, 54, of Amarillo, Texas; Army Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos, 25, of Paterson, New Jersey; and Army Private First Class Michael...

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2009 – Defense Department officials today released the names of four soldiers killed in a shooting at a combat stress clinic at Camp Liberty, Iraq on May 11. The name of a fifth victim, Navy Cmdr. Charles K. Springle, 52, of Wilmington, N.C., was released yesterday. Dead are: -- Army Maj. Matthew P. Houseal, 54, of Amarillo, Texas, assigned to the 55th Medical Company in Indianapolis; -- Army Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos, 25, of Paterson, N.J., assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany; -- Army Spc. Jacob D. Barton, 20, of...

LATEST:Five US soldiers killed in shooting at American base in Baghdad, US military says. More to follow. _

On Tuesday, May 12, we will be escorting Spec. Ryan C. King from the funeral home in Dallas, Georgia to the National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia. Spec. King was killed in action in Afghanistan on May 1. If any FReepers would like to join us for this mission, you are more than welcome. You need not be a PGR member to ride with us, and you need not ride a motorcycle. Staging information for this mission is as follows: TUESDAY May 12 Staging at Ingles Supermarket (270 Merchants Sq. Dallas, GA 30132) at 0900. Kickstands up at 0945 We will...

In a fit of hypocrisy sure to outrage, just as Attorney General Eric Holder makes ready to attend a ceremony to honor fallen police officers, the Obama administration is proposing to cut almost in half a program that provides benefits to the future families left behind. So much for the more loving, more caring president “we’ve been waiting for.” So, wouldn’t you think the Old Media would be braying at the hypocrisy here? Wouldn’t you rather think that the Old Media would be up in arms about this one? Isn’t this typically the type of story that would get them...

In the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan... Just in case you forgot, Americans are STILL fighting and dying in two overseas wars, and innocent civilians continue to die in horrible ways. I can see how this could slip your mind, as you will no longer see ANY mention of these, AT ALL, on any alphabet network evening news shows. The "Daily Death Count Update's!" on the 30 minute network news broadcasts ENDED on Nov 4, the day Obama was elected. With a Democrat in the White House, American Soldier Deaths are no longer even WORTH reporting, as they now have...

An Iraqi soldier opened fire on an American military team Saturday, killing two troops and injuring three, the U.S. military said. According to the AP, Iraqi officials described the attacker, who died in the gunbattle, as a soldier who also served as a Sunni preacher for his unit near Mosul. A U.S. military statement conveyed the attacker was killed after firing on the American servicemen near the entrance to a combat outpost 20 kilometers south of Mosul. A separate armed man fired at other American troops at the outpost, then fled, according to Maj. Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for American...

A man wearing an Iraqi army uniform has shot dead two US soldiers and injured three others in a military base south of the northern city of Mosul. The US army said the man was also killed in the incident but gave little information about the attack. But Iraqi military reports said he was a soldier also working as an Imam for at a mosque on the base. No motive was given for the attack but Mosul is seen as the last remaining urban stronghold of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The US army said it had received reports of "small arms...

Gunman in Iraqi uniform kills 2 U.S. soldiers BAGHDAD - An attacker wearing an Iraqi army uniform shot to death two U.S. soldiers outside the volatile northern city of Mosul on Saturday, the U.S. military said. "We have reports of a small arms fire attack in Hamam al-Alil, 12.5 miles south of Mosul," said Major Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Mosul and surrounding Nineveh province. "There are initial reports of two U.S. soldiers killed in the attack ... According to initial reports, an individual dressed in an Iraqi army uniform fired on the coalition forces and...

In the weeks since the Pentagon ended an 18-year ban on media coverage of fallen soldiers returning to the U.S., most families given the option have allowed reporters and photographers to witness the solemn ceremonies that mark the arrival of flag-draped transfer cases. Critics had warned that military families needed privacy and peace activists might exploit the images, but so far the coverage has not caused problems. Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers of Hopewell, Va., who died April 4 in Afghanistan, was the first combat casualty whose return to American soil was witnessed by the media. He was...

Our fallen soldier returns home Our fallen soldier returns homeLFCA MA 09-09 - April 25, 2009OTTAWA – Our fallen soldier, Major Michelle Mendes, based in Ottawa, Ontario, will return home to Canada on Sunday, April 26, 2009. Where: 8 Wing, Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario. When: Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. What: At the wishes of the family, media will not be permitted on the tarmac. Present to pay their respects will be The Minister of National Defence, The Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walt Natynczyk, and other dignitaries. Major Mendes was found...

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del., April 24, 2009 – The night sky looked calm and tranquil from a gently soaring aircraft, miles above the Eastern Seaboard towns below. However, there was nothing tranquil or calm in the hearts of one family on board, traveling to Dover Air Force Base to witness the dignified transfer of their son’s remains. Air Force Chaplain (retired Lt. Col.) David Sparks counsels a fellow Port Mortuary team member at Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs at Dover Air Force Base, Del., April 21, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace...