Free Republic

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2007 – As the nation’s servicemembers continue to fight the global war on terrorism, a group is working to make sure the Americans they’re defending are aware of their sacrifices. “The Greer Foundation raises public awareness of the sacrifices of serving the nation through outreach and commentary on the war on terror,” said Steve Greer, the group’s founder. His experiences as an Army command sergeant major in Kosovo and other places that give him the knowledge base for this endeavor, he added. Greer retired from the Army in January 2003, and started the foundation that same...

A common thread that runs throughout the experiences of former priests is this: we had a great yearning to be different from those around us. We wanted to be more pure, nearer to God. We wanted to be free in conscience before God, and we sought the priesthood in which we thought we could administer salvation stage by stage to our fellow man. The nobility and charm of the priesthood also drew us, as priests around us were signally honored with special privileges and dignity. Hearing confessions, forgiving sins, bringing Christ down upon the altar, the wonder of being "another...

CHICAGO — Darryl Stingley, a former New England Patriots receiver who was paralyzed after a hard hit during an NFL exhibition game nearly 30 years ago, has died. He was 55.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2007 – The Marine Corps is reaching out to former Marines in its effort to grow the service, the Marine commandant said today. Marine Gen. James Conway said in a media roundtable that the increase of 27,000 Marines by fiscal 2011 will allow Marines to spend more time at home between deployments. He also said the corps will maintain the current quality of recruits. Part of the effort to grow the force is to contact noncommissioned officers who have separated from the service and offer them the option of coming back in. Conway is sending a...

The Iraqi High Court has ruled that Saddam Hussein's former vice president should follow him to the gallows, despite appeals from United Nations (UN) officials and international human rights groups for his life to be spared. "God knows I didn't do anything wrong," Taha Yassin Ramadan said shortly before judge Ali al-Kahachi sentenced him to death by hanging for his role in the killing of 148 Shiite men from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. Ramadan was sentenced in November to life in jail for the killings, for which Saddam and two other men have already been hanged....

MANHATTAN, Kan., Nov. 10, 2006 -- A Kansas State University building in which a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff once studied was named in his honor at a ceremony here yesterday. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld speaks during the dedication ceremony of the Gen. Richard B. Myers Hall at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., Nov. 9. Photo by James M. Bowman  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Retired Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, who served as the 15th chairman, graduated from KSU in 1965, where he was a member of the Air Force ROTC. The university...

FORT HUACHUCA — Unity is a part of soldier’s survival kit, a Korean War POW told thousands of soldiers standing on Chaffee Parade Field on Friday morning. The sun had just broken, bringing bright rays through light cloud cover and to soldiers of the 11th Signal Brigade and 111th Military Intelligence Brigade, as well as a few Air Force members assigned to the post. In the stands, some civilian sat. All were waiting for the start of the annual fort POW/MIA Walkathon. “Unity helped me and others survive,” Al Simpson said about the time he served as a prisoner of...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2006 -- Military and defense leaders, former prisoners of war and families of missing servicemembers gathered here today to commemorate National POW/MIA Recognition Day and to reaffirm their commitment to ensuring a full accounting of those missing in action. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks at an armed forces full honor review in honor of National POW/MIA Recognition Day Sept. 15. Photo by Helene C. Stikkel  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called today’s observance an opportunity to honor...

TUCSON — Former Miss Sierra Vista Diane Tucker has been crowned the new Mrs. America. The 29-year-old took the national title at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson, where the pageant was held, on Wednesday. “I’m on Cloud Nine. This is an unbelievable feeling,” she said, after winning. Tucker, who was Miss Sierra Vista in 1996, entered the contest after winning the Mrs. Arizona title. Married for five years to Thomas, a firefighter, Tucker is an account executive with the Argent Mortgage Co. She left Sierra Vista in 1995 to attend the University of Arizona. Her parents, Victor and Lorraine...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2006 – Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers was visiting senators on Capitol Hill Sept. 11, 2001, when he first heard of a plane hitting the World Trade Center. The first reports called the strike a probable accident by a small plane, so Myers, now retired, went on with his appointments. Myers was serving at the time as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and was visiting senators in anticipation of his confirmation hearings as chairman. Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was on his way to NATO meetings...

Former Postal Official Denies Accusations Thursday August 31, 2006 9:46 PM WASHINGTON (AP) - The former head public affairs official of the U.S. Postal Service is denying charges made by the agency's inspector general alleging improper activities ranging from overspending to excessive drinking. Azeezaly Jaffer left the agency June 30, declining at the time to discuss his reasons. A Postal Inspection Service report dated June 19 includes accusations of Jaffer running up an excessive hotel bill at a three-day event in Washington, of bypassing the Postal Service travel agency in order to obtain travel promotional benefits, and spending extravagantly on...

Former Wilkes teacher, accused of sex offense, is found deadFire & Police Briefs: First Edition Tuesday, August 22, 2006 JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORT NORTH WILKESBORO - A former teacher in Wilkes County accused of having sex with a student was found dead Sunday, according to a report filed by the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office. Stephen George Kennedy, 26, was found dead at 8:35 a.m. in his parent's home. His mother found him hanging by a necktie tied to a bedpost. The death appeared to be self-inflicted, the report said. In May, Kennedy was called out of class and arrested...

The wife of disgraced former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham felt deceived about the extent of her now-estranged husband's corruption, she said in her first public interview since the scandal broke last year. Nancy Cunningham told The New Republic magazine that she didn't question junkets paid by defense contractors because other senior congressional figures, including Speaker Dennis Hastert, joined in. "How can it be illegal or unethical if the most important man in Congress is doing it?" she asked interviewer Kitty Kelley, the celebrity biographer. Duke Cunningham, who held seats on powerful House intelligence and appropriations committees, resigned from Congress last...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Former Gov. Don Siegelman and former Health South CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted Thursday in a bribery scheme that derailed Siegelman's campaign to retake his former office. Siegelman, 60, was accused of trading government favors for campaign donations when he was governor from 1999 to 2003 and lieutenant governor from 1995 to 1999. Scrushy was accused of arranging $500,000 in donations to Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery in exchange for a seat on a state hospital regulatory board. The case was tried as Siegelman sought the Democratic nomination for governor, and the trial put him in...

29 indicted in trash hauling scamPhil Helsel, Register Staff 06/10/2006 NEW HAVEN — A federal grand jury Friday indicted 29 people — including Danbury garbage magnate James Galante and former Waterbury Mayor Joseph Santopietro — who prosecutors allege participated in a mob-backed scheme to divide up Connecticut’s trash-hauling industry. Operators of refuse firms in Cheshire and North Branford were among those named in the indictment. Galante, 53, allegedly ordered his trash carting companies to pay a "mob tax" to Genovese crime family boss Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello to enforce the scheme, in which trash haulers divvied up customers among...

AL ASAD, Iraq (May 16, 2006) -- One hundred and sixty-seven years ago, an educational institution was founded in the rolling hills of Virginia. Through the years, many brave Americans have walked its halls, taking the first steps of journeys marked by personal sacrifices of which some even offered their lives in defense of their fellow citizens and country. The Virginia Military Institute's mission is to produce educated, honorable men and women prepared for the varied work of civil life, imbued with love of learning, confident in the functions and attitudes of leadership, possessing a high sense of public service,...

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2006 – Defense officials today released 201 more names of detainees at the U.S. facility at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The list released today includes the names of 759 detainees who are or were held at the U.S. detention facility for war on terrorism detainees. The department first released 558 of these names April 19. Those 558 names were of detainees who had gone through the Combatant Status Review Tribunal process, implemented in July 2004 to give detainees a forum to contest their designation as enemy combatants. "This approximately 200 didn't attend a CSRT because they...

Former NFL kicker pleads guilty to shooting Siegfried & Roy houseBy KEN RITTER, Associated Press Writer May 11, 2006 LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Former Raiders kicker Cole Ford, who has been hospitalized for mental illness, pleaded guilty Thursday to shooting at the home of entertainers Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn in 2004. Ford, who last kicked for Oakland in 1997, agreed to a felony plea that could result in a suspended sentence of one to six years in a Nevada prison if he continues mental-health treatment at a center near his family's home in Tucson, Ariz. "We've come a long...

/5/2006 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- More than 120 former prisoners of war continued a 33-year layover of freedom by reliving the flights that carried them home from North Vietnam. The Hanoi Taxi -- the last C-141 Starlifter still serving in the Air Force -- made two of its final three flights May 5. Former POWs gathered in Fairborn, Ohio, for a reunion and to take part in a weekend of activities created by the Air Force Reserve’s 445th Airlift Wing here that includes the retirement of the famed aircraft. The Hanoi Taxi was the first of...

LES CROSETS, Switzerland - Former Swiss skiing star Corinne Rey-Bellet and her brother, Alain, were shot and killed in their parents' home, and police were trying to find Rey-Bellet's husband. The attack late Sunday night, which also left Rey-Bellet's mother hospitalized with serious injuries, occurred in the Swiss mountain resort of Les Crosets, according to the Valais state police. Rey-Bellet's mother was able to call police despite her injuries. Police said the attacker, who fired five shots, fled and eluded a search. Police spokesman Renato Kalbermatten said authorities were trying to find Rey-Bellet's husband, who lived with her and their...