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An al-Qaida-linked extremist group warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that he and the West were "doomed," as protesters raged across the Muslim world to demand more of an apology from the pontiff for his remarks about Islam and violence. The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of Sunni Arab extremist groups that includes al-Qaida in Iraq, issued a statement on a Web forum vowing to continue its holy war against the West. The authenticity of the statement could not be independently verified. The group said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross"...

Just in. I am looking at a picture of the WTC with smoke pouring out of the western tower. Looks like a huge amount of damage. Debris raining down on people in the street.

Here are some links from the FR archives in observance of the fifth anniversary of 9/11/2001 - Threads list of several breaking news items - Latest Articles The first post reporting the attacks by OldEconomyBuyer - World Trade Center Posted on the first anniversary - Associated Press newswire - September 11, 2001 - Chronology of news alerts, bulletins and flashes

wish I'd met him in person, but despite the lack of direct human connection, I feel I knew him. I also know there was something unique about this man, Pope of the Roman Catholic Church John Paul II. Was it his words? There's no doubt he was an educated man and a talented writer. He could reach the audiences to which he spoke, whether in person or in print. He had a way of choosing the direct path to our heart, our mind, our conscience and our soul. This was a man who was comfortable speaking to millions of people...

Please take the time to watch this video, we must remember those on September 11, 2001. We can never forget, and we can not let those who wish us to forget to let us forget. Please, take 15 minutes from freeping, this is bookmarked on my home page, Thank you FReepers. Indy.Never Forget. If you let it run past the video, there are many good quotes after.

<p>A military police commander killed this week during a bloody battle outside a cleric's headquarters has become the highest-ranking Army officer killed in hostile fire in Iraq, according to an Army spokesman at the Pentagon.</p> <p>Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando was among three soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, killed when a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol confronted gunmen outside a mosque in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Karbala.</p>

<p>Pfc. Daniel R. Parker, 18, thrown from a vehicle Tuesday, is the youngest 101st Airborne Division soldier to die in Iraq.</p> <p>His name was Daniel Parker, but most everybody knew him as Dan.</p> <p>Smiling Dan, 18, who a year ago raised his hand to solemnly swear that he would ''support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.''</p>

<p>'Do you believe in miracles?" Al Michaels shouted from Lake Placid one February afternoon in 1980. And millions of Americans had become believers.</p> <p>For the unimaginable had happened: The United States Olympic hockey team - 20 young amateurs - had stunningly upset the prohibitively favored Soviet national team, hardened pros to a man.</p>

With so many memorial sites, graphics, photos, videos, flash movies, etc. proliferating on the internet since the 9-11 attack on America, it is almost impossible to keep track of them all. The purpose of this thread is to provide a convenient archive for posterity. Use this thread to post links to any sites you have found particulary memorable or that would be of interest to other FReepers. (Please post your comments and the links only to save bandwidth).

May we not forget their sacrifices http://www.pressaprint.com/som/wesupportu2.htm Some Gave All In Every Generation... There Have Been Those That Have Answered The Call... ...To defend freedom,Oppose tyrannyAnd free the oppressed...All gave some... Some Gave All....They were with us then..They are with us nowThey love...They prepare...They comfort...They yearn...They fight...They pray...And sometimes...They die...Yes, the same brave souls are with us today...But what's more important...Is that we are with themhttp://www.pressaprint.com/som/wesupportu2.htm

The following have given their lives to liberate Iraq: United States of America Army Pvt. Johnny Brown, 21, Troy, Ala., vehicle accident Army Spc. Thomas Arthur Foley III, 23, of Dresden, Tenn., grenade accident Army Pfc. Joseph P. Mayek, 20, of Rock Springs, Wyo., weapons accident Marine Cpl. Armando Ariel Gonzalez, 25, of Hialeah, Fla., vehicle accident Army Spc. Richard A. Goward, 32, of Midland, Mich., vehicle accident Army Spc. Gil Mercado, 25, of Paterson, N.J., weapons accident Marine Cpl. Jesus A. Gonzalez, 22, Indio, Calif., combat Marine Staff Sgt. Riayan A. Tejeda, 26, New York, N.Y., combat Marine Gunnery...

<p>The battle of Iraq may be over but the warriors for peace struggle on. Theirs is not an easy road, particularly, we hear, in the entertainment industry, which is packed with notables fresh from their vocal campaign against the war, the president, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney--objects of scorn in all the best circles, from Paris to California.</p>

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...

<p>Wilfred Bellard of Lake Charles joined the Army in search of a better life for his family, following in the steps of two siblings who had joined the military.</p> <p>On Friday, Bellard, 20, a private first class, died in Iraq, becoming the first known Louisiana resident to be killed in the war.</p>

Split-second, no-choice decision haunts unit Fri Apr 11, 5:39 AM ET BAGHDAD I t wasn't supposed to be this way. They weren't supposed to kill one of their own. But each night, soldiers in the Headquarters Company, 4/64 Task Force, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, go to sleep thinking about Capt. Ed Korn -- a man they barely knew but now can never forget. They cannot shake the memory of April 4, when they mistook Korn, 31, for an Iraqi fighter and unwittingly killed him. ''We talk about it every day,'' said the 28-year-old commander of a tank-like Bradley Fighting...

Troops find body of missing soldier By MICHAEL SPRENGELMEYER April 12, 2003 Stone-faced soldiers bowed their heads as a chaplain recited prayer over the body an American soldier found dead Saturday in a shallow grave on the southern outskirts of Iraq. The soldier had been missing and feared dead since last week when his infantry unit was ambushed by Iraqi militia in the Baghdad suburb of Al Dora. His identity was being withheld pending notification of his family. Finding his remains had been a priority mission for the members of the 101st Airborne Division who swept into the southern part...

First Jewish casualty in Iraq War, the grandson of a rabbi, remembered as being ‘macho yet soft-hearted.’ Mark Asher Evnin wanted to improve himself, and the world, too. At 18, after graduating from Vermont’s South Burlington High School in 32 years, the well-liked student athlete and only child of Mindy Evnin joined the Marines. So while his friends were taking freshman college courses, Mark was in basic training — much to his mother’s chagrin. “My son, a Jewish Marine, how bizarre,” Evnin told The Jewish Week Tuesday. “We come from a professional Jewish family, rabbis, cantors and biochemists.” Indeed, Mark’s...

<p>Marine Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa, the former Tracy man killed in combat in Iraq, has been awarded U.S. citizenship.</p> <p>"We can bury him now," said his mother, Virginia Kenny of Tracy. "He's part of the U.S. now."</p> <p>She and other family members learned Friday that the government had granted posthumous citizenship to Menusa, who fought in both Persian Gulf wars.</p>

Miyuki Cawley, the wife of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt James Cawley, holds the flag from her husband's casket in her lap during graveside services at the Roy City Cemetery Thursday, April 10, 2003 in Roy, Utah. Cawley died March 29, 2003 while serving in Iraq and also was a member of the Salt Lake City police force. Bishop Jaime Soto is shown Friday, April 11, 2003, at St. Joaquim Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, Calif., at the funeral of U.S. Marine Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, shown in foreground. Garibay was killed March 23, 2003, after encountering Iraqi troops near...

Tribute to a Hopi Warrior By David Yeagley “Hoka hey!” cried the Sioux in 1876, “It’s a good day to die.” Maybe the Hopi Indians can say the same thing today, in 2003. PFC Lori Piestewa, a Hopi Indian woman from Tuba City, Arizona, was killed in action in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Many reports call attention to the fact that she was the first woman soldier killed in the Iraqi conflict, and that she was one of the few Indian women in United States military service. And for whom was 22-year-old Pfc. Piestewa fighting? The people of Iraq, the people...

Captain Guy's wife, Helen, above, gave birth to their daughter, Emily, 12 days after her father died A SMALL market town on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales fell quiet yesterday as almost 3,000 people stood in silent tribute to a fallen Royal Marines officer. Among the mourners was the ten-day-old daughter he did not live to see. Helen Guy gave birth to Emily Charlotte 12 days after her father was killed in a helicopter crash in the Kuwaiti desert. It was to have been Captain Philip Guy’s final mission before he returned to Britain for the birth of...

I would like to post a memorial page on my site dedicated to all the dead game Americans who have sacrificed their lives in Operation Enduring Freedom. Where can I find a list of their names, with or without pictures? I want to list their names, ages, branch of service, date of death. And do any Christians know which Biblical verse says "Greater love hath no man than he who lays down his life for a friend"? The verse refers to Chr-st, of course, but these courageous warriors have all followed his example.

More than 1,000 people are gathered at the Biggs Army Airfield deployment facility this afternoon to pay tribute to the nine members of the 507th Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss who were killed in an ambush near the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on March 23. Among those attending the ceremony are Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki along with Congressional leaders. Soldiers and civilians began filing into the deployment facility around 1:30 p.m. today. They steadily filled chairs facing a stage backdrop with a wall of blue fabric and a 20-foot tall american flag. At the front of the...

<p>SAN DIEGO - For seven years, Joseph Menusa tried to become a U.S. citizen, but it wasn't until the Marine was killed in Iraq that it finally happened.</p> <p>His wife doesn't think it should be that difficult for the 31,000 immigrants serving in the military to be awarded citizenship.</p>

In Basra and in Baghdad, the people celebrate, but in Clio, Mich., and in Rawlings, Md., they mourn. The Pentagon has released the identities of four more American servicemen killed in Iraq. They are from Clio, Rawlings, Pendleton, Ore., and Birmingham, Ala., and they include one man who was on the telephone with his wife 30 minutes before an enemy shell destroyed the command post where he was working. That was Army Spc. George A. Mitchell of Rawlings, who told his wife he thought he might apply for a deputy's job at the county sheriff's office when he returned. "He...

Apr. 10, 2003 Jewish marine killed in Iraqi combat By ABIGAIL RADOSZKOWICZ Marine sniper scout Mark Evnin, 21, became the first known Jewish fatality of the Iraq war when he was shot in the stomach during a firefight in the town of Kut by Iraqi machine-gun fire on April 3. San Francisco Chronicle reporter John Koopman, who rode with Evnin, reported that Evnin's role was to spot Iraqi snipers and to drive a sharpshooter, a sergeant major, and the journalist as they headed toward Baghdad. Evnin was hit while shooting back after the convoy come under fire. His wounds at...

Harvard-Bound Soldier in Iraq Dies in Helicopter Crash By JASON D. PARK Contributing Writer Army Captain James F. “Jimmy” Adamouski, who planned to enter Harvard Business School (HBS) this fall, was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq last Wednesday. He was 29. Adamouski, who was the first West Point graduate to die in Iraq, was killed along with five other soldiers when the Black Hawk helicopter he was piloting crashed in central Iraq, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Because of his HBS acceptance, Adamouski—an officer of the Third Aviation Regiment of the Third Infantry Division—had not been required to...

 These are some of the men who have, thus far,  given their lives to free Iraq.I took these pics from Names, Stories, and Pictures of the Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom

I just received the following email from a friend Putting Things Into Perspective - On Tuesday afternoon, I boarded a flight from. I had upgraded to first class and was anticipating a relaxing flight with a fair amount of paperwork to do. The seat next to me was empty until just before the doors were closed. A young Marine came in and sat beside me. He was very reserved and it was clear that this was the first time he had ever flown first class. I asked him where he was going. He said he was accompanying a Marine to...

THE youngest Briton killed in the Iraq conflict, Kelan John Turrington, 18, died in action as British troops stormed Basra on Sunday. Fusilier Turrington, one of three soldiers killed in the fighting for Iraq’s second city, had wanted to be a soldier since he was a small boy. His father, John, 54, and mother, Ann, 46, never tried to change their son’s mind. From the age of four, Kelan would dress as a soldier to wait in the driveway of his home for his father to come home from work at the army training barracks in Catterick. The boy’s head...