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Flags will be lowered in New Jersey Saturday, the day of Whitney Houston’s funeral. But a Marine mom in Arlington says it’s an honor Houston doesn’t deserve. When Phyllis McGeath heard Gov. Chris Christie had ordered flags lowered to half-staff for Houston, she said she felt a pain deep inside her. “I was hurt and offended. Disappointed. Saddened,” she said. “I felt like the honor that was given to my son was tarnished.” McGeath had three sons who were active duty Marines. Her oldest, Philip, was killed by a suicide bomber just four weeks ago in Afghanistan. He was 25....

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Manhattan prosecutors have quietly offered a no-jail, misdemeanor deal to the retired young Marine facing a mandatory 3 1/2-year prison sentence after trying to check his Indiana-registered handgun at the Empire State Building, court papers reveal. But former tow gunner Ryan Jerome — who has garnered letter-writing support from hundreds of current and former Marines — is saying no thanks and continues to ask that the case be dropped altogether. The DA’s conciliatory offer, and the fact that it’s been on the table for two months, was revealed in a letter filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Deputy Says He Shot 'Irrational' Marine to Protect Kids in Car 15-year veteran of Sheriff's Department says Sgt. Manny Loggins was about to drive away, so he opened fire to prevent a perceived danger to Loggins' daughters. One other deputy was nearby at the time. The deputy who shot and killed an unarmed Marine sergeant after a predawn traffic stop said the Marine was acting so "irrationally" that it seemed dangerous to let him drive away with his two daughters, an official said Friday. So when the Marine -- later identified as Sgt. Manny Loggins Jr. of Camp Pendleton...

A veteran Orange County sheriff's deputy feared for the safety of two young girls sitting in a parked car when he shot and killed a Marine sergeant in a dark high school parking lot, authorities said Friday. Sgt. Manuel Loggins Jr. was shot Tuesday as he started to get into the SUV where his two daughters — ages 9 and 14 — were sitting, authorities said. Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, said the deputy was fearful that Loggins — who he said appeared to be acting irrationally — was about the drive off with the girls. "The...

The Marine killed by an Orange County sheriff's deputy during a confrontation this week in San Clemente had received medals for his good conduct, the Marine Corps said. The Marine Corps identified the victim as Sgt. Manuel Loggins Jr., 31, a native of Joliet, Ill. He was assigned to a battalion at Camp Pendleton. Loggins was fatally shot by the deputy at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday in a parking lot near San Clemente High School, officials said. The circumstances of the shooting have not yet been explained publicly by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Loggins enlisted in the Marine Corps...

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – A discharged Marine private who slit his wrists in a suicide attempt is fighting his military conviction for deliberately injuring himself, arguing the punishment is inconsistent with the armed forces' efforts to battle a rise in suicides during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's not clear how often the Marines or any other service branch prosecute active duty members for trying to kill themselves. But the defense lawyer for Pvt. Lazzaric T. Caldwell says it's wrong to punish service members with mental health problems for genuine suicide attempts. Suicide prevention has become a priority across the...

CAMP PENDLETON – The second RPG round blew Cpl. Mike Dowling off his feet. The Marine had never seen combat before, but in 2004, he found himself in the thick of battle in Iraq's infamous "Triangle of Death." Boom! The blast from the rocket-propelled grenade slammed him into the ground, along with a fellow Marine, Sgt. Rex. As Dowling recounts in his just-published book, the explosion must have knocked him out cold for a second: "I come to with Rex on his feet, eyes white with fear and searching wildly in the smoke and dust to find me. "Then he's...

Ahoy, fellow FR boating lovers! (Boating = all boats and water-related activities; sailing, cruising, fishing, beach combing, flipflop wearing, key lime pie eating, surfing, SUPing – if it floats, tastes salty or is sand encrusted, it belongs here!) While politics are important, our country is great, and FR is amazing; boating is all about fun afloat! This post is the launch of a weekly FR thread about anything and everything boating. (Boating FReepers are either enjoying their boats or dreaming about boats while surfing on Free Republic.) Back story: my parents met in a boatyard, I grew up on boats,...

Prayers appreciated for a young Marine in our life - Until '05 I pastored with his father in Upstate NY - I watched this boy grow up - always wanting to be a Marine. Long story short - 3rd tour in Afghanistan - just got a call yesterday that he stepped on an IED and lost a few toes, along with some ankle damage. Being flown back as we speak. No one else in his team was injured. We are told the mud absorbed a lot of the blast will post updates as they become available Prayers appreciated for him...

Top U.S. officials moved swiftly Thursday to try to prevent diplomatic damage and contain public disgust from the release of a video that appeared to show Marines urinating on three Afghan corpses — images that spread quickly around the globe. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said he had viewed the video and considered it “utterly deplorable.” He telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai and pledged a full investigation. Prior to the call, Karzai described the video as “completely inhumane and condemnable in the strongest possible terms.” His administration called on the U.S. military to “apply the most severe

Jim Hardie doesn't really see himself as much of a hero. "I really don't feel like I have any more value than anybody else,” he said. He's a family man with an eight-year run in the Marine Corps. But for the last two years he’s been riding the bus in search of a job. Last week after a full day of searching, Jim sat across from three guys he felt were being disrespectful to everyone on the bus. But instead of turning the other way, he looked at them and said "Given the nature of what we've gone through with...

DEERFIELD BEACH— One bullet went through his belly and lodged in his pelvis, while a second sliced through his chest and out his shoulder. Yet another grazed the back of his skull. Shot and wounded while chasing thieves on foot, Lt. Col. Karl Trenker said he did what he had been trained to do as a 29-year veteran of the U.S. Marines with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Running with bullet holes wasn't working out well, so I plugged them up with my fingers," Trenker said Friday.

A U.S. Marine officer has told the incredible story of how he survived a street robbery by plugging bullet holes in his body with his fingers. Lieutenant Colonel Karl Trenker, 29, of Miramar, Florida, was shot three times as he confronted two men who had stolen a gold chain from him. He said he used his battlefield training from Afghanistan and Iraq to stem blood from chest wounds by shoving his finger into the gaping wound.

Please pray for a Lance Corporal stationed in Afghanistan. He stepped on an IED today. The email I just now received is that he is "on the bird and is stable." Thank you for holding him before Our Father's throne in this fight against evil.

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Marine Gen. James F. Amos, the face of opposition in the military to lifting the ban on gays serving openly, now acknowledges his concern has proven unfounded that repeal would undermine the war effort. In fact, he says, Marines have embraced the change. In an Associated Press interview, Amos called the repeal in September "a non-event."

Justin Timberlake took a marine to her unit's annual ball Saturday night The singer posted a photo along with a letter on his website that the Marine Corps Ball in Richmond, Va., was "one of the most moving evenings I've ever had." "I knew I would have an evening that I wouldn't forget... Something I could tell my friends about. What I didn't know was how moved I would be by the whole experience," he wrote.

Today is a special day for my dad Dan. He is a veteran of the Korean War. He fought in the battle at Chosin Reservoir. He has won a purple heart and bronze star. He is the most amazing man to his seven kids and wife of 58 years.

(AP) SAN DIEGO — Three San Diego Marine corporals have been discharged for bad conduct after admitting they faked their marriages to receive housing allowances.

"Both of his legs and his right arm were blown off by an improvised explosive device, making Mr. southern a triple amputee.

I think that I may have stumbled onto a very large problem. I am working with a guy that says that he was a Marine and I am 99% sure that he isn't. He has got a really great story going and he has fooled a lot of people. I need a place to go to so that I can prove that he isn't a marine. I can already proove several of his other stories are fabrications but this is the key. I have read online that is a rather big problem, especially for the Corps and the Seals. Can...

A 31-year-old Marine vet who served five years in Iraq and Afghanistan used his best weapon to stop a would be rapist this morning in Queens — a deep jarhead scream. Brian Teichman was dropping off his 2-year-old daughter at the babysitter’s house on the shoulder road of the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone when he spotted a man forcing an Asian woman over a guardrail across the street and into a deserted, wooded area. "It didn’t seem right. Once I saw him launch her over the guard rail I knew something was wrong," said Teichman.

One of the country’s bravest hopes to become one of New York City’s bravest. Sgt. Dakota Meyer, the Marine who received the Medal of Honor this month for personally rescuing 36 soldiers pinned down by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, told The New York Post that he aspires to become a New York City firefighter. "It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s a way I feel I can do my part in giving back to America,” Meyer said after he tossed out a ceremonial pitch at the Mets' Citi Field, the paper reported. Meyer's grandfather was a firefighter, and Meyer...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is awarding the military's highest honor to a Marine credited with saving 36 lives during an intense fire-fight in Afghanistan.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dakota Meyer saved 36 lives from an ambush in Afghanistan and the former Marine will collect the nation's highest military honor at the White House on Thursday. While he is receiving the Medal of Honor, Meyer's fallen comrades will be memorialized in hometown ceremonies at his request. His hero's moment was his darkest day. Meyer lost some of his best friends the morning of Sept. 8, 2009, in far-off Kunar Province. "It's hard, it's ... you know ... getting recognized for the worst day of your life, so it's... it's a really tough thing," Meyer said, struggling...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Dakota Meyer saved 36 lives from an ambush in Afghanistan and the former Marine will collect the nation's highest military honor at the White House on Thursday. While he is receiving the Medal of Honor, Meyer's slain comrades will be memorialized in hometown ceremonies at his request. His hero's moment was his darkest day. Meyer lost some of his best friends the morning of Sept. 8, 2009, in far-off Kunar Province.

A heroic Royal Marine's last wish to see his friends and their girlfriends enjoy a a dream holiday has come true, after the group went on a spectacular trip to Las Vegas. Generous David Hart, 23, took out life insurance before he went to war-torn Afghanistan last year. The Royal Marine, of 40 Commando, was killed by a Taliban roadside bomb in the Helmand-province of Sangin in July last year. In a heartbreaking letter, which was only opened after he had died, his shocked friends discovered the big-hearted soldier had bequeathed them £100,000 to fund the luxurious break. Read more:...

Removed from an ambushed platoon of Marines and soldiers in a remote Afghan village on Sept. 8, 2009, his reality viciously shaken by an onslaught of enemy fighters, Cpl. Dakota Meyer simply reacted as he knew best — tackling what he called “extraordinary circumstances” by “doing the right thing … whatever it takes.” Nearly two years later, the White House announced Aug. 12, 2011, the 23-year-old Marine scout sniper from Columbia, Ky., who has since left the Marine Corps, will become the first living Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor in 38 years. Retired Sgt. Maj. Allan Kellogg,...

<p>I know there are many things in the Afghan culture that don’t seem normal to Americans and it’s hard to spend seven months working in someone else’s back yard. Still, the Marines I saw downrange are doing a pretty good job at trying to do the right thing around the Afghans.</p>

COMBAT OUTPOST SHUKVANI, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2011 – As a torrent of bullets whizzed past their heads, the Marines in Observation Post 8 quickly dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding what could have been their deaths. As they lifted themselves off of sandbags covering the bottom of the small bunker, they looked up to see Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Christopher Sharp smiling down at them. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Christopher Sharp prepares for Operation Black Sand in an observation post in the southern portion of the Musa Qalah district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Aug. 5, 2011. U.S. Marine Corps photo...

President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration for valor, to a former active duty Marine Corps corporal, the White House said on Friday.

Mila Kunis will indeed attend the Marine Corps Ball with Sgt. Scott Moore, she confirmed loud and proud Thursday, putting to rest a rumor that she'd backed out. Watch the video if you can, because she said it best: "Never did I say that I was not going." That version of events was made up, she said, "and people believed it, unfortunately." The rumor, which appeared to be based on a look at Kunis' production obligations, was sketchy but got a lot of play. "I accepted an invitation and I'm staying true to my word," the actress said at a...

The most prolific marine ecosystem on earth is being systematically destroyed on orders of the U.S. Department of the Interior.(snip)Dept. of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last September 15, “We are notifying offshore operators of their legal responsibility to decommission and dismantle their facilities when production is completed.”Dismantling their production platforms could cost oil operators “$6 billion to $18 billion in lost future production,” according to a report by Mark Kaiser and Allan Pulsipher of the Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies. The federal government, however, is unmoved by such projections. Production? Costs? Profits?—come on!

The daughter of a prominent New York lawyer has told of her amazing transformation from sheltered, society girl to seasoned combat veteran. Former Manhattan jetsetter Jane Blair swapped her pampered life in New York to become one of the first women on the frontline in Iraq. In her new memoir Hesitation Kills, Mrs Blair, now a 38-year-old captain in the Marine Reserves, recalls the moment that changed her life. She said: 'I grew up in this environment where I never had to work for a living. My dad told me, "I will always take care of you".' She was in...

If you don’t know a hero in a close and personal way, and Memorial Day is an abstract observation of those who sacrificed, I would like to introduce you to one that reminds me every day of what this day is for. Jacob Tate is my personal hero; a fun loving, church going high school kid turned U.S. Marine, my son’s best friend, and a newlywed Dad with a gorgeous little boy. Tate had the pleasure of watching the little guy, his first, grow inside his young wife. He got to see an ultrasound picture or two, but he never...

A Marine in New York for Fleet Week was struck by a car and killed early Thursday as he tried to return to his ship docked at a Hudson River pier just 200 yards away. The 22-year-old corporal was hit about 1 a.m. after a taxi dropped him and several other Marines near their ship, the USS Iwo Jima, berthed on Pier 88. His name was withheld pending notification of his family by the Marines. Earlier in the day, the "Parade of Ships" traveled grandly up the Hudson River to inaugurate the city's 24th annual Fleet Week, which draws more...

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN9-TV) -They say a picture is worth a thousand words. SWAT video, however, might be priceless, according to the lawyer representing SWAT in the shooting death of marine Jose Guerena. "In your opinion, is this now cut and dry once you see the video?" KGUN9 asked. "Yeah, you watch the video and clearly you hear sirens, you see them (SWAT) approach, you see them knock and announce several times. Clearly, anyone in the area will know police were there," explained SWAT lawyer Mike Storie. For the first time, we saw what happened the morning of May 5th. Until...

The Pima County Sheriff's Department released a video Thursday that shows a SWAT team shooting into a suspect's house. He died after being shot 60 times. Jose Guerena, 26, was shot and killed May 5 when Pima County authorities served a search warrant on his home. The Sheriff's department says five SWAT team members fired more than 70 rounds in less than 10 seconds after the former Marine pointed an assault rifle at officers. His wife contends the family thought the officers were robbers. He was shot 60 times

Update from Elias Alias May 21, 2011: Update: Below is Stewart Rhodes’ announcement and call to action for all Oath Keepers who can make it to Tucson on Memorial Day. Since Stewart wrote this article, he has informed me of the following update: Oath Keepers will join Vanessa Guerena, the widow of Jose Guerena, to conduct a Memorial at the Guerena home on Memorial Day. There will be various Oath Keepers activities over the Memorial Day weekend. Please check at Oath Keepers’ national site for updates and details. .. At this Memorial Day rally, we will conduct ourselves in a...

Jose Guerena, 26,survived two tours of duty in Iraq as a marine, only to be gunned down in a hail of 71 bullets in his own Tucson, Arizona home, while his wife and four-year old son hid in a nearby closet. Mr Guerena's wife, Vanessa, said she heard her husband moaning as he lay dying, his body struck by 60 of the bullets. Ms Guerena told ABC News: 'I saw his stomach, all the blood on the floor' She said her goal now is to 'clear his good name'. Ms Guerena said their son Joel keeps asking about his deceased...

This week, KGUN9 News reporter Joel Waldman interviewed Pima Co. Sheriff's Department Lt. Michael O'Connor about the shooting of Jose Guerena, who died last week when a SWAT team tried to serve a search warrant at his Tucson home. The victim's wife Vanessa has stated that neither she nor her husband knew that the people breaking into her home were deputies. She said that her husband, who pointed a rifle at deputies, was only trying to defend himself. Guarena never got off a shot. But SWAT team members fired a total of at least 71 rounds, leaving the home riddled...

The Pima County Regional SWAT team fired 71 shots in seven seconds at a Tucson man they say pointed a gun at officers serving a search warrant at his home. Jose Guerena, 26, a former Marine who served in Iraq twice, was holding an AR-15 rifle when he was killed, but he never fired a shot, the Sheriff's Department said Monday after initially saying he had fired on officers during last week's raid.

Jose Guerena, 26, was killed when a SWAT team came to his house to serve a search warrant Guerena's wife, Vanessa, said the SWAT team did not identify themselves Thinking it was a home invasion, Guerena got his rifle Now, Pima County Sheriff's officials are refuting original claims that Guerena fired at the SWAT members. In fact, they confirmed his safety was still on when his gun was recovered. Also, officials said that reports that some SWAT officers' shields were riddled with bullets are also untrue. SWAT gunned Jose down with 71 rounds fired in just about seven seconds; officials...

The Uptown robbers struck again Tuesday night, only this time their victim was armed, police say. Edward Curtis, 61, who described himself to police as an ex-Marine, fired several shots at a group of men who attacked him as he got out of his car near his apartment, according to police records. Curtis thinks he may have struck one of the men, said Minneapolis Police Lt. Mike Fossum. "He had just parked his car in the parking lot," said Fossum. "These guys blitzed him. They just started kicking his ass. He managed to get off three rounds." The suspects, one...

WASHINGTON – Handsome and friendly, Clay Hunt so epitomized a vibrant Iraq veteran that he was chosen for a public service announcement reminding veterans that they aren't alone. The 28-year-old former Marine corporal earned a Purple Heart after taking a sniper's bullet in his left wrist. He returned to combat in Afghanistan. Upon his return home, he lobbied for veterans on Capitol Hill, road-biked with wounded veterans and performed humanitarian work in Haiti and Chile. Then, on March 31, Hunt bolted himself in his Houston apartment and shot himself.

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Border Patrol agents recently arrested 13 illegal immigrants disguised as U.S. Marines and riding in a fake military van, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday. The illegal immigrants were clad in Marine uniforms when they were apprehended at the Campo Border Patrol Westbound I-8 checkpoint at 11 p.m. on March 14 near Pine Valley, Calif., border officials said. Two U.S. citizens in the van also were arrested. After the suspicious white van was subjected to secondary inspection, it was determined that the driver of the vehicle and its front seat passenger were U.S. citizens who were attempting to smuggle...

FAST FACTS: * Memphis company initiatives support for wounded Marine * Marine injured in Afghanistan three weeks ago * Company wants Mid-South to flood Marine with cards and notes ... If you or your organization would like to send a get well wish, you can write to Romo at the address below. LCpl Jacob Romo National Medical Center 5 East Inpatient Surgical Unit 8901 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20889-5600

I was a Marine for eight years. I spent those years fixing navigation systems, and teaching other Marines how to fix navigation systems. If we messed up, planes would crash, and people would die. When we joined the military, we took an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States, and we gave up many of our Constitutional rights.

I first learned of John Bernard through Diana West (“ROE Are Merely Symptom of ‘Hearts and Minds’”) and the Stars and Stripes blog entry, “Photo of dying Marine forces a difficult decision.” Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan murdered Mr. Bernard’s son, Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard. Media outlets ignored his wishes and the wishes of the Department of Defense by running a photograph of his son as he lay dying from his wounds. This initially outraged me but because our nation bombards us with insult after insult, my outrage has subsided and now I simply keep this action in mind as the...