Free Republic

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The remains of Navy pilot Michael Scott Speicher returned to his Florida home on Thursday, 18 years after his FA-18 Hornet was shot down on the first night of the 1991 Gulf War. Speicher's remains arrived at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station around 3 p.m. About ten minutes later his coffin was rolled off the plane draped with the U.S. flag. It was to remain at the All Saints Chapel on the base overnight.

Though ill with pneumonia, Dom DiMaggio was doing something he loved -- watching the Red Sox play, and play well -- when he died this morning in his Marion home. Son by his side, the former Red Sox center fielder was watching the replay of Thursday night's game, when his team scored 12 runs in the sixth inning en route to a 13-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians. "I was there and we were watching it together," said his son Dominic Paul DiMaggio Jr. of Atkinson, N.H. "It was peaceful." Mr. DiMaggio's children, gathered at their parents' home today, shared...

  Last female veteran of the First World War dies aged 109 Last updated at 20:19pm on 29.08.08    Gladys Powers, 109, died this month in Canada. She was thought to be the last female veteran from WW1. The last female First World War veteran has died aged 109.British-born Gladys Powers died at her home in British Columbia, Canada, on August 14, the Ministry of Defence said.She was born in Lewisham, south London and joined the Women's Auxiliary Corps aged 15, after fibbing about her age and later served with the Women's RAF.  All but a few of the...

      Thursday, 17 July 2008 10:00 am - Funeral Mass - Great Upper Church Open to the Public Doors open at 8:00 a.m. (Will Need to Pass through Security Checkpoint Magnetometers) The Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl Archbishop of Washington Presider Reverend David O’Connell, CM President of The Catholic University of America Celebrant & Homilist Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 400 Michigan Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20017 Metro: Red Line – Brookland/CUA In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Tony Snow Dead at 53, A Tribute to a Catholic Journalist By Deacon Keith Fournier7/12/2008 Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)"It’s trendy to reject religious reflection as a grave offense against decency. That’s not only cowardly. That’s false. Faith and reason are knitted together in the human soul. So don’t leave home without either one." President George W. Bush (L) and White House Press Secretary Tony Snow return from an event at the Quantico Marine Base to the White House in Washington, September 14, 2007. Snow, who battled colon cancer, has died. CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) – Tony Snow, whose Catholic faith, superb...

CINCINNATI (AP) - Military workers and supporters from across the country joined in memorials Sunday for a slain Army reservist who had become a poignant picture of the war in Iraq after he was captured by insurgents. Thousands walked past Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin's casket during a daylong visitation at a civic center in Clermont County, east of Cincinnati, where he grew up. Many of them headed to Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds, for an afternoon memorial service. The crowd occupied the lower portion of the 42,000-seat stadium, behind home plate, stretching from first base to...

no link yet, just a headline

JOHN VINCENT COULTERJanuary 9, 2008 The longest baby ever born at the Albany, N.Y., hospital, at least as of May 5, 1926, who grew up to be my strapping father, passed away last Friday morning. As Mother and I stood at Daddy's casket Monday morning, Mother repeated his joke to him, which he said on every wedding anniversary until a few years ago when Lewy bodies dementia prevented him from saying much at all: "54 years, married to the wrong woman." And we laughed. John Vincent Coulter was of the old school, a man of few words, the un-Oprah, no...

<p>The Warren County Sheriff’s Office says its seeks the public's assistance in locating two elderly women from Warren County.</p> <p>Mary Ellen Walters, 68, and Ada Wasson, 80, were last seen last Thursday April 19th at Otterbein Retirement Living Community located at State Routes 741 and 63 in Warren County. The two women live in the Patio Homes section, which is an independent living area.</p>

I opened my copy of my Our Daily Bread devotional this morning and was reminded that it was one year ago today that we first heard the news about the death of the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin dead (Initial thread) Bindi's tribute to Steve Irwin (Speech from Memorial)Terri Irwin Says, 'I've Lost My Prince' - Interview with Steve's wife Steve Irwin Memorial Service (Live Thread)Screenshots from Steve Irwin's memorial serviceWas Steve Irwin a Christian? (Rumors denied by Snopes investigators) "My Prince"People around the world reacted with shock in September 2006 when news broke that Steve Irwin,...

Sad News from the National Review Family [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Patricia Aldyn Austin Taylor Buckley — Pat Buckley, as so many knew her, WFB's beloved — died last night at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut. She died of septic poisoning following a vascular operation on her left leg. Pat had been married to WFB since July 1950 and is mother of the acclaimed writer Christopher Buckley. She's been a core part of the NR family — hosting editorial dinners in her home, among many other intrusions — since its conception and her loss will be felt by many. Bill and Christopher...

Anna Nicole Smith collapsed in her hotel room at the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and was rushed to a hospital on Thursday. A Hollywood, Fla., fire department spokesman told MSNBC TV that the actress was unresponsive when the rescue unit arrived on the scene. Sources confirmed to Access Hollywood that Smith was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital shortly after 2 p.m. EST on Thursday. Access Hollywood also is reporting that Smith was intubated at the scene. Officials told the Miami Herald, "it does not look good."

<p>1st link: Mobile soldier killed in Iraq Thursday, November 30, 2006 By NADIA M. TAYLOR Staff Reporter Baker High School graduate Chris Mason wasn't afraid of dying in Iraq because of his faith in Jesus Christ and his belief in the importance of helping others, his family said Wednesday.</p>

AUSTIN – Nellie Connally, the widow of former Gov. John Connally and the last remaining survivor who was riding in President Kennedy's limousine when he was assassinated, has died, longtime family friend Julian Read said. She was 87.

AUSTIN, Texas - Nellie Connally, the last remaining survivor who was riding in President Kennedy's limousine when he was assassinated, has died, a family friend said Saturday. She was 87. Connally, the widow of former Gov. John Connally, died in her sleep late Friday at Westminster Manor in Austin, said Julian Read, who served as the governor's press secretary in the 1960s. "Total surprise," he said. "She has been extremely active and vital the past few days and weeks. ... It's a shock to all of us." Connally had said the most enduring image she had of the Nov. 22,...

He made history as the first African American US Navy Master Diver. Tuesday afternoon, 75-year-old Carl Brashear died at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, His story was told in the 2000 film “Men of Honor,” and he was portrayed by actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. Brashear joined the United States Navy in 1948 at the age of 17. He became the only amputee deep-sea diver to reach the status of Master Diver and was the only black man to ever become Master Diver of the United States Navy, a position he held from 1975 to 1977, according to the Navy. He retired...

According to Fox News, Patsy Ramsey, mother of Jonbenet Ramsey has passed away from ovarian cancer.

John Engeman had a goal for his wife. On Saturday, Donna Engeman achieved it when she received a bachelor's degree in political science and public administration. John Engeman, a career military man who grew up in East Northport and was stationed in southern Iraq, watched with pride as his wife received her diploma, thanks to an Internet feed set up by Concord University in West Virginia. "He was so excited for me," Engeman said. "For him to be able to see me graduate was really special. He told me afterward that I looked great," she said, her voice cracking. "Then...

Florist relaxed with singing, motorcycle trips Nancy Young always was ready to take on a challenge, whether it was operating a floral shop or riding back-seat on a motorcycle to visit the Alamo in Texas, said her friends and family. < -- snip -- > Nancy J. Morrison Young, 72, of Jeannette, former owner and operator of Morrison's Florists in Youngwood, died of cancer on Friday, March 10, 2006. < -- snip - > In 1999, three years after the death of her husband, Nancy Morrison married widower Harold Young, a fellow choir member at Grace United Church of Christ....

Harry Browne, who was the Libertarian Party presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000, is reported by multiple sources to have died yesterday. I just confirmed the general information with Jim Babka of DownSizeDC. DownSizeDC intends to be distributing pertinent information by e-mail and on their website later this evening. Pending a statement from family or friends, the best (speculative) published source of information about his condition is currently on Wiki: "In June of 2005 an unknown neurological illness confined him to a wheelchair. After spending a considerable amount of time in the hospital, he resumed some of his writing and...

Article Last Updated: 12/19/2005 08:18 AM a denver post special report Letting go: Dylan's last days Two parents face an agonizing test of faith and love for their son By Kevin Simpson Denver Post Staff Writer DenverPost.com Dave Walborn lifted his son upright, all 32 pounds of him, slipped one hand behind his lolling head and gazed into the open but vacant blue eyes. He spoke out loud the words that would move him and the boy's mother, Kerri Bruning, one step closer to an excruciating decision. "Dylan, it's OK if you want to go," he said. "I don't want...

Pittsburgh Brewing, forced into bankruptcy yesterday to avoid a cutoff of its water supply, plans to get rid of more than $6 million in pension obligations and emerge from bankruptcy with its ownership group intact, Vice Chairman Joseph Piccirilli said.From left, Pittsburgh Brewing Co.'s Valerie Stoltz, director of human resources; Tony Ferraro, vice president of sales and marketing; Jeff Vavro from media relations; and Joseph Piccirilli, vice chairman, talk after a news conference at the brewery in Lawrenceville yesterday afternoon

Santa Cruz -- The mother of a 28-year-old soldier killed in Iraq asked a judge on Monday to put aside a decades-old Defense Department policy — and the wishes of her former husband — to let her return her son's remains to California. The parents of Army Staff Sgt. Jason Hendrix, who was buried last month in a plot next to his paternal grandfather in Oklahoma, are waging a legal battle to determine the final resting place of their son. Renee Amick, of Watsonville claims that her son wanted to be buried in California, where he spent most of his...

Brain-Dead Woman Dies After Giving Birth By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer ARLINGTON, Va. - A brain dead woman who was kept alive for three months so she could deliver the child she was carrying was removed from life support Wednesday and died, her family said. Susan Torres' plight attracted worldwide sympathy after she suffered a stroke in May as she battled cancer. She gave birth to a daughter, Susan Anne Catherine Torres, on Tuesday by Caesarean section. "This is obviously a bittersweet time for our family," Justin Torres, her brother-in-law, said in a statement. With the consent of her...

David Breeden, a musician of elegance and tact who was principal clarinetist with the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years, died of complications from multiple myeloma Wednesday at a care center in San Mateo. He was 58. Mr. Breeden was known for his lucid and unflamboyant contributions to the Symphony's performances. His tone was fluid and full-bodied, and he deployed it with deceptive ease.

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. - Actress Debralee Scott, a regular on the TV sitcom "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," and frequent face on the 1970s game show circuit, has died. She was 52. Scott died of natural causes April 5, three days after her birthday, at her home in Amelia Island, said her sister Jeri Scott, a talent manager in Beverly Hills. The exact cause was not released. Scott came from a family of show business insiders. Her eldest sister, Scott Bushnell, produced many of director Robert Altman's films. Middle sister Jeri Scott is an agent turned manager. The two older Scotts...

Condolences following the passing into Glory of his beloved Holiness John Paul II may be contributed at www.ewtn.com

<p>"The Pilgrim Pope" - Since Thursday, March 31 and the announcement of the Pope?s critical condition, high fever, and urinary tract infection, and subsequent septic shock there has been a constant vigil of the faithful while media coverage has been continually providing updates along with stories, and historical information on this holiest of holy men.</p>

Today I recieved a HEROBRACELET bearing the name 1LT Michael R. Adams.I am posing this thread in honor of this soldier who lost his life in the WAR ON TERROR.16 March 2004 - 1LT Michael R. Adams, 24, (Class of 2002), of Seattle, Washington, died March 16th in Al Asad, Iraq, when the barrel of the .50 caliber weapon mounted on his tank struck him. 1LT Adams was a member of the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, Fort Carson, CO.

Quite the list. To many HTML codes to list all of them here. Perhaps one of FR's HTML experts can post the list. Some of them you may not know past away this year.

FRESNO, California (AP) -- Childhood friends who enlisted in the Marine Corps together and died together in Iraq were buried side by side. Jeremiah Baro and Jared Hubbard, who played together, wrestled each other in high school and toughed it out together through boot camp, died November 4, after a roadside bomb exploded. They were in Iraq's Anbar province, where the military was preparing to attack the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

Defense sources told NBC News that investigators hired by the defense have identified 'four or possibly five people' who they believe actually killed Laci Peterson.The sources, who spoke with MSNBC's Dan Abrahms on condition of anonymity, said they obtained the names of the suspects, who they say have been involved in satanic activity from a mystery witness.The purported 'suspects' were seen in the Modesto California neighborhood where the Petersons lived on the morning of her disappearance, the sources said.One of the male suspects is believed to have a '666' tatoo-a symbol for the devil, they said.In addition to having their...

The virtual world is so strange. I feel like I've known you all my life; yet I have never met you. No blog, post or email can ever replace a hug. That is what I would rather give you. That is what you need. No text could ever replace the that. Nor is there anything I could write or post that would comfort you right now. I tell you often that I am your friend. But I sit here wondering what kind of friend am I when I can't even be there for you. You have helped so many and...

Saturday 7/24/04, my Father who was 85 passed away in his sleep. He was one of those very unassumming men who did so much for us and asked for nothing in return. He was a member of the Cavalry Recon of the 115th Regiment, 29th Infantry Division and landed on Omaha Beach with the rest of the 29th Inf.. It always amazed me how little he ever said about his experience, except to those he knew that were there on D-Day the same as he was. My brothers and I will miss him greatly, as will his grandchildren (spread from...

Tune into Fox News, which just broke the story of President Ronald Reagan's passing. They are doing a lovely job commemorating the late President's life, administration, and recent passing.

George Bush never looked into Nick's eyes Even more than the murderers who took my son's life, I condemn those who make policies to end lives Michael Berg Friday May 21, 2004 The Guardian My son, Nick, was my teacher and my hero. He was the kindest, gentlest man I know; no, the kindest, gentlest human being I have ever known. He quit the Boy Scouts of America because they wanted to teach him to fire a handgun. Nick, too, poured into me the strength I needed, and still need, to tell the world about him. People ask me why...

CNBC reports a plane has hit the World Trade Center in NY. No details...

SHELBY — A cancerous tumor when she was 11 months old. Twelve years of chemotherapy. A near-fatal car wreck in her high school senior year. Life confined to a wheelchair. Shelley Webber could survive anything. Anyone who knew her would tell you that. Anything — except this. Shelley, 24, was found murdered early Wednesday morning, outside the small one-room home she rented from her parents on 116½ Dellinger Road. Police say the cause of death appears to be blunt-force trauma — in other words, she was beaten to death. “We’re comfortable that the person who committed the crime did know...

Lynne has passed away....a special thread in her memory is deserving for this great Freeper. Rest In Peace

Bob Hope: 1903-200307/28/2003By PHILIP WUNTCH / The Dallas Morning News Bob Hope, the vaudeville jokester turned pop-culture giant whose ski-slope profile cast a wry shadow over the 20th century and into the 21st, died late Sunday night, just two months after his 100th birthday. He died late Sunday of pneumonia at his home in Toluca Lake, with his family at his bedside, longtime publicist Ward Grant told the Associated Press on Monday. From vaudeville venues to wartime USO stages, from big-screen Road tales opposite Bing Crosby to small-screen holiday specials opposite Brooke Shields, he kept America chuckling for nearly...

<p>LOS ANGELES  — Gregory Peck (search), the lanky, handsome movie star whose long career included such classics as Roman Holiday, Spellbound and his Academy Award-winner, To Kill a Mockingbird (search), has died, a spokesman said Thursday. He was 87.</p> <p>Peck died overnight, Monroe Friedman told The Associated Press.</p>

When she lived in her native Poland, Danuta Kowalik would bring her two young boys to a cemetery this time of year and solemnly visit the dead soldiers. "Somebody," she would explain, "needs to say ‘Thank you' to them." When she moved to Chicago's suburbs in 1991, Kowalik kept the tradition, changing only the day of the visits. Instead of the early May anniversary of Germany's World War II surrender, she adopted America's Memorial Day. This year, she'll be going back to a cemetery, but so much has changed. Today, she will be saying ‘Thank you' to her own soldier,...

Sat March 22, 2003 11:59 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the 13 soldiers wounded in a grenade attack on a tented camp in Kuwait early on Sunday has died of his injuries, CNN reported. Time magazine correspondent Jim Lacey told the broadcaster by telephone from Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait that he had been told of the death by several people. "We're allowed to talk about it," he said.

Unfathomable shuttle puzzle Be undaunted, past investigators say; key clue might be waiting 02/09/2003 By JULIET MACUR / The Dallas Morning News Clues to the mystery could be anywhere, from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the bayous of Louisiana, stuck in trees, hidden on mountaintops or drowned in murky water. More than a week after the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas, investigators are piecing together what could be the biggest and most complicated puzzle in aviation and aeronautics history. No recovery effort has been spread over so many square miles or so much varied terrain. No...

Nation honors fallen crew 02/04/2003 From Staff and Wire Reports President Bush and first lady Laura Bush traveled to Houston Tuesday to lead the nation in mourning the seven Columbia astronauts at a private memorial service at NASA headquarters. The astronauts' family members were being joined by an estimated 10,000 space agency employees, who paused from their work to attend. Also on hand: former President Bush, Gov. Rick Perry, John Glenn, the first American in orbit, and Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon. In his remarks, President Bush was expected to pay tribute to...

Columbia began era of shuttle Tragedy, worries pursued program after that first 1981 flight 02/02/2003 By KAREN PATTERSON / The Dallas Morning News Columbia first roared into orbit April 12, 1981, and took an uncertain nation with it. Ronald Reagan had just left a Washington, D.C., hospital the day before, after an assassin's bullet barely missed his heart. Recuperating, he awoke 10 minutes before the day's event, the first launch of a shuttle into orbit. No lofty White House speeches were planned that Sunday morning. "It's a spectacular sight," the president said. But even then, Columbia was tainted by...

Nation mourns astronauts lost aboard shuttle Columbia 02/01/2003 From Staff and Wire Reports The space shuttle Columbia, carrying seven astronauts including an Israeli and three with Texas connections, broke up over North Central Texas enroute to a scheduled landing in Florida on Saturday morning. "Columbia is lost; there are no survivors," President George W. Bush said in an address to the nation. "The astronauts knew the dangers and they faced them willingly," the president said, flanked by two flags and his voice dropping almost to a whisper at some points. Mr. Bush pledged that the U.S. space program would...

<p>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  — Space Shuttle Columbia blew up and disintegrated in flames over Texas Saturday morning, just 16 minutes before it was expected to land at Cape Canaveral. A senior U.S. official said the spacecraft was "gone."</p> <p>Seven astronauts -- six Americans and the first Israeli to go into space -- were aboard the shuttle, which had been orbiting the Earth for 16 days.</p>

Richard Crenna dies at 76 01/18/2003 Associated Press LOS ANGELES - Richard Crenna, the Emmy award-winning character actor who starred as a lovesick teenager on "Our Miss Brooks" and Sylvester Stallone's Green Beret mentor in the "Rambo" films, has died. He was 76. Crenna, whose credits also included "Wait Until Dark," "The Flamingo Kid," and television's "The Real McCoys," died Friday of pancreatic cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, daughter Seana Crenna said Saturday. "This came very sudden," she said. Crenna's role on the CBS drama series "Judging Amy" was recently put on hold as he battled cancer. "He was...

Bee Gees' Maurice Gibb dead at 53 01/12/2003 Associated Press MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Maurice Gibb, a member of the famed disco band the Bee Gees, died Sunday at a Miami Beach hospital, his family said. He was 53. Gibb, who joined with his older brother and his twin to harmonize their way to becoming one of the best selling musical groups ever, suffered cardiac arrest before undergoing emergency surgery for a blocked intestine. He was admitted to Mount Sinai Medical Center Wednesday and underwent surgery Thursday. "To our extended family, friends and fans, with great sadness and sorrow...