Palestine, West Virginia, not Texas. Palestine, Texas (or Palestin, I forget which one doesn't have the "e") is where a lot of the shuttle debris fell.
I too have internal network chatter "confirming" several deaths in the attempt, but not the same number you reported, so I'm not going to post it. If the numbers are wrong, part of the story probably is too.
Who knows..I just post what I hear as soon as i get it. I am sure it will all the details will be ironed out later.
http://www.borderlandnews.com/war/stories/20030331-94562.shtml
Rescue effort for Bliss unit left 9 Marines dead, 8 missing
Diana Washington Valdez
El Paso Times
U.S. Marines were sent to rescue wounded members of the 507th Maintenance Company on March 23, the day the Fort Bliss unit was attacked in Iraq, but nine of the Marines who took part in the rescue effort were killed and eight others are missing, Pentagon officials said Sunday.
Meanwhile, efforts by the Red Cross to secure access to the American POWs have not succeeded, officials said Monday.
U.S. military officials also confirmed that the four bodies discovered a few days ago in shallow graves are of American troops, but have still not determined the branch of the military in which the troops served, much less their names.
"They have not been identified yet," Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charles Owens, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said Sunday from Doha, Qatar.
[snip]