Free Republic

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...

Names of the four US Marines who died in yesterday's helicopter crash: Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin, 36, of Waterville, Maine Capt. Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 30, of Bloomington, Ill. Cpl. Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25, of Houston, Texas Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon Watersbey, 29, of Baltimore, Md. The Pentagon has just released the names of two more US Marines who were killed in Iraq. I'll post as soon as I find that.