Free Republic

Today marks the two year anniversery of the death of an American hero. Memorial Day 2005 (May 30th), Derek Argel was killed in action when the Iraqi air force Comp Air 7SL aircraft he was aboard crashed in eastern Diyala province during an operational mission. Alongside Derek died 3 fellow American Airmen and 1 Iraqi soldier. A member of the Air Force Special Forces Combat Controllers, Derek was an elite warrior. A Lion among men, he chose to be at the tip of the spear to fight for the nation that he loved. Tonight we remember Derek and all that...

UPDATED:  March 7, 2007 3:32 PM HERO'S COLORS: Mother of fallen airman plans trip to Washington As the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war nears, an outspoken mother from Lompoc is heading to Washington, D.C., to show her support for the effort that claimed her son's life. Debra Argel Bastian, whose son, Capt. Derek Argel, was killed on Memorial Day 2005 in Iraq, is joining the "These Colors Don't Run" caravan from California to the nation's capital, carrying with her U.S. flags from around the country. "It's time we showed the American public there is a lot of support...

Photos by Plea Deal and [Mrs] Trooprally Washington, November 17, 2006-- There is a faraway, yet penetrating look in the eyes of parents who have buried a child, no matter how well they have gotten on with their lives, no matter how much they are doing to honor their hero. It is a look that says, "Nothing is worth getting worked up about. Can you not see that small matters are insignificant? I am here, but part of me is here no longer; I live to honor that part." This 83rd week of the DC Chapter's Friday night troop-support rally...

Eight months after her son Derek's death in Iraq, Lompoc resident Debbie Argel Bastian is raising money in hopes of visiting the war-torn country where the decorated Air Force captain lost his life. Mrs. Bastian wants to join a tour to Iraq organized by the conservative nonprofit organization "Move America Forward" sometime in late spring. She and other Gold Star families -- those who've lost a family member in the war -- plan to visit military bases and try to connect with soldiers. She will not, however, visit the region where her son was killed last Memorial Day. The Air...

The Santa Barbara Veterans for Peace have agreed to remove the name of Capt. Derek Argel from its Arlington West memorial, after the fallen soldier's mother complained that the display was an insult to her son's memory. The Lompoc Air Force special tactics officer was killed Memorial Day in a plane crash in Iraq, and his name became one of the more than 1,800 represented on the rows of crosses displayed each weekend at West Beach. The decision to take down the marker came after the group heard that Debbie Argel Bastian, his mother, and Wendy Argel, his widow, wanted...