Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- Military investigators said Wednesday they located the remains of the second of two Marine Corps fighter pilots whose planes crashed in south-central Iraq earlier this week. The remains of the first pilot, Maj. John C. Spahr, 42, of Cherry Hill, N.J., were found on Tuesday. The second pilot's identity was being withheld by the military until his family could be notified, according to a Central Command statement. Both pilots were flying single-seat F/A-18 Hornet fighters about 30,000 feet over south-central Iraq when radio contact was lost on Monday evening. Officials said previously that investigators concluded the two planes...

By JANINE ZACHARIA, ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT, EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA Dozens of planes took off from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt early Saturday in their first combat mission over Iraq, joining a robust US-led air offensive that began Friday. F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets, loaded with satellite-guided bombs, or Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMS), barraged two targets assigned by US commanders at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia - a leadership structure in central-west Iraq and a communications facility in the south-central part of the country. US Air Force and British jets joined in the raids. The...