Free Republic

Dorothy Oxendine presides over American Gold Star Mothers Inc., a national organization of women whose sons and daughters have died in military service to the nation. (Photo by Mark Abraham) AMERICAN IDENTITY With the Iraq War, a New Generation of Gold Star Mothers BY DELIA M. RIOS More stories by Delia M. Rios WASHINGTON -- As Dorothy Oxendine knows, the most dreaded words a parent can hear are "We regret to inform you ..." She lost her only son, Pfc. Willie F. Oxendine III, to a land mine in Vietnam on May 30, 1968. His death at age 21...

Pentagon identifies 7 Marines killed in Iraq WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - The Defense Department on Tuesday identified seven U.S. Marines killed in a firefight near the southern city of Nassiriya on Sunday, raising to 18 the total number of confirmed U.S. casualties in the Iraq war. The Pentagon named those killed as Sgt. Michael Blitz, 31, of Ventura, California; Lance Cpl. David Fribley, 26, of Lee, Florida; Cpl. Jose Garibay, 21, of Orange, California; Cpl. Jorge Gonzalez, 20, of Los Angeles; Staff Sgt. Phillip Jordan, 42, of Brazoria, Texas; 2nd Lt. Frederick Pokorney Jr., 31, of Nye, Nevada; and...