Free Republic

April 18, 2007, 6:45 a.m. We Need More HeroesSpiderman is not going to save us. Liviu Librescu may. By James Bowman Reacting to what many in Britain and elsewhere are regarding as the disgraceful behavior while in captivity of the British sailors and marines kidnapped by the Iranians, Simon Heffer recently wrote in the London Daily Telegraph: “Why are some so weak-minded compared with those 18- year-olds who, within living memory, went over the top on the Somme, or splashed through machine-gun fire onto the Normandy beaches?” Heffer himself belongs to the “I-blame-the-parents” school of thought on this matter...

The older we get, the more we go to funerals for friends and family. As Benjamin Franklin observed, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” This isn’t about taxes, nor about the state funeral for former President Ronald Reagan. It’s about Laurie Russell, and about the value of death. Laurie was the wife of a lifelong friend of mine. She was smart and funny, able and wise. She was a positive influence in the lives of all who knew her. Or, I should say, IS a positive influence, because the benefits of who she was and what she did live...

~    ~   ~* Defense Officials Identify Casualties *~    WASHINGTON, April 21, 2004     The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.            * Master Sgt. Herbert R. Claunch, 58, of Wetumpka, Ala.,* died April 18 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after collapsing on the floor in his quarters.  Claunch was assigned to the Army National Guard, 217th Military Police Company, Prattville, Ala. WASHINGTON, April 22, 2004  The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.            * Pfc. Leroy Harris-Kelly, 20,...