Free Republic

A standing-room-only crowd of 700 packed a gymnasium Friday for a funeral service to remember Army Pfc. Rachel Bosveld, who was the fifth Wisconsin soldier killed in Iraq. Bosveld, of Waupun, was killed Oct. 26 during a mortar attack on a police station in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. Before the eulogy, Gov. Jim Doyle spoke to the family at the service at the 332nd Support Center of the Wisconsin National Guard. Friday would have been her 20th birthday and her family received her second Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. "Please know that Rachel's death was not in vain," said...

Memorial Day that hits home Beaver Dam services to honor Marine who died last week By MARK JOHNSON markjohnson@journalsentinel.com Last Updated: May 25, 2003 Beaver Dam - On Memorial Day, residents in this city of 15,000 get into high gear: The high school band marches in the parade, families gather to watch the floats go by, and Fire Chief Del Yaroch always thinks of his father, a World War II veteran who spent time in a Berlin prison camp. This year, the day will have a new and painful poignancy in Beaver Dam. Residents have lost one of their own:...

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.

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A Marine captain with a passion for flying and a lance corporal with dreams of becoming a Camp Pendleton instructor were among a group of Marines who died when a transport helicopter crashed in central Iraq.</p>

Wisconsin Marine Died in Iraq Rescuing Helicopter Crash Victims, Family SaysBy Todd Richmond Associated Press WriterPublished: May 20, 2003 BEAVER DAM, Wis. (AP) - A third-generation serviceman who promised to make his father proud by following in his footsteps died after he jumped into an Iraqi canal to rescue victims of a helicopter crash, his family said. Marine Infantry Sgt. Kirk Straseskie, 23, died Monday after he tried to rescue the crew of a Sea-Knight helicopter that went down into a canal shortly after takeoff in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Four Marines on the helicopter were killed....

Marine who drowned in helicopter crash in Iraq was from Beaver Dam Associated Press Last Updated: May 20, 2003 A Marine who died Monday after he jumped into a canal trying to reach victims of a helicopter crash in Iraq was from Beaver Dam, Wis. Kirk Straseskie, 23, died Monday after a Sea-Knight helicopter crashed into a canal shortly after takeoff in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Four Marines on the helicopter were killed, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. Two Marines on the canal's banks jumped into the water to help, and one died trying, the...