Free Republic

OCEANSIDE - Get out the red-white-and-blue bunting. This city is planning its biggest homecoming parade ever for U.S. troops next month. City Councilman Jack Feller expects 15,000 to 20,000 troops to march along Coast Highway for the event, which he said will be much larger than the Proud To Be An American Parade in 1991 when troops returned from the Gulf War. About 1,000 troops marched while 100,000 people watched that Saturday, April 27, according to crowd estimates. From 80,000 to 100,000 spectators are expected at this year's Defenders of Freedom Parade on Saturday, Oct. 25. It will welcome home...

Mystery Callers Lie About Fate of Troops .c The Associated Press CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP)- Callers posing as American Red Cross workers have falsely told military spouses around the country that their loved ones were killed in the war with Iraq, the Red Cross said. No arrests have been made. Military officials don't know how many such calls there have been, but the Marine Corps warned Wednesday that they should be reported to authorities. The military contacts families directly when troops are killed in action. The calls have been reported over the past week by families in California, Delaware, Michigan...

CAMP PENDLETON – A man shot and wounded a tow truck driver then fled onto a military base, where he was killed by law enforcement officers Wednesday. The confrontation along the edge of Camp Pendleton caused morning traffic to back up for nearly four miles on southbound lanes of Interstate 5, the only freeway in the coastal area 35 miles north of San Diego. The unidentified gunman shot a freeway service patrol driver about 7:30 a.m. The reason for the shooting was not known, California Highway Patrol spokesman Larry Landeros said. The suspect then walked away making "hand gestures to...