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When Army Captain Russell Rippetoe was killed in action on April 2, 2003 -- the first combat casualty of Operation Iraqi Freedom -- then-President George W. Bush spoke about how Rippetoe had on his dog tags "Joshua 1:9" engraved on it. For the past 20 years, military members have been able to wear dog tags with Bible verses on them, giving them light and hope in some of their darkest times. For some Gold Star families, this is one of their most cherished possessions to remember their loved one who gave the ultimate sacrifice. But all this could be coming...

<p>Thousands of U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan are wearing "unofficial issue" dog tags bearing a scriptural passage on one side — "I will be strong and courageous. I will not be terrified, or discouraged, for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go" — and the words "One Nation under God" on the other.</p>

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2003 – Retired Army Lt. Col. Joe Rippetoe breakfasted at the White House on Memorial Day morning and afterwards was ushered in to meet President Bush. Joe's son, Russell, was the first casualty of the Iraq War to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on April 10. The captain, assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga., died from injuries on April 3. Bush remembered the fallen soldier during his May 26 Memorial Day address in the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. "Russell Rippetoe served with distinction in Operation Iraqi Freedom, earning both...

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...

Miyuki Cawley, the wife of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt James Cawley, holds the flag from her husband's casket in her lap during graveside services at the Roy City Cemetery Thursday, April 10, 2003 in Roy, Utah. Cawley died March 29, 2003 while serving in Iraq and also was a member of the Salt Lake City police force. Bishop Jaime Soto is shown Friday, April 11, 2003, at St. Joaquim Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, Calif., at the funeral of U.S. Marine Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, shown in foreground. Garibay was killed March 23, 2003, after encountering Iraqi troops near...

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.