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PHILADELPHIA - Frederick Clinton Branch, the first black commissioned officer in the Marine Corps, died Sunday at a Philadelphia hospital. Branch, whose wartime service on a merchant ship in the Pacific helped earn him a spot in Officer Candidate School, was 82. He was made a lieutenant of the U.S. Marine Corps on Nov. 10, 1945, the 170th anniversary of the founding of the Marines. Branch had previously been rejected for a spot in Officer Training School, and was instead drafted in 1942 while he was a student at Temple University. He had been striving for a Marine commission after...

Fox News Channel has a feisty new employee: retiring Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga. "We will plug him in wherever we can use him," Kevin Magee, vice president of programming, told the Washington Post. "I am excited to be joining Fox News Channel," stated Miller, 72, author of "A National Party No More" and rip-roaring keynote speaker at the GOP presidential convention. The Post noted today: "Zell Miller's Really Big Night at the Republican convention was a watershed moment for Fox News Channel as well. "FNC surprised many by beating ABC, CBS and NBC in head-to-head ratings competition on both nights...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph McCarthy, 21, of Apache, Ariz., hands candy out to Iraqi children who approached him at a military checkpoint west of Fallujah, Iraq, April 22, 2004. McCarthy died Sept. 6, 2004 from injuries received due to enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. His personal awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and the National Defense Service Medal.

The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute To our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is By taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel. WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN and are proud to serve our country. Semper Fi 1st Sgt Dave Jobe

Things have been busy here. You know I can't say much about it. However, I do know two things. One, POTUS has given us the green light to do whatever we needed to do to win this thing so we have that going for us. Two, and my opinion only, this battle is going to have far reaching effects on not only the war here in Iraq but in the overall war on terrorism. We have to be very precise in our application of combat power. We cannot kill a lot of innocent folks (though they are few and far...

Cornell A. Wilson Jr., a 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound, former high school baseball and football player, chose academics over sports in college. And even though he was in the Navy ROTC program, he chose a commission in the Marine Corps over one in the Navy. College was where young Wilson became fascinated by the gung-ho reputation, fellowship of valor and esprit de corps of America's warrior elite – the Marine Corps. The future Marine general loved sports, but during his college years, he opted for the oratorio choir, African-American Society and Semper Fidelis (Latin for "Always Faithful") Society, a student organization dedicated...

Check out R. Lee Ermey's website! For those of you who haven't discovered it yet, R. Lee Ermey's website is chock full of products, sound clips and other "motivational" material. Warning: You really need high-speed internet access and a good sound system to enjoy it fully. P.S. Don't skip the intro!

<p>Stacy Menusa and her husband, Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Joe Menusa in an undated photo. Joe Menusa was killed in action while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.</p> <p>A 33-year-old Marine who graduated from a San Jose high school and was a Bay Area recruiter has been killed in the war in Iraq.</p>

<p>NEAR NASIRIYA, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Marines Friday recovered the bodies of seven fallen comrades who died in intense fighting around Nasiriya in southern Iraqi Sunday, officials said.</p> <p>The city has been the scene of the fiercest fighting the Marine Corps has been involved in since Vietnam, senior Marines told CNN, and still is not under coalition control five days after coalition forces first engaged Iraqi paramilitaries.</p>