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blog-heap o' links
Marine Cpl.
Christopher E. Esckelson, 22, of Vassar, Mich.Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas A.
Miller, 20, of Silverwood, Mich.Marine Lance Cpl. William D. Spencer, 20, of
Paris, Tenn.Army Pvt. Clinton T.
McCormick, 20, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Dec. 27 in Baghdad, Iraq, of
wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated during combat
operations. McCormick was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd
Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. Army Capt. Hayes
Clayton, 29, of Georgia, died Dec. 25 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered
when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting combat
operations. Clayton was assigned to the 842nd Military Training and Transition
team, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan. defenselink.mil/ ... 15:00:26Marine Cpl. Joshua M.
Schmitz, 21, of Spencer, Wis. died December 26Marine Lance Cpl. William C. Koprince
Jr., 24, of Lenoir City, Tenn. died December 27Army Spc. Joseph A.
Strong, 21, of Lebanon, Ind.Army Spc. Douglas L. Tinsley, 21, of Chester,
S.C. Army Spc. Michael J.
Crutchfield, 21, of Stockton, Calif., died Dec. 23 in Balad, Iraq, of a
non-combat related injury. Crutchfield was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th
Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Bragg, N.C. Crutchfield's death is under
investigation. defenselink.mil/ ... 14:58:45Army Sgt. 1st Class
Dexter E. Wheelous, 37, of Winder, Ga., died Dec. 25 in Baghdad, Iraq,
of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his
vehicle during combat operations. Wheelous was assigned to the 842nd Military
Training and Transition team, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division,
Fort Riley, Kan. defenselink.mil/ ... 14:58:32Army Sgt. Jae S.
Moon, 21, of Levittown, Pa., died Dec. 25 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while
on patrol Dec. 14 in Baghdad. Moon was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th
Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson,
Colo. defenselink.mil/ ... 14:58:16Army Spc. Elias
Elias, 27, of Glendora, Calif., died Dec. 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while
on patrol. Elias was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd
Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. 
An alert tabby cat saved an Australian family of four from a house
fire by clawing at its owner's face... Army Sgt. John T.
Bubeck, 25, of Collegeville, Pa. died Dec. 26Army Spc. Aaron L.
Preston, 29, of Dallas.Army Pfc. Andrew H. Nelson, 19, of Saint Johns, Mich.
Marine Lance Cpl.
Stephen L. Morris, 21, of Lake Jackson, Texas, died Dec. 24 while
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Morris was assigned to
2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine
Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. defenselink.mil/ ... 15:32:12Marine Lance Cpl.
Myles C. Sebastien, 21, of Opelousas, La., died Dec. 20 from wounds
suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
Sebastien was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine
Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. defenselink.mil/ ... 15:31:59Army Spc. Chad J.
Vollmer, 24, of Grand Rapids, Mich.Army Pfc. Wilson A. Algrim, 21, of Howell,
Mich.Army Pvt.
Bobby Mejia II, Saginaw, Mich. Army Sgt. Jason C.
Denfrund, 24, of Cattaraugus, N.Y., died Dec. 25 in Baghdad, Iraq, of
wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit
while on patrol. Denfrund was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry
Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry),
Fort Drum, N.Y. defenselink.mil/ ... 15:30:54Army Spc. Joshua D.
Sheppard, 22, of Quinton, Okla., died Dec. 22 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when his patrol came in contact with the enemy using small arms fire.
Sheppard was assigned to the 642nd Engineer Support Company, 7th Engineer
Battalion, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.Army Sgt. Curtis L. Norris, 28, of
Dansville, Mich., died Dec. 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Norris was assigned to
the 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.Army Spc. John Barta, 25, of Corpus
Christi, Texas, died Dec. 23 in Buhritz, Iraq, of wounds suffered from indirect
enemy fire during combat operations. Barta was assigned to the 1st Battalion,
12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood,
Texas.Army Pvt.
Evan A. Bixler, 21, of Racine, Wis., died Dec. 24 in Hit, Iraq, of
wounds suffered from enemy indirect fire during security operations. Bixler was
assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division, Baumholder, Germany.Army Pfc. Eric R. Wilkus, 20, of Hamilton, N.J.,
died Dec. 25 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of a
non-combat related injury Dec. 22 in Baghdad, Iraq. Wilkus was assigned to the
57th Military Police Company, 8th Military Police Brigade, Schofield Barracks,
Hawaii. The incident is under investigation. Army Staff Sgt. Jacob
G. McMillan, 25, of Lafayette, La., died Dec. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, of
wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle
and was followed by enemy small arms fire. McMillan was assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team
(Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. defenselink.mil/ ... 15:16:09Marine Lance Cpl.
Fernando S. Tamayo, 19, of Fontana, Calif., died December 21 while
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Tamayo was assigned to
the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine
Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif. defenselink.mil/ ... 15:15:58Navy Hospitalman Kyle
A. Nolen, 21, of Ennis, Texas, died Dec. 21 in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, as
a result of enemy action. Nolen was assigned to H Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th
Marine Division, Regimental Combat Team 7, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Forward, 29 Palms, Calif. 
A
brace of Christmas opinion polls has left Clinton with a political hangover...
In Iowa... Clinton slumped to fourth place with only 10% of the vote in a
survey of 600 likely Democratic voters... In New Hampshire... last weekend... a
poll in the Concord Monitor newspaper showed her only one point ahead of
Senator Barack Obama... 
A 27-year-old woman was
seriously injured after she was hit by a leaping dolphin near Slipper Island in
the western reaches of the Bay of Plenty this afternoon. A spokesman for the
Auckland rescue helicopter said the woman was sitting in the bow of a small
pleasure craft around 2.30pm today when it appeared a dolphin miscalculated its
leap out of the water... 
Washington
is among the top five pot-producing states, producing a $1 billion-a-year crop
that is second in value only to the state's famed apple harvest...