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America strikes notebook
Compiled from Times wires Green Beret dead begin the journey homeRAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- The remains of two Special Forces soldiers killed in Afghanistan by an errant U.S. bomb arrived late Thursday at a U.S. military base in Germany. A soldier injured in the accident arrived earlier and underwent hours of surgery. The C-141 transport plane carrying the Green Beret soldiers' remains, along with those of a sailor who died Tuesday after a fall aboard ship, touched down at Ramstein Air Base just before 5 p.m. EST. Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory, 32, of Massachusetts and Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser, 28, of California were two of three soldiers killed Wednesday when the one-ton bomb, intended to hit Taliban forces making their last stand near Kandahar, landed about 100 yards from their position. Six Afghan anti-Taliban fighters also died. One of the 20 U.S. soldiers wounded in the accident arrived earlier Thursday at the military hospital, the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The soldier, who wasn't identified, underwent four to five hours of surgery by a team including orthopedic and neurosurgeons, said Maj. Mark Ervin, a surgeon at the hospital. Air Force sergeant gets Purple HeartHURLBURT FIELD -- An Air Force sergeant who was injured in the action against the Taliban in Afghanistan received a Purple Heart on Thursday. The combat controller named Michael, whose last name was not disclosed for security reasons, received the medal from Lt. Gen. Maxwell Bailey, commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command. The staff sergeant from Oxford, Conn., suffered two perforated eardrums and a scratched cornea when a U.S. bomb hit near American troops during an uprising by Taliban prisoners at a fortress outside of Mazar-e-Sharif on Nov. 26. He was the first Air Force member injured during the conflict; four soldiers also were hurt in the uprising. Michael is assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach. Arlington burial rules change soughtWASHINGTON -- The chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee wants to revise rules on burial of reservists at Arlington National Cemetery, citing a dispute over the eligibility of the pilot killed in the terror attack on the Pentagon. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., introduced legislation Thursday that would eliminate the age requirement, now 60 or older, for retired reservists otherwise eligible for in-ground burial. Charles Frank Burlingame III, pilot of the American Airlines jet that terrorists hijacked Sept. 11 and crashed into the Pentagon, flew Navy jets for eight years, served several tours at the Navy's elite Top Gun school and spent 17 years in the Naval Reserve. But because he was 51 at the time of his death, he did not qualify for his own grave at Arlington. His family's request for a separate grave was denied. Army officials said Wednesday that Burlingame could be buried alongside his parents, or his cremated remains could be interred in the cemetery's Columbarium, with an inscribed plaque. A service was set for Dec. 12. Burial with the parents would mean that Burlingame's widow, Sheri, could not be laid to rest beside her husband. Also, Burlingame would not have his own tombstone but would have his name placed on the back of the family plot marker. Burlingame's relatives are working with lawmakers to find a way around the rule so that he can be buried in his own grave. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., on Wednesday asked that President Bush grant an exemption for Burlingame. Pentagon apologizes for blocking newsWASHINGTON -- The Pentagon apologized Thursday for a decision by U.S. military officials in Afghanistan to block journalists from witnessing the evacuation of American soldiers wounded by an errant 2,000-pound bomb dropped by a B-52 on Wednesday. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he was "committed to the principle that the media should have access to both the good and the bad in this effort." Those responsible for having kept the reporters out of sight of the casualties, he said, "acknowledged that they have not handled the matter perfectly, and they're in the process of reviewing their procedures." Base officials confined the small group of reporters and photographers on the base to a warehouse, refusing to allow them to approach the arriving casualties. Most of the injured were subsequently transferred to medical facilities outside the country. Victoria Clarke, the Pentagon's chief spokeswoman, said Thursday that those at the base had been too zealous in trying to protect the privacy of the dead and injured and their families. "We are looking into actual constructive steps we can take to improve the situation going forward," she said. "So our apologies for the screw-ups." Spann had questioned AmericanCIA officer Johnny "Mike" Spann reportedly questioned fellow American and alleged Taliban warrior John Walker shortly before the Afghan prisoner uprising in which Spann was killed. Newsweek magazine said on its Web site Thursday the information came from a videotape of the incident taken by an Afghan cameraman. Spann, 32, was killed Nov. 25 after he questioned Walker, 20, of northern California, and other enemy captives who were imprisoned in the northern Afghanistan fortress of Kala Jangi. The prisoners were taken as the northern alliance, under cover of punishing U.S. airstrikes, finally overran the city of Kunduz, which had been the last Taliban stronghold in the north of the country. Newsweek said the videotape showed Spann and another CIA agent, known only as Dave, talking with Walker. Webcam keeps an eye on ground zeroNEW YORK -- News junkies wanting to keep up to date on activities at the World Trade Center disaster site can do so through a Web page camcorder operating around the clock at ground zero. The Web site -- earthcam.com/usa/newyork/groundzero/ -- shows live images of the recovery efforts at ground zero and urges viewers to contribute to the Twin Towers Fund and the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund. The page also allows visitors to view archival pictures of the disaster scene and includes a time-lapse sequence of recovery efforts between Sept. 22 and Oct. 15.
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From the Times wire desk
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