Highlighting one individual fallen hero

[question everything]

All we hear in the news is "one American soldier died in Iraq" or, worse, last week by Charlie Gibson, no less, after reporting about the Baker-Hamilton report added, almost as an after thought that "10 American soldiers were killed in Iraq today."

Dan Rather highlighted the fallen heroes in every newscast but, of course, this respect and mourning were tossed after he left.

So it is left for local papers to put names and faces to the numbers that continue to increase, and I happened to run into one:

Tuesday, December 12, 2006
O.C. native dies in Iraq
The Mission Viejo graduate is the first female Marine officer killed in the war.
By ERIKA I. RITCHIE
The Orange County Register

MISSION VIEJO – Megan McClung loved running, rain, shine or heat.

Even in war, the 34-year-old USMC major with red hair and flashing brown eyes tried to maintain balance – running along the Tigris at nightfall and competing in the Marine Marathon race in October in the U.S. She competed in six Ironmans and planned to run in a marathon on Sunday in Iraq.

But her life was cut short Wednesday when a roadside bomb blew up the truck she was riding in in Ramadi, Iraq. Two other military personnel were also killed. She was the first female Marine officer to be killed in the conflict, based on Defense Department statistics, the Associated Press reported.

More..


http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/article_1380551.php