Apparent suicide victim found dead "had military badge" on car

Apparent suicide victim found dead in vehicle in WindanSea parking lot late this morning

The body of an unidentified man who is believed to have committed suicide was found in a red Pontiac in WindanSea Beach parking lot by locals about 11 a.m. this morning.

They reported it to police who immediately cordoned off the parking lot.

Kennedy said the victim “had a current military badge on his car,” and added the gun those who found him saw “looked lik an issued weapon.”
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Fort Hood soldier chased away by police for "wedding" in public?

Wedding banned from Tarrant County College downtown
Posted Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

BY BUD KENNEDY
bud@star-telegram.com

We paid $185 million for our new county college on the bluff downtown.

You'd think we'd be welcome there.

No such luck for one would-be bride.

With her Army boyfriend suddenly deployed to Afghanistan, county tax office worker Rosie Enriquez Martinez wanted to use the riverfront overlook at the edge of campus Sunday for a small wedding.

But Tarrant County College police chased them away.

Instead, Rosie and Sgt. Phillip Martinez Jr. of Fort Hood exchanged vows on a windy downtown sidewalk, wondering why he can fight for American freedom in Afghanistan but not peacefully enjoy a public campus downtown.
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Man charged in crash that killed Fort Hood soldier

Man charged in crash that killed Fort Hood soldier
Thursday, January 26, 2012

BELTON, Texas (AP) — A Central Texas grand jury has indicted a San Antonio man on a count of intoxication manslaughter over a crash last summer that killed a Fort Hood soldier.

The Bell County grand jury indicted 37-year-old Philip Ray Hernandez for the crash that killed Sgt. Chad Richard Clifton.
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One lucky Marine, hit by cement truck while on motorcycle, recovering

Motorcyclist struck by truck
January 26, 2012 4:30 PM
SUZANNE ULBRICH - DAILY NEWS STAFF
A Marine riding a motorcycle and hit by a truck on Bear Creek Road Wednesday did not sustain life-threatening injuries, according to Highway Patrol officials.

Trooper Michael Davis confirmed that 58-year-old Francis Mitchell, of Swansboro, was driving a cement truck on Bear Creek Road around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, turned into a driveway and struck a motorcycle driven by Donald Baldo, 26, of Hubert.
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St. Louis to Host 1st Big Parade on Iraq War's End

St. Louis to Host 1st Big Parade on Iraq War's End

January 27, 2012
Associated Press
by Jim Salter
ST. LOUIS -- Since the Iraq War ended, there has been little fanfare for the veterans returning home. No ticker-tape parades. No massive, flag-waving public celebrations.

So, two friends from St. Louis decided to change that. They sought donations, launched a Facebook page, met with the mayor and mapped a route. On Saturday, hundreds of veterans are expected to march in downtown St. Louis in the nation's first big welcome home parade since the last troops left Iraq in December.

"It struck me that there was this debate going on as to whether there should or shouldn't be a parade," said Tom Appelbaum, one of the organizers. "Instead of waiting around for somebody somewhere to say, `Yes, let's have a parade,' we said, `Let's just do it.' "

Appelbaum, a 46-year-old lawyer, and Craig Schneider, a 41-year-old school technology coordinator, said they were puzzled by the lack of celebrations marking the war's end. But, they wondered, if St. Louis could host thousands of people for a parade after their beloved Cardinals won the World Series, why couldn't there be a party for the troops who put their lives on the line?
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