Days Of Mourning

A horse-drawn caisson carries the flag-draped casket of Army Ranger Capt. Russell B. Rippetoe to his burial site in Arlington National Cemetery, April 10, 2003, in Arlington, Va. Capt. Rippetoe, a native of Colorado, died April 4 in Iraq when a civilian vehicle exploded at a coalition checkpoint. Rippetoe was the first soldier from the Iraqi conflict to be buried on the historic grounds.

Funeral Director David Heintzelman escorts Terri Seifert and her son Benjamin into Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem, Pa., for funeral services for her husband Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, April 5, 2003. Seifert was one of two officers killed in a March 23 attack at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait.

Members of the First Armored Division of Fort Riley, Kan., walk single file into the back entrance of the First Baptist Church in Wellsville, Kan., before the funeral for Sgt. Jacob Lee Butler, April 14, 2003. Butler was killed April 1in Assamawah, Iraq, when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his vehicle.

A Marine stands next to the casket of Marine Lance Cpl. David Fribley before the start of a service for him at Warsaw Community High School gymnasium in Warsaw, Ind., April 8, 2003. Fribley, 26, was one of nine Marines killed March 23 during an attack by Iraqi troops who U.S. officials say had pretended to surrender before opening fire.

Carmen Garza wipes away tears during an early morning memorial service honoring her grandson, Marine Pfc. Juan G. Garza Jr., April 10, 2003. Residents joined students and faculty at the San Benito High School in San Benito, Texas, to pay tribute to the fallen Marine, who was shot in the chest by a sniper on Tuesday, April 8, as he patrolled an airport in Baghdad, Iraq.

A relative reacts while viewing the open casket of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. William White during memorial services in his church in Brooklyn, New York, April 12, 2003. White was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq March 29.

An Army ranger hands a U.S. flag to Rita and retired Army Lt. Col. Joe Rippetoe of Gaithersburg, Md., at the conclusion of a funeral service for their son, Army Ranger Capt. Russell B. Rippetoe, at Arlington National Cemetery, April 10, 2003.

Charlene Stroud is comforted by Brig. Gen. Mastin Robeson, right, after he presented her the American flag from the casket of her son, Lance Cpl. Brian E. Anderson at the conclusion of funeral services in Durham, N.C., April 15, 2003. Anderson was killed in Iraq on April 2. At left is Stroud's husband James.(

A Marine honor guard folds up a U.S. flag that had draped the coffin of Pfc. Ryan Cox, 19, during his funeral in Belle Plaine, Kan., June 25, 2003. Cox died June 15 near Najaf, Iraq. Military officials told the family that an accidental discharge of another soldier's weapon struck Cox in the abdomen.

Patty Steve, mother of slain U.S. Marine Brian Buesing, clings to a U.S. flag that was presented to her by the U.S. Marines during her son's funeral as her husband Roger, left, comforts her, April 5, 2003, in Cedar Key, Fla.

Patricia Roberts is comforted by an unidentified relative as she weeps in front of the flag-draped casket of her son, Army Spc. Jamaal Rashard Addison, after a funeral service in Conyers, Ga., April 7, 2003. Addison was killed in an ambush attack on the 507th Maintenance Company in central Iraq.

Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa's brother, Sgt. David Menusa, in uniform, comforts his parents, Virgina and Michael Kenny, during a funeral service for the fallen soldier in Santa Maria, Calif., April 11 2003. Joseph Menusa was killed in action in Iraq on March 27.

Father David McPhillips, mother Julie, sister Carrie and funeral director William Quealy, L -- R, follow Brian McPhillips' flag draped casket out of Holy Family Church in Rockland, Mass., April 16, 2003. McPhillips, 25, of Pembroke, Mass., was killed April 4, 2003, as coalition forces advanced on Baghdad.

Amaryllis Hernandez, second from right, the mother of U.S. Marine Cpl. Robert Marcus Rodriguez, is aided with smelling salts at her son's funeral at the Blessed Sacrament Memorial Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., April 11, 2003. Cpl. Rodriguez, who died in Iraq, was remembered as a "son of New York."

Tony Nave, 6, son of U.S. Marine Maj. Kevin G. Nave, hugs a teddy bear after his father's funeral service, April 5, 2003, at St. Patrick Church in White Lake, Mich. Nave was killed in action in Iraq on March 26, 2003.

Kristy Dowdy, left, and her mother Kathleen, release pigeons as a final goodbye at the funeral of her father, Army 1st Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy at Holy Cross Cemetary in Brook Park, Ohio, April 15, 2003.