HOPE MILLS, N.C. – A Green Beret recently home from Afghanistan died trying to rescue his two young daughters from their burning home near Fort Bragg in North Carolina early Tuesday. The girls were also killed in the blaze.

Edward Cantrell and his wife escaped from the 2 a.m. blaze by jumping from the home’s second floor, the Cumberland County sheriff’s office said. Cantrell then wrapped himself in a blanket and re-entered the burning home in Hope Mills, about 10 miles from the Army base that is home to the Green Berets and other Special Forces units, sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Tanna said.

Cantrell, 36, was trying to reach 6-year-old Isabella and 4-year-old Natalia, who were trapped in second-floor bedrooms, Tanna said.
“He never made it back out,” Tanna said. Firefighters found their bodies inside the home, Tanna said.

Is the end of the Afghanistan war near? While another story is the top topic of political conversation — Romney’s “I’m not concerned about the very poor” — there’s a more impactful story that’s in the news today: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s announcement that the U.S. will end its combat operations in Afghanistan by the middle of next year. The Washington Post: “The United States hopes to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by the middle of next year, more than a year earlier than scheduled, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Wednesday. His remarks reflected a growing sentiment within the Obama administration that its approach to Iraq, where the official end of U.S. combat operations came 16 months before the final U.S. troop withdrawal in December, may provide a useful model for winding down operations in Afghanistan.”

KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii — A Marine accused of hazing a colleague who later committed suicide in Afghanistan was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail and a reduction in rank.

Navy Capt. Carrie Stephens, the judge in Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby’s special court-martial, handed down the sentence after Jacoby pleaded guilty to assault.

Jacoby’s rank will be reduced by one grade to private first class.

Two other Marines have also been accused of hazing Lew and face courts-martial.

Jacoby admitted he punched and kicked Lance Cpl. Harry Lew. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors withdrew charges that Jacoby humiliated and threatened Lew.

(CNN) — The American general who oversaw the withdrawal of tens of thousands of troops from Iraq returns to the United States on Tuesday, carrying the military flag that flew over the Iraqi capital.

The simple act is a long-standing military tradition that signifies the end of a mission.

There is little simple, though, about this act.

When Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III returns the United States Forces-Iraq command flag to U.S. soil, it will mark the formal conclusion of the military mission in Iraq.

Austin, who lowered the command flag in Baghdad last week, will be met at Andrews Air Force Base by President Barack Obama, according to White House and Pentagon officials.

KALSU BASE, Iraq — As he watches yet another US military column prepare to drive across Iraq’s southern desert wastelands and withdraw into Kuwait, US Army Col. Scott Efflandt fears the impact of any final strike against his troops.

“What we worry about is a disproportional attack that taints the overall accomplishments,” says Efflandt, speaking at this dusty staging post 30 miles south of Baghdad.

“So a spectacular rocket attack – which has happened in Iraq repeatedly in the years we’ve been here – if that’s the last thing that happens in Iraq, you know, like a chef at a restaurant, you’re only as good as your last meal,” says Efflandt.

From its first “shock and awe” moments in March 2003, the American invasion of Iraq was about shaping perceptions. The bombing of Baghdad, live on TV, was meant to be so overwhelming that Saddam Hussein’s regime would crumble – and along with it, the resolve of America’s enemies from Al Qaeda on down.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — A Marine who fought in the Battle of Okinawa urged Americans on Friday to honor those who served in World War II now, while veterans from that conflict are still alive.

E. Bruce Heilman, speaking at a ceremony marking the 66th year since the end of the war, noted fewer than 2 million of the 16 million men and women who served in the war are alive. They are dying at a rate of 30,000 per month, he said.

Some 20 World War II veterans boarded the now decommissioned battleship, the Missouri — the same battleship where Japanese signed surrender documents formally ending the war — to participate in this year’s ceremony in Pearl Harbor.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s new masters offered a million-dollar bounty for the fugitive Muammar Gaddafi, after he urged his men to fight on in battles across parts of the capital.

A day after rebel forces overran his Tripoli headquarters and trashed symbols of his 42-year rule, scattered pockets of loyalist diehards kept the irregular fighters at bay as they hunted Gaddafi and his sons. Rebels also reported fighting deep in the desert and a standoff round Gaddafi’s tribal home town.

In Tripoli, rockets and shooting kept two million civilians indoors and gunfire rang out in the center just before midnight on Wednesday.

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Coalition forces in Afghanistan have killed the Taliban insurgents responsible for the downing of a helicopter that left 38 U.S. and Afghan personnel dead, the commander of U.S. forces there and NATO announced Wednesday.

A precision airstrike killed Mullah Mohibullah — a Taliban leader — and the insurgent who fired what’s believed to be the rocket-propelled grenade that brought down the helicopter, according to Gen. John Allen, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Several of their Taliban associates were also killed, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said.

Sometimes bad things happen to good travelers.

On a hike during a medical mission in Vietnam, Dr. Gary Feldman stepped aside to relieve himself when the cliff he was standing on gave way. Feldman broke both legs in the fall. He then endured a 14-hour ambulance ride, an airlift and surgery requiring screws to repair his legs.

WASHINGTON — Americans from Washington to California are marking Memorial Day with parades, barbecues and special tributes tied to the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

An annual holiday honoring the nation’s war dead was infused with new meaning this year, coming just months before the 10-year anniversary.