 Group blasts Marine Corps for reviving 'Crusaders' name and symbols Apr 19th 2012, 00:33  The insignia for the VMFA-122 "Crusaders" that was used from 1957-2008. The name and symbols were changed to Werewolves for four years, but the historic nicname and symbols were recently reinstated. By Kari Huus, msnbc.com A recent decision by the Marine Corps to reinstate "Crusaders" as the name of its Fighter Attack Squadron 122 — replacing "Werewolves" — and adopting the red cross of the medieval Knights Templar was blasted as unconstitutional and willfully ignorant by a civil rights group Wednesday. “I don’t know that the Marine Corps could do anything more to fuel the cause of jihad," said Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates church-state separation. "It will directly end up taking lives and maiming members of our military." VMFA-122 based out of Beaufort, S.C., used the Crusaders symbol from 1958 up to 2008, when Lt. Col. William Lieblein pointed out that imagery invoking the Christian conquest and colonization of Muslims during the Middle Ages was counterproductive to U.S. soldiers based across the Arab and Islamic world.
"The notion of being a crusader in that part of the world doesn't float," he said, ordering the change to "Werewolves," as reported by the Beaufort Gazette at the time. Dozens of military members, including Marines in the affected squadron have contacted MRFF reporting that the name has been changed back, and that the symbols had already been painted on the vertical stabilizers of the F-18s. Weinstein says that members of the military who contacted his group — mostly moderate Protestants and Catholics — felt that the decision was blatantly religious. "They’re being told, 'the enemy gets to have Allah in their fight. We need to get our Lord and Savior back into our fight'," said Weinstein." Lt. Cmdr. Wade Weigel, who currently heads the squadron, said he did not think the historic nickname was problematic, according to a report in the Beaufort Gazette on Monday. "It's a way for our Marines to draw on the service of the Marines before them, and to make their own history under the same name," Weigel told the paper. "As the squadron prepared to celebrate its (70th anniversary), my intent was to return the squadron to the Crusader name since 50 of the squadron's 70 years were under that name. The name change is a reflection of our heritage." Through the law firm Jones Day, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation on Wednesday sent a letter calling on top Navy and Marine Corps brass to reverse the decision, arguing that the use of Crusaders and the accompanying symbolism violate the Constitution’s separation of church and state, and threatening legal action if it is not changed. The name change comes just as world media focuses on the trial of Anders Breivik, a Norwegian who admits to killing 77 people in a holy crusade against Islam and multiculturalism. Breivik brandished the Knights Templar symbols in his "manifesto" and YouTube video posted shortly before his bloody rampage. More content from msnbc.com and NBC News: Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook Follow Kari Huus on Facebook |  Coroner: Body of woman is that of Brittany Killgore, missing wife of Marine Apr 18th 2012, 23:42 By NBCSanDiego.com and msnbc.com staff  AP Brittany Dawn Killgore was reported missing Saturday. The body of a woman found in California's Riverside County is that of a Marine's wife who disappeared last week, the county coroner said Wednesday. Brittany Killgore, 22, was last seen on Friday in San Diego County and was reported missing the next day. Her husband, Cory Killgore, is based at Camp Pendleton but has been deployed to Afghanistan. Another Camp Pendleton Marine who authorities say is a person of interest in her disappearance pleaded not guilty to weapons-theft charges Wednesday, the North County Times of Escondido, Calif., reported. Authorities said they found an AR-15 rifle taken from the Marine base in the car of Louis Perez, 45, and questioned him about Killgore’s disappearance. Detectives said he has been uncooperative.
Authorities have said Perez was the last person seen with Killgore. On Tuesday, a woman was arrested in relation to Killgore’s disappearance. Jessica Lynn Lopez, 27, was booked into Las Colinas women's jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. Lynn was taken into custody after deputies found her at the Ramada Inn in Point Loma with self-inflicted wounds, Lt. Larry Nesbit said. A suicide note in her motel room reportedly led investigators to the female body in a rural area of Riverside County, the Times reported. Perez was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail after the hearing, the Times reported. Lopez is scheduled for a court appearance Thursday. Police have not explained the relationship among Perez, Lopez and Killgore. The developments came as word emerged that she had planned to leave her Fallbrook home and return to her parents’ Pennsylvania home, the North County Times reported. Killgore was reported missing Saturday after a stranger called her parents from Killgore’s cell phone, said her grandmother, Cheryl Coble of Farmington, Mo. A homeless man in downtown San Diego was attempting to sell the phone to the stranger, Coble said. The stranger then called Michelle Wrest, Killgore’s mother, who contacted authorities. Killgore was supposed to go out with Perez and his girlfriend on a dinner cruise on Friday, Coble said. She said the girlfriend decided not to go on the cruise at the last minute and the Wrest family is unsure whether Killgore made it to the dinner. It was not clear who the girlfriend was. On April 10, Killgore filed for divorce from her husband. Coble said Killgore was supposed to go to her parents’ house in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. Authorities found luggage and a laptop case at Killgore’s apartment and her belongings had been shipped to her parents’ house, according to Coble. "She just wanted to be at her parents' house," Coble said. “[She] just wanted to sit and hold her new niece.” Darryl Wrest, Killgore’s father, and her grandfather, Jim Wrest, are in San Diego. Cory Killgore is expected back from Afghanistan by the end of the week. More content from msnbc.com and NBC News: Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook |  Inmates, including murderer, at large after Kansas prison break Apr 18th 2012, 19:48 The inmates who escaped a Kansas jail are considered armed and dangerous, Kansas law enforcement officials say. By msnbc.com and news services Four prisoners, including a man convicted of double murder, escaped from a central Kansas jail before dawn on Wednesday, authorities said. One was quickly apprehended, and another was caught at 5:30 p.m. The other two, including the convicted murderer, remain at large, the Kansas City Star reported. The men, described as "armed and dangerous," escaped from the Ottawa County Jail, where they were being kept as prisoners of the Kansas Department of Corrections, said Jeremy Barclay, department spokesman. The two men who remain at large are Santos M. Carrera-Morales, 22, who was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, and Eric Jerome James, 22, who was convicted of kidnapping in commission of a crime, three charges of aggravated burglary and criminal damage to property, the Kansas City Star reported. Drew Edward Wade, 21, convicted of aggravated battery and attempted robbery, was caught early Wednesday evening.
The inmates had been transferred to the jail because of overcrowding at the state prison, The Associated Press reported.  Kansas Department Of Corrections / AP Eric James, 22, Santos Carrera-Morales, 22, and Drew Wade, 21, three of four people who broke out of the Ottawa County Jail in Minneapolis, Kan. on Wednesday morning. Wade was caught; Carrera-Morales and James remain at large. A fourth inmate was captured soon after the escape. Barclay said details of the escape were being investigated and that no staff were seriously hurt in the incident. The inmates overpowered guards with homemade knives after complaining about a broken water pipe in their cell. North Ottawa County schools superintendent Larry Combs called off classes Wednesday out of an abundance of caution, according to The Associated Press. "We're a small town," Combs said. "The kids in the country would probably be fine, but if the escapees were on the streets and we have 300 kids who walk to school on a nice spring day, I felt it was in the best interest of the kids to keep them out of schools today so they're not a target. "This was one of those decisions that's not on the books," he added. "We have crisis plans for almost all situations, but a jailbreak is not on that list." The public should contact the Department of Corrections with any sightings or other information on the three men. They may be in a multiple-colored Nissan automobile, Barclay said. Anyone with information on the escapees are asked to call authorities at 1-800-572-7463![]( "Call: 1-800-572-7463") or 785-472-5501![]( "Call: 785-472-5501") . More content from msnbc.com and NBC News: Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook | |
