President Bush on Monday presented the nation's highest military award to a 19-year-old soldier who died saving the lives of four comrades in Iraq by jumping on a grenade tossed into their military vehicle. ...more

June 3, 2008

Memorial Day is for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have given their lives for their country and lie in cemeteries around the globe or in some unmarked, forgotten places. ...more

May 26, 2008

SEBRING — When Army Sgt. First Class Judy Puffenbarger went to Iraq, a photo of her taken when her unit was being deployed to the war was sent to her hometown in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Everybody who saw it broke out in laughter. Puffenbarger's blonde hair has grown back, but the day before she left for the war zone she shaved her head. "I did it on a bet, a bet I lost," the 49-year-old Avon Park resident said at the Veterans Administration Community Based Outpatient Clinic, where she works as a receptionist. Puffenbarger, whose father was a World War II Army veteran who lost one of his legs in the battle of Okinawa, bet members of her squad that they would not be deployed to the Iraq war. She offered to shave her head if the order came down for her 33-person unit to ship out to the war. ...more

May 25, 2008

Do soldiers have ice cream in Iraq? ...more

May 19, 2008

SEBRING — Savanna Weirick hasn't stopped smiling since this afternoon when she leapt into the arms of her mommy and daddy who came all the way from Iraq to pick her up from day care. Army Sgt. John and Army Spc. Kairee Weirick said the 18 hours on the plane and a couple of hours in a car were definitely worth the chance to be with their 3-year-old daughter. ...more

May 2, 2008

The fifth annual Black Heritage Festival paid tribute to the family of a fallen soldier. ...more

February 23, 2008

The year was a busy one for Plant City. It was a year of losses and triumphs, of celebration and sacrifice. ...more

December 29, 2007

The call for names goes out while schools are being built. Teachers, students, community members and retired district administrators flood the Hillsborough County school board with suggestions of celebrities, local standouts, place descriptions and, occasionally, concepts. ...more

November 17, 2007

The call for names goes out while schools are being built. Teachers, students, community members and retired district administrators flood the Hillsborough County School Board with suggestions. ...more

November 17, 2007

The 22nd annual veterans appreciation ceremony at a local funeral home attracted a full house. ...more

November 17, 2007