Painfully Slow

Five hours after an AP story named Cpl. Michael Curtin, 21, of Howell, NJ as killed in action during a suicide attack in Iraq, his hometown newspaper still has nothing about his death posted on their web site. The Asbury Park Press, "The Jersey Shore's News Source," doesn't seem too quick on the web with breaking news about a local boy but they do have a nice American flag in their masthead. Hopefully, Cpl. Curtin's death will be page one in tomorrow's print edition.

Cpl. Michael Curtin, 21, Howell, N.J.

Curtin, of the Army's 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, was among four U.S. soldiers killed in the suicide bomber attack on an Army checkpoint north of the Iraqi city of Najaf, an Army spokesman at Fort Monmouth said Sunday.

A taxi stopped close to a roadblock Saturday morning and the driver waved for help. When soldiers from approached the car, it exploded, killing the driver, Curtin and three other soldiers from Curtin's division, Army officials said.

The Army informed Curtin's family of his death Saturday evening. The parents, Michael and Joan Curtin, requested their privacy but released a statement through the fort.

"He was fighting for our freedom, which we should never take for granted. He was a hero in our eyes. Our hearts and prayers go out to the other servicemen who were killed and their families," the statement said.

The Howell High School graduate joined the Army in May 2001 and went through basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., where he also graduated from the Army's paratrooper training school. He was deployed to Kuwait on Jan. 25.

The Star-Ledger of Newark does the AP story up on their site.