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Paula Zahn Now
Military Families Now Able to Mourn in Peace?; Pentagon Investigates Alleged U.S. Military Atrocities
Aired June 02, 2006 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And good evening, everybody. Appreciate you're being with us tonight.
We begin with breaking news out of Indianapolis right now. You can watch this live shot with us, SWAT teams searching for one or more mass murder suspects. The police have just swarmed inside a house. This could end up being the climax of a manhunt that has been going on all day long, ever since the grisly discovery that seven members of an extended family had been shot to death.
The seven victims covered three generations, including three children, ages 5, 8, and 11, all found in the same bed. All of the victims were shot with assault rifles. Police say it was a home invasion. It may have been a robbery attempt that went awry.
Now, the first call of shots fired came in last night at about 10:30. Authorities have been searching all day for a 28-year-old man, a man called Desmond Turner, and other suspects in connection with the killings.
Jonathan Freed has the very latest details from Indianapolis.
Do really think they really have their man inside that home?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Paula.
That's exactly what police are telling me is the case right now. I'm standing in front of the home -- to make this clear -- in front of the home where those seven murders happened less than 24 hours ago.
And off to my right, Paula, approximately a mile or so from where we're standing, I can see helicopters hovering. And we have been hearing the noise coming from them for quite a while.
I spoke to Indianapolis police. And they say that SWAT teams had been surrounding this house for about an hour or so, and they were confident that Desmond Turner, the 28-year-old, the only suspect actually named by police involved in this case, was inside. Police told me that, approximately two hours ago, Paula, that they arrested a person they described as his accomplice, also, they said, within about two miles or so of where we are standing, where the murders happened yesterday, as well.
During the day, Paula, there was some question as to how many suspects might be at large. We knew about Desmond Turner. We knew the police considered him dangerous and presumed that he was armed. We knew that at least one, or possibly two, other people, Paula, were out here, possibly still in the community, police believed.
Tonight, they say that the accomplice and Turner, if they say he is indeed in the house -- and, again, they were confident that he is -- they believe that that would be it, that they would have the two suspects that they're looking for -- Paula.
ZAHN: This is being called the largest mass murder in Indianapolis for -- in 25 years. Give us a sense of how it's impacted the neighborhood, as people watch this SWAT action go down.
FREED: We, unfortunately, have to cover a lot of these things. And I have a chance to come to various neighborhoods in the immediate aftermath of these kinds of events and crimes.
And you definitely get the sense and the vibe from this community that this is not something that they're used to dealing with. People here were clearly very shaken up. Very often, when that's not the case, you get that sense, Paula, that people are amused by the presence of the media, coming up and wanting to talk to you, wanting to get on camera.
That wasn't going on here. It was a very respectful distance that people were keeping. The media had to approach them. And the one thing that was consistent in the people that we spoke to, Paula, is that the people who owned this house behind me were very well- regarded. They were described as pleasant and hardworking -- Paula.
ZAHN: Well, Jonathan, we will be coming back to you, because we had been watching some of the live pictures of that action taking place about a mile-and-a-half from you. And it's pretty staggering to watch, as we saw dozens of police officers enter that home where they think Desmond Turner is now holed up.
Please keep us posted on what's going down there at the scene. Appreciate it, Jonathan.
FREED: Thanks.
ZAHN: We have reached the end of a very troubling week for the U.S. military just a few days ago. We started this hour by talking about one set of allegations that U.S. troops had intentionally killed unarmed Iraqi civilians. Tonight, that list has grown. We know of at least four separate incidents.
There's a real possibility that, in the coming days, we could see murder and cover-up charges being filed against some members of the U.S. military. It has put the behavior of all U.S. forces under a very severe microscope. So, in this hour, we're not only going to look at the facts and the fallout. We will also be sharing stories about the undisputed heroism and sacrifice of America's men and women in uniform.
First, though, just hours ago, the Pentagon cleared U.S. forces of any misconduct in one of the four incidents under investigation. It took place last March in Ishaqi, a town just north of Baghdad. Allegations surfaced that 11 civilians died in a U.S. raid. But investigators tell CNN the troops were cleared because they followed proper procedures when they came under fire, and the death toll was actually four, an insurgent and three civilians.
Now, three others remain under investigation. In Haditha, U.S. Marines allegedly massacred some two dozen Iraqi civilians after their convoy was bombed last November. The Marines are also accused of covering up what happened.
Now, a third investigation involves a civilian's death last April in Hamandiyah. Allegedly, a shovel and weapon were planted on his body to make him look like an insurgent. Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman are now in the brig at California's Camp Pendleton and may be charged with murder.
And the fourth just last Tuesday in Samarra -- reports say U.S. soldiers shot and killed two women at a checkpoint. One of those women was pregnant.
Now, in a moment, we're going to hear from a Marine captain who says he unfairly lost his job because of what went down in Haditha.
But, right now, I want to go to senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre, who has been busy keeping up with all of these investigations -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, the Pentagon says you can scratch one of those incidents off your list, because it moved quickly today to refute charges that the U.S. forces killed 11 civilians in the northern -- the town north of Baghdad known as Ishaqi.
The military says that investigation had been investigated -- that incident, rather, had been investigated originally when local Iraqis complained that civilians had be shot. There was a full investigation of the incident then. The charges were revived yesterday, when the BBC aired some videotape it got from a Sunni group, which claimed it contradicted the official U.S. military account.
Today, Pentagon officials scrambled to go back over that investigation. And, today, military commanders announced that they're satisfied that there's nothing more to investigate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, U.S. ARMY: The investigating officer concluded that possibly up to nine collateral deaths resulted from this engagement, but could not determine the precise number, due to the collapsed walls and heavy debris.
Allegations that the troops executed a family living in this safe house and then hid the alleged crimes by directing an airstrike are absolutely false.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MCINTYRE: The commanders say that the military investigation found that U.S. special forces that conducted this raid used an appropriation escalation of force against a legitimate target that was -- from which they were drawing hostile fire. Again, they say that they have closed this case and there's no evidence to suggest wrongdoing on the part of U.S. troops.
Meanwhile, in the ongoing investigation of a possible massacre in Haditha, Iraq, Pentagon sources now say charges in that case may still be weeks away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice-over): Pentagon sources familiar with the investigation say the criminal probe into whether a small number of Marines killed two dozen civilians in Haditha last November may take another six to eight weeks. One official tells CNN, investigators are still interviewing witnesses and are trying to get the families of the victims to allow them to exhume the bodies of some victims to collect more forensic evidence.
Meanwhile, legal sources tell CNN that a number of the members of Kilo Company, the Marine unit believed to have carried out the killings, are in the process of retaining attorneys, including the staff sergeant who was the most senior member of the squad.
CNN has now talked to the Marine officer who paid $38,000 in compensation to families of 15 victims. And while he wouldn't discuss the payments or the alleged massacre, he does say, when he worked with that same unit, their work was first rate.
MAJOR DANA HYATT, U.S. MARINE CORPS: They were good guys. I mean, they -- they did a great job. They -- like I said, I mean, you got these young kids, 18-, 19-, 20-year-old kids, doing things that kids back here that same age would -- would never even dream of doing.
GENERAL MICHAEL HAGEE, COMMANDANT, U.S. MARINE CORPS: ... highest sense of personal integrity.
MCINTYRE: Marine Corps Commandant General Michael Hagee is just back from Iraq, where he met personally with Marines to stress core values. And commanders across Iraq are underscoring that the stress of battle does not excuse murder.
BRIGADIER GENERAL DONALD CAMPBELL, MULTINATIONAL CORPS-IRAQ: While we understand the stresses and pressures inherent in combat operations, we cannot and will not accept behavior that is legally, morally or ethically questionable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: And, Paula, here's the bottom line from U.S. commanders.
They say they investigate all of these charges of improper activity thoroughly and, where warranted, they hold U.S. troops accountable -- Paula.
ZAHN: Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much for the update.
Now I want to turn to a Marine who was serving just five miles from Haditha during the alleged massacre. He wasn't there. He wasn't in charge of those Marines. But he says, this week, he was relieved of command because of all the uproar over those killings.
He's Captain James Kimber. And he joins me now with his attorney, Paul Hackett.
Thank you both for joining us tonight.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: So, Captain Kimber, in the news release from the U.S. Marine Corps, it says that you basically were demoted because of lack of confidence in your leadership abilities.
CAPTAIN JAMES KIMBER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: No, that's...
ZAHN: but you think that's a code word for something else. Why do you think you were demoted?
KIMBER: Well, it goes into an investigation that was conducted on the company, Paula, from a -- a Raider Nation video shot by Sky News, who was embedded with us for three weeks.
That's -- that's where the investigation stems from. And that's where the allegations of confidence, lack of confidence, come from.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: And, basically, two guys under your command spoke to this Sky TV crew. And one was highly critical of the war?
PAUL HACKETT, ATTORNEY FOR CAPTAIN JAMES KIMBER: Well, Paula, actually, the -- the -- the video depicts a Marine who was critical of the -- the competence level of the Iraqi security forces.
And it's important to stress that Captain Kimber's Marines were not in Haditha. He was not in Haditha. It wasn't his area of responsibility when he was the company commander of India Company. And keep in mind that they Marines that are being investigated in relationship to the November 19 events are Kilo Company Marines. They're in the same battalion, but Captain Kimber and his Marines are some five miles away, and played no role, either in the -- the IED, in the aftermath, or in the investigation that followed.
ZAHN: All right. But what you're alleging is, then, this was a convenient way to -- to demote him at the same time that two of these other...
HACKETT: Sure.
(CROSSTALK) ZAHN: ... commanders were -- were demoted because of what happened at Haditha.
Captain Kimber, I want to ask you this. Today, the deputy commander general of U.S. troops in Iraq said that 99.9 percent of the troops get it right. But he conceded that stress, fear, isolation and seeing, in his words, buddies blown up in front of your face could cause Marines to snap.
KIMBER: Well, I agree. And I actually...
ZAHN: Do you -- you agree with that.
KIMBER: I actually used that same -- I actually used that same percentage today earlier talking with somebody.
The point is, is that 99.9 percent of the Marines out there are professionals, and they have seen this stuff a million times. They have gone through the stresses. They have -- they have dealt with being away from their loved ones. And, in my observation of the Marines, not only from my company, India 31, but also Kilo Company and Lima Company 31, you know, they performed to the best of their ability, and their performance over there and the way that we left those three cities speaks for itself.
ZAHN: But, Captain Kimber...
HACKETT: And, keep in mind, we all -- we all agree that, if any Marines crossed the line and committed intentional killings of unarmed civilians, non-combatants, we, as Marines, we want to see those Marines punished, because they have not lived up to our standards of professionalism.
ZAHN: All right.
HACKETT: And the Marine Corps will get to the bottom of that.
And, you know, the best thing we can do is to back off some of the speculation and the rhetoric and let that process unfold.
ZAHN: All right.
But, Captain Kimber, we know that Marines are known for being a very tight band of brothers.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: Can you see a Marine getting so outraged by seeing one of his comrades get killed in front of his eyes that -- that he could snap?
KIMBER: Well, I mean, obviously, that's a stress that most people aren't familiar with.
But, you know, this -- these -- this group of Marines from 31, they were in Fallujah. For the majority of those Marines, this is their second and third combat tour. I mean, they have seen a lot worse than what's happened, and they have dealt with it before.
And, you know, as leaders, we're trained to look for the stresses, how they affect our men, because it is important. You know, it could happen. But, you know, that's our responsibility, is to identify who's having a hard time and really, you know, set -- you know, pay some attention to that Marine, and -- and maybe put him down for a little bit, and let him relax, and, you know, ensure that something doesn't happen like this.
ZAHN: Well, we certainly are going to find out more in the days to come from all these various investigations that are going on.
Captain James Kimber, thank you so much for your time.
Paul Hackett, for yours as well.
HACKETT: Thank you, Paula.
(CROSSTALK)
KIMBER: Thanks, Paula.
ZAHN: Appreciate your being with us.
Right now, we are going to move on to our countdown of the top 10 most popular stories on CNN.com. More than 17 million of you checked out our Web site today.
At number 10, the latest on a story we have been covering, vindication for a Maryland woman whose estranged husband was convicted of setting her on fire after a judge lifted a protective order against him. Today, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Number nine -- Scotland Yard has arrested two men in an anti- terrorism raid on a house in London. Police say one of the men was shot and injured. Authorities say they conducted the raid in response to specific intelligence.
Numbers eight and seven straight ahead, along with some disturbing attempts to disrupt a final tribute to fallen U.S. warriors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): The "Eye Opener" -- at funerals of the war dead, voices of anger and outrageous behavior from a fringe group of protesters. But now, with a new law to silence the disrespect, will the families finally be able to mourn in peace?
And "Beyond the Headlines" -- "The War Tapes," a controversial new movie filmed by soldiers themselves, the war in Iraq as you have never seen it before -- all that and much more just ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ZAHN: And we're back. Here's what's happening at this moment.
A Learjet owned by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson plunged into the waters off Long Island Sound, just short of a landing in Groton, Connecticut, today. Three passengers survived, but the pilot and co-pilot were killed. The passengers were believed to be headed to a charity golf tournament at a nearby gambling casino. Robertson was not on that plane.
Nissan has ordered its dealers to stop selling some 2006 Altima and Sentra models after more than a dozen reports of engine fires and one minor injury. The models involved have four-cylinder engines.
And a judge has limited the range of classified documents requested by the vice president's former chief of staff, Lewis Libby. Libby faces charges of lying to FBI investigators who were investigating the leak of a CIA agent's name to reporters.
We're devoting much of this hour to the inflammatory allegations that U.S. forces have intentionally killed Iraqi civilians. Now, over the past few days, President Bush and his top generals have repeatedly insisted that nothing less than the highest standards of conduct will be tolerated from our nation's men and women in uniform.
But, as we speak, there is real anxiety at Camp Pendleton, where some Marines and a sailor could soon face murder charges.
Our Ted Rowlands has been talking with people out there, and just filed this report for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven Marines and a Navy sailor are being held in solitary confinement at this military prison at Camp Pendleton, waiting to hear their fate.
According to a source familiar with the investigation, the Marines and sailor face possible charges, including murder, stemming from the April 26 death of an Iraqi civilian, shot in Hamandiyah, a town west of Baghdad. The seven Marines and sailor are accused, according to the source, of killing the Iraqi civilian, then covering up the crime.
Jeremiah Sullivan is a San Diego defense attorney representing the sailor. He wouldn't comment about the case on camera to CNN, but confirmed that his client and the seven Marines are being held in a military prison, while they wait for the expected charges.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And, as the wait continues, Marines here at Camp Pendleton have to endure the negative publicity of not only this case, but the Haditha case. Those Marines are also on base here at Pendleton. And this is a base that has been through a lot, Paula, during this war.
They have made significant contributions towards the war and made significant sacrifices as well.
ZAHN: They also, Ted, have to endure being held in prison as this investigation continues. And the suspects in the Haditha alleged massacre are not. Why are they being held in the brig there?
ROWLANDS: Well, it's an interesting question. The Marine Corps is not commenting on the specifics or exactly why. But one could conjecture one of two things.
Either they're a flight risk, or probably the case is that, although the Haditha case happened earlier, the investigation in Haditha is relatively early. In this case, it seems as though they have more evidence, and that evidence may be the reason why these soldiers, why these troops, are being held in confinement until the charges can be handed down.
ZAHN: Appreciate the late report. Ted Rowlands, thanks.
Polls as of late have showed that the Iraq war is getting more and more unpopular with the U.S. public, but you're not going to believe what some demonstrators are now doing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a curse when your children come home dead from the battle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Coming up, why are these people still showing up at soldiers' funerals? And can anything, including a law, make them stop in?
Before that, number eight on our CNN.com countdown -- President Bush plans to make a major push on Monday in favor of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the measure on Tuesday. It's not expected to pass there.
Number seven, in Arizona, hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire that has been burning near Sedona since late yesterday. About 30 homes have been evacuated. So, far, five buildings have been destroyed.
Stay with us -- six and five on our list still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: We have talked a lot tonight about the allegations that Americans have committed atrocities against Iraqi civilians. But we don't want to overlook the vast majority of Americans in Iraq who are serving honorably, as well as those who have died for this country, seven of them just this week.
If their families are fortunate, when they bury their loved ones, they will not face what a lot of us would call an atrocity, or at least an outrage, protesters at their loved one's funeral. This is a story we broke back in the winter. It is still going on now.
And Keith Oppenheim witnessed one protest in Illinois today. And it is tonight's "Eye Opener."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As she was preparing to bury her eldest son, Marcy Gorsline described the young man with a smile.
MARCY GORSLINE, MOTHER OF KILLED U.S. SOLDIER: Caleb was a boy, a man, a soldier who had a big heart.
OPPENHEIM: Private 1st Class Caleb Lufkin died May 25 from injuries he sustained in Iraq. In his hometown of Galesburg, Illinois, his funeral Friday morning was a scene of sharp contrasts.
On one side of the street, a large contingent stood ground, waving flags, to shield the family from what was on the other side of the street. Well down the block, a small group of protesters held signs and sang this.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS (singing): First to fight for the fags. Now you're coming home in bags. And the Army goes marching to hell.
OPPENHEIM: Officially, they're known as the Westboro Baptist Church, a group from Topeka, Kansas, that believes America is doomed, punished by God for what they say are sins, such as homosexuality and adultery. Dead soldiers, they say, are evidence of the lord's wrath.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a curse when your children come home dead from the battle.
OPPENHEIM: If the faces seem familiar, that's because all the protesters are related, all members of the Phelps family, a family that's made its mission to protest at the funerals of U.S. military wherever they can.
(on camera): They say it's in the name of their religious beliefs.
GORSLINE: Then save it. It's not mine. And how dare they interfere with our grieving?
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Shirley Phelps, daughter of the founder of the church, told me, most of the protesters in this group of 13 were her own children.
(on camera): I'm sure that if a -- one of your children passed away, that I could find a legal right to protest at your funeral...
SHIRLEY PHELPS, WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH: Absolutely.
OPPENHEIM: ... and put up signs that might be offensive to you.
PHELPS: First of all... OPPENHEIM: Wouldn't that -- wouldn't that make you feel awful?
PHELPS: First of all, I would be greatly disappointed if you didn't.
Secondly, if one of my children turned up dead, I would know that I had personal responsibility in that child's death. The last thing in this world I would care about is someone outside with a sign. I would have one agenda at that hour, make peace with the lord, my God, the one who killed the child.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): For the record, what killed Caleb Lufkin was a powerful fragmenting bomb that hit his vehicle on May 4.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Said, please don't let me die.
OPPENHEIM: In a coincidence, a CNN photographer was shooting a story at the military's E.R. in Baghdad just as Private Lufkin was brought in. Caleb Lufkin survived three weeks, and was transferred to Washington, D.C., for more surgery.
GORSLINE: When they went to take him in, I said, "I love you."
And he said, "I love you, too."
And then they said that, when they went to move his leg to put in a plate up his thigh, he went into cardiac arrest.
OPPENHEIM: Outside the church, Caleb Lufkin's surviving family was sheltered from the protesters. About 200 members of a motorcycle group called the Patriot Guard Riders showed up to block the Lufkin family from the Phelps family. Other residents joined in.
KIM GAINES, OPPOSED TO WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH: The passing of a loved one is traumatic enough as it is. And to have somebody protest, you know, in the name of God, that's -- that's disgusting to me.
OPPENHEIM: Also, a new law in Illinois, passed largely because of the Phelps family, requires protesters at funerals to stand at least 200 feet away.
PHELPS: I don't care about this 200-foot distance, because you see that we are much closer here than we have been at a lot of funerals.
OPPENHEIM: But to be sure, this is a story that will be repeated.
PHELPS: We got to be in Minnesota tomorrow.
OPPENHEIM: After the protest, Shirley Phelps and her family hit the road to do it all over again at another military funeral. As the Phelps were on their way, the body of Caleb Lufkin was brought to a cemetery and laid to rest.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Galesburg, Illinois. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Can't imagine what it's like for that family to have gone through that.
Illinois doesn't happen to be the only state trying to ban demonstrations at funerals. Twenty states have or are considering bans. And, on Monday, President Bush signed a bill designed to keep protesters from disrupting military funerals at national cemeteries.
Our special look at U.S. forces in Iraq continues in just a minute with a soldier whose story has been mostly overlooked this week. He was killed when CBS reporter Kimberly Dozier was critically wounded, and two members of her crew died. What does his family want all of us to remember about him?
And then some of the most remarkable pictures you have ever seen from Iraq -- how did cameras get so close to the action? We will show you a little bit later on.
First, number six on the CNN.com countdown -- California National Guard officials say their troops can be ready to begin patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border by mid-July, now that Governor Schwarzenegger has agreed to take part in the White House's plan to boost border security.
Number five -- director Michael Moore is facing a lawsuit from an Iraq war vet who appeared in the movie "Fahrenheit 9/11." Sergeant Peter Damon says his views on the war were misrepresented and that NBC News clips featuring an interview with him were used without permission -- number four straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Here's what's happening at this moment -- breaking news out of Indianapolis. Police have cornered a man they believe is the main suspect in the brutal murder mass murder of a family of seven. Their bodies were found in a house last night. Now, police have asked us not to broadcast pictures of the standoff, which is going on right now, more than two dozen police, I guess, on the scene. Another suspect is reported to already be under arrest. He is considered a secondary suspect.
Democrats may officially call for a drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq beginning this year. According to the Associated Press, a prerecorded response to the president's Saturday radio address calls for a significant transition to begin.
And our "Crude Awakenings," a daily look at gas prices all over the country -- the states with today's highest prices are in red, the lowest in green. I always like it when the green outnumbers the red there. The average today for unleaded regular, $2.86, for the third day in a row. And our graph shows the trend over the last month or so.
Now, we don't want the news this week questioning the conduct of Americans in Iraq to overshadow the sacrifice and service of the majority of them. And, as I mentioned a little bit earlier on, seven Americans died in Iraq this week.
Now a story about one of them -- he was the American soldier killed in the car bombing that wounded CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier, who is still in critical condition and will be flown to the U.S. on Sunday. He was an Army captain.
And, tonight, Carol Costello shows us what his family is going through this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER, HUSBAND KILLED IN IRAQ: It's not something that I ever thought would happen, but it did. It did. And it's the worst thing imaginable.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The worst thing imaginable. It's happened so many times. This time, it's the family of Army Captain James Funkhouser Jr. mourning a loss.
JAMES FUNKHOUSER SR., SON KILLED IN IRAQ: Even knowing that he died doing what he loved to do and what he wanted to do, it -- it doesn't -- it doesn't take away the pain.
COSTELLO: On Monday, the 35-year-old Army captain was securing a location in Baghdad just across the river from the Green Zone -- with them, a CBS news crew. Then it happened. A car bomb exploded. The blast killed Funkhouser, his Iraqi interpreter and two members of the CBS news crew.
Back home in Killeen, Texas, Funkhouser's wife, Jennifer, got the news, in the kind of scene played out more than 2,000 times over the past three years.
JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: I had two Army officers come to my front door, and I thought , it was a Memorial Day, they were handing out pamphlets, passing out information about soldiers.
I opened the door, and I took one look at the major who was there, and you could tell his eyes were red, and he was trembling. It was hard for him to even speak. And I knew -- I just said, I just talked to him yesterday.
COSTELLO: Funkhouser had been in Iraq since December. His wife and family called him Alex. He was the father of two young girls, and the couple had just celebrated their sixth anniversary.
JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: He always thought about me. He would write me all the time. This is Valentine's Day. And we just had our wedding anniversary a little over a week ago, and he sent me flowers. And I haven't been able to throw them away yet, a T-shirt I was going to send to him for Father's Day, big Texas man, a little Texas humor.
COSTELLO: Funkhouser was third-generation military. His father and grandfather before him, James Sr., spent 31 years in the service. JAMES FUNKHOUSER: When you lose a child, it's always painful. And, when you lose your only child, it is especially painful.
JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: I just want his name out there, you know? he was -- he was wonderful. He was a great soldier, a great guy, a great father, a great husband.
COSTELLO: But the attention given to tragedy involving the CBS news crew and her husband is somehow bittersweet, because so many others die in relative anonymity.
JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: All of these soldiers that are injured -- my husband had a lot of soldiers that were injured with him -- they all have names. They all have stories. They're people. They're not just a soldier. They -- they have a life. They have a family, a family that mourns them, a family that hurts. Everyone needs to know.
COSTELLO: Jennifer says her husband was proud of what he was doing in Iraq, and now she will carry on.
JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: I'm a strong Army wife. My husband trained me to be one. I knew that I was marrying a soldier for life and death. This is -- this is part of it.
Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And Captain James Funkhouser Jr. will, of course, be buried with full military honors.
You're about to see the Iraq war through our soldiers' eyes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE WAR TAPES")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED) I dare you to shoot just once.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: How did cameras get this close? The soldiers themselves did the picture-taking. And I will be talking with some of the people behind this incredible new film.
First, though, number four on our CNN.com countdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHARINE CLOSE, NATIONAL SPELLING BEE WINNER: Ursprache. U-R- S-P-R-A-C-H-E. Ursprache.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is correct.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: (SPEAKING GERMAN) Katharine.
That was New Jersey eighth grader Katharine Close, winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee last night. She's the first girl to take the top prize in seven years. Go, girl, go.
In case you were wondering, ursprache means a parent language.
Number three is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Welcome back.
The Haditha killings have put a spotlight on the tension American, U.S. troops feel every day in Iraq. And a powerful new documentary puts those dangers into clear focus. "The War Tapes" project put cameras in the hands of U.S. troops in the field. Over the course of a year, they took their own pictures, told their own stories, and helped create a film that shows the reality of Iraq and takes us "Beyond the Headlines" tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): They were National Guardsmen sent to Iraq. For many, it was their first encounter with real combat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Iraq, gentlemen.
ZAHN: Zack Bazzi was one of the soldiers who took video cameras. Stephen Pink was another. In all, they shot more than 1,000 hours of footage, providing a raw, close-up look at the war.
Nothing prepared them for what they were about to see and do.
(on camera): Describe to us what it's like to find yourself in that kind of situation, Zack.
SERGEANT ZACK BAZZI, U.S. ARMY: It's like the lottery, except you don't want to win. Sometimes, your patrols would go on for 15, 20 hours at a time. And you have to stay sharp and focussed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE WAR TAPES")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) from the left side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Keep going, brother. You want to play?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN (voice-over): Facing insurgent attacks on a daily basis, they say one of the hardest things was recognizing who exactly they were fighting against. SERGEANT STEPHEN PINK, U.S. ARMY: In war, you would love to be able to know where the enemy is or -- or what they're doing and how you can -- you know, how you can go find them and -- and take care of business. But a lot of times, just the tactics they use, in knowing the terrain and -- and the culture, obviously, better than we do, that it makes our mission that much more difficult.
ZAHN (on camera): Did you at any point have to look at all Iraqis as the potential enemy?
PINK: Sure. I mean, it's -- it's very difficult, especially, say, you know, a farmer at 4:00 in the morning that taking his truck out maybe to get crops. And, you know, you don't know if that truck has explosives in the back or if it's got, you know, crops.
ZAHN (voice-over): With their experience, they reflect on what could have happened in Haditha, where Marines are suspected of killing innocent Iraqis.
PINK: I obviously wasn't there, can't justify or explain how any of that happened. But I'm sure there's a possibility that the frustrations just overwhelmed this person and -- and -- if it did happen.
BAZZI: I think there's a lot of anger and rage involved in the moment that it happened. If I had to get in their mind, I would think it was a reflex action, where they just reacted without thinking, and probably some certain level of dehumanization.
ZAHN: For these National Guardsmen, even between attacks, and sometimes during, the camera was always there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE WAR TAPES")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAZZI: Some days were extremely long, 20 hour days, sometimes, stuck in a Humvee with a lot of body armor on, very cramped. And it's -- I guess it's a ripe environment to be cynical.
PINK: We did question sometimes, you know, why we were keeping watch over a disabled truck that was full of office furniture. Your beliefs and your actions are two different things and can be completely separated while you're at war.
ZAHN: You might be surprised what American Lebanese Bazzi had to say about the insurgents he faced.
(on camera): You actually, I think, said you had an understanding of what motivated these insurgents. And perhaps, while not having empathy for that motive, you understood what they were trying to accomplish.
BAZZI: I don't think insurgents just get up in the morning and say, well, I hate their freedom. There's obviously -- there's obviously something that motivates them. And one can explain it in various ways. I think, you know, part of it, you know, they don't want us there, and they're fighting for their values. And we are fighting for ours.
ZAHN: What is the worst thing you were exposed to in Iraq?
BAZZI: You see maybe kids crying or having this look of horror on their face because of what just happened. And, you know, you can talk politics all day long, but a kid is innocent. It just reinforces that war is just a nasty business.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: "The War Tapes" has just gone into limited release here in New York. And over the next few weeks, it will be in theaters in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Moving up on the top of the hour. You know that -- what that means. "LARRY KING LIVE" is coming your way.
Hi, Larry.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Hi, Paula, dear.
We have got quite a show tonight dealing with Haditha and what might have happened at Haditha. We will have journalists, congressmen, soldiers, former soldiers. We will also meet the new Iraqi ambassador to the United States -- all that at the top of the hour, following Paula Zahn, right here on CNN, your most trusted name in news.
Did I read that right?
ZAHN: Are you reading that, or are you saying that from your heart, Larry?
KING: From my heart.
ZAHN: I know. I -- I know that, too. And -- and we have the best political team on TV, too, don't we?
KING: Oh, that's right. I forgot to say that.
ZAHN: All right. Thanks, Larry. See you at 9:00.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: Lots of important stuff to cover at the top of the hour.
And we will continue our coverage as well here. We are going to take a quick business break right now, though -- a lackluster end to the week on Wall Street. The Dow lost 12 points. The Nasdaq was almost unchanged. The S&P bucked the trend, gaining just about two points. Employers hired fewer new workers than expected in May, 75,000, compared to 126,000 a month before. Now, that could ease the pressure to -- on the Fed, that is, to raise interest rates once again.
And sources tell CNN that the names and credit card numbers of 243,000 customers of Hotels.com were on a laptop computer stolen back in February. The company's auditor says the computer was password- protected. We hope so.
We are -- admittedly been dealing with some pretty heavy subjects and important subjects this hour. So, in a minute, we are going to take you down memory lane, on the lighter things of things. Will "The Break-Up" be the start of something that lasts? And what has happened to other co-stars who got romantic on screen and off screen as well?
First, at number three on our countdown -- Anna Nicole Smith puts an end to all the rumors by confirming, yes, she is pregnant. Well, we reported that months ago. Smith already has a 20-year-old son. Recently, she's been feuding with the son of her late billionaire husband about her right to receive any part of the multi-multi-multi- million dollar estate -- number two on our list when we come back.
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ZAHN: All right. It's late in the show. How about a little Friday night brain candy.
Have you heard about Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn? No, not their new movie, "The Break-Up," which is getting some pretty poor reviews in some circles. I'm talking about their reported relationship, following a long Hollywood tradition of co-stars hooking up.
Here is entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas.
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SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Taylor and Burton in "Cleopatra," to Robins and Sarandon in "Bull Durham," to Pitt and Jolie in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," to Jennifer Aniston and her reported new beau, Vince Vaughn, in "The Break-Up," it's as old as Hollywood itself, stars taking a cue from their scripts and brining the love home.
Actress Virginia Madsen, who admits she's also fallen in love on set, but won't say to who, says it's only natural.
VIRGINIA MADSEN, ACTRESS: You live together. You party together. You -- you wake up horrible hours together, so you kind of -- you have a relationship. And people get naughty when they're away from home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "MR. AND MRS. SMITH")
BRAD PITT, ACTOR: It's all John, sweetheart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Long hours away from home, steamy love scenes, and exotic locations can, understandably, create a surefire recipe for love, or something like it.
DR. ROBERT HOFFMAN, PSYCHIATRIST: It's hard to imagine an environment that would be more conducive to falling in love, because it is in the interest of the actors to get in touch with their feelings of chemistry and their passion.
VARGAS: Psychiatrist Dr. Robert Hoffman, whose patients include many in the entertainment industry, says looks are a key component making the temptation even greater.
HOFFMAN: And I think when they choose people who tend to be very attractive, which is why they get chosen, they have a higher likelihood of choosing people who may, in fact, feel chemistry for each other.
VARGAS: And for some stars, it's simply a matter of shared life experiences.
MIKE FLEEMAN, "PEOPLE": Who can relate to what Jennifer Aniston goes through? Somebody at the grocery store? Somebody at the insurance office? No, they have no idea what the world of Jennifer Aniston is like. The closest you could come to is somebody like Vince Vaughn.
VARGAS: "People" magazine's Mike Fleeman says this decades-old Hollywood phenomenon can also be good for business.
FLEEMAN: Most producers basically like any sort of free advertising. The problem is if the relationship is more interesting than the movie. And that's what happened with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in "Gigli."
VARGAS: That wasn't the case with Brad and Angelina's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," which made a killing at the box office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "MR. AND MRS. SMITH")
ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: Who's your daddy now?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Now time will only tell if Jen and Vince's reported off- screen romance will translate to magic in theaters. And while magic felt on a movie set might spark a relationship, like in real life, there are no guarantees the love will last.
MADSEN: When you go back to your real life, you're never going to be in that relationship. So, it's incredibly difficult to continue a romantic relationship, which was totally, solely romantic.
VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: All right. We got a little addendum here for you.
Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz, who met on the set of "Sahara," as you saw a little bit earlier on in that piece, are the latest Hollywood couple to call it quits. That's according to Cruz's publicist.
On to number two in our CNN.com countdown -- our breaking story from Indianapolis, the search for an ex-con and his possible accomplices in connection with the execution-style slayings of seven members of one family.
Police have now surrounded a house where they think the main suspect may be hiding. They have asked CNN now not to show any of the pictures of the standoff at this hour.
We will be right back.
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ZAHN: And they're back, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, for another season of "The Simple Life."
And we will be back Monday night.
Have a great weekend, everybody. Thanks for joining us tonight. Good night.
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