Soldiers killed in combat return to U.S.

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) - The remains of six soldiers killed in Afghanistan are back on U.S. soil.

About 50 family members watched at Dover Air Force Base as a half dozen flag-draped transfer cases were removed from a military plane Tuesday morning. The quiet ceremony was punctuated only by the sound of a crying child.

Twenty-two year old Army Pfc. Kevin Thomson of Reno was among those who died in combat Saturday.

Thomson joined the military in April 2008. He was serving with the 4th Infantry Division, headquartered in Fort Carson, Colo.

Thomson attended Wooster High School as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Academy for Career Education, a charter high school.

The other soldiers were identified as Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk of South Portland, Maine; Spec. Michael P. Scusa of Villas, N.J.; Spec. Christopher T. Griffin of Kincheloe, Mich.; Sgt. Vernon W. Martin, of Savannah, Ga.; and Spec. Stephen L. Mace of Lovettsville, Va.