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Two Mothers Remember Sons Lost in Iraq

The death toll for U.S. troops in Iraq has now reached 2,000. For two women, that sacrifice is painfully immediate.

Gena Courtney's son, Marine Sgt. Kelley Courtney of Georgia, was killed in Iraq Oct. 30, 2004, when a suicide bomber struck a U.S. convoy outside of Fallujah. That same attack killed Marine Lance Cpl. John Byrd II of West Virginia.

Byrd's mother, Nan, and Gena Courtney describe to Steve Inskeep the experience of their families' losses.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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