State veterans' department to honor Desert Storm soldiers

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The state Department of Veterans' Affairs will honor 14 Illinois soldiers who died in Operation Desert Storm during the first Gulf War nearly a quarter-century ago.

The remembrance ceremony is scheduled for Saturday morning at the Illinois State Military Museum in Springfield. The event is free and open to the public.

A U.S.-led international coalition of 34 countries drove Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces out of Kuwait after a 1991 invasion. The Illinois casualties include military personnel from the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps who were among the 147 Americans to die in combat.