Nobles and knaves

Nobles: The Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division, for a year of distinguished service in Iraq.

The flags are flying in Fort Campbell, Ky. The lines at the local steakhouses are probably longer than they’ve been in a year, but no one is complaining. The yellow ribbons are coming down. The troops are coming home. After a long tour overseas, which was as hard on them as it was on their loved ones, the soldiers of the 101st Division began returning to America this week. Although all 20,000 soldiers from the unit are expected to be back by April, 57 Screaming Eagles won’t return. They were killed in action.

The 101st deployed to Kuwait in February and joined the invasion on March 22. Its capture of Baghdad International Airport capped a drive that included the liberation of Najaf, Hillah and Karbala. In April, it was sent to northern Iraq, where troops have faced numerous guerrilla attacks.

The division has a long history of facing fire. When it was activated in World War II, its first commander, Major Gen. William Lee, said that it “has a rendezvous with destiny.” The 101st played a critical role in several bloody fights, including the invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. Seventeen soldiers from the 101st won the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War. During Desert Storm, the 101st served as the blocking force for the main invasion and took thousands of Iraqi soldiers prisoner.

This year-long tour has added honor to the division’s proud tradition. For a year of service and sacrifice in the sands of Iraq, the Screaming Eagles of the 101st are the nobles of the week.

Knave: Lying lottery loser Elecia Battle.

In any given game of chance, most of the players end up as losers. Yet people play in the hope of hitting the long shot — for the chance to trade in a winning ticket for a carefree lifestyle of luxury.

The players of Ohio’s Mega Millions lottery were facing 134 million-to-1 odds — and a $162 million jackpot. One person won the Dec. 30 drawing: Clevelander Rebecca Jemison.

While Mrs. Jemison was working on her “things not to worry about” list, Mrs. Battle was filing a police report for her allegedly missing winning lottery ticket. She claimed the ticket had been lost when her purse spilled its contents in a local parking lot. The report failed to shake the jackpot loose from lottery officials, who insisted that the rules be followed.

Mrs. Battle’s claim moved Mrs. Jemison to step forward with the winning ticket in hand. So Mrs. Battle sued through entertainment lawyer Sheldon Starke. Suspicions about Mrs. Battle’s veracity surfaced when her history of petty crime and filing frivolous lawsuits became public. Realizing that she had run out of options, Mrs. Battle held a tearful press conference on Thursday, during which she apologized and announced that she was withdrawing her lawsuit.

Yet her crying on camera might not be enough to save her from becoming just one more lottery loser. Police are likely to charge her with filing a false police report, conviction of which could send her to jail for up to six months.

Mrs. Battle could probably use a few months of solitude to reflect on her avarice. For unseemly greed in a game of chance, Mrs. Battle is the knave of the week.