Great Moments in Journalism are frequently submitted by bitter colleagues. Rat out your cubicle-mate here.

Today's Moment is another portrait of an offbeat American from Charlie LeDuff. How offbeat is the current subject? Let's take a look:

When the soldiers from the frozen tundra shipped out for the burning sands of Iraq, Staff Sgt. Billy Brown promised the women that he'd bring their men back alive. But when Sergeant Brown returned just two weeks later, he didn't bring his men at all. He came with a funeral detail. He came cargo, in a silver coffin with wood handles cloaked in an American flag. He is believed to be the first Eskimo killed because of this war. He was 54.

Normally, that'd be enough for the nomination, but we have to give pride of place to LeDuff's poignant kicker:

The eight remaining men from Barrow are to arrive in the Iraqi theater sometime in October, and one company of Arctic soldiers will carry its flag with Billy Brown's name tag sewn to it. And when the fall whale hunt begins, a new man will be holding the oar that Billy Brown once held.

A Soldier Comes Home to Alaska, Too Early and Yet Too Late