Pilot accused of involuntary manslaughter in deaths of 4 Canadians.(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

ST. LOUIS, Mo. _ The front of Joan Schmidt's refrigerator in her south St. Louis County home is a proud grandma's clutter of snapshots from vacations, holidays and family-room floors. Mixed among them are pictures of her brave fighter-pilot son, standing tall next to his hot-rod jets.

Below the pictures is a recent addition, a photocopy of a popular inspirational phrase: "Good morning, this is God. I will be handling all of your problems today."

It is there because of the worry that has become the focus of Schmidt's life for the past several months. Her aviator son, Maj. Harry Schmidt, stands accused of involuntary manslaughter for dropping a bomb in Afghanistan five months ago that killed four Canadian soldiers and injured eight.

According to military investigative reports, Maj. Schmidt thought an enemy anti-aircraft battery was firing at the F-16 Falcon in front of his own as he flew south of Kandahar about 2 a.m. on April 18. The tracers were groundfire from the Canadians, who were practicing at an old al-Qaida base. He hit them with a 500-pound, laser-guided bomb.

The military alleges he failed to follow procedures by neither flying away from the fire nor verifying the target before moving in.

Maj. Schmidt, 37, is a graduate of the Naval Academy, and a ...