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Topic: 7 POW'S RELEASED! (Read 224 times)

MzWings
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7 POW'S RELEASED!
« on: Apr 13^th, 2003, 1:27pm »

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I'm thanking the Lord......

Sunday, April 13, 2003 Fox News

KUWAIT CITY — The seven U.S. POWs freed in Iraq on Sunday were released after medical examinations in Kuwait, an Army nurse said.

The seven had been flown to an undisclosed location in Kuwait within hours after Marines recovered them south of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Three were examined for injuries; the other four were assessed and found to have no problems, said Army Lt. Col. Ruth Lee.

Earlier Sunday, the soldiers — who had been held captive for 22 days — clambered out of helicopters to a delighted welcome at an air base in southern Iraq after their release.

From there, the seven were taken by helicopter to a base near Kut and then flown to a military airport south of Kuwait City.

The nurse refused to identify the injured soldiers or give details about the examinations.

But Marine pilots who evacuated the POWs from Iraq said Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, of Fort Bliss, Texas, had been shot in the ankle, and Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21, of Mission, Texas, had been shot in the elbow.

Johnson, the only woman among the freed prisoners, had limped in slippers on her way to a transport aircraft after her rescue and wore a bandage on her ankle.

They — along with Sgt. James Riley, 31, Pennsauken, N.J., Army Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, Alamogordo, N.M., and Army Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, Park City, Kan. — were all members of the 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company. The five were taken prisoner when Iraqis ambushed their convoy March 23 outside the southern city of Nasiriyah.

The other POWs were Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, and Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, 30, of Orlando, Fla. Their Apache helicopter was forced down in central Iraq, also on March 23.

Shortly after their capture early in the war, the seven had been shown on Iraq's state-run television — giving a human face to the peril confronting American troops.

After the rescue, Young's father, back in Lithia Springs, Ga., watched shaky video footage of his son on television.

"It's him, and I'm just so happy that I could kiss the world!" Ronald Young Sr. said. "It's him! It's definitely him."

"They look to be in pretty good condition ... all giving the thumbs up," said Col. Larry Brown, operations officer for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

When the seven arrived at the military base near Kut, some were wearing blue-and-white striped pajamas, another was in blue shorts. Marines at the base came forward to pat them on the back.

President Bush, who spent the weekend at Camp David, Md., was told Sunday morning of the freed captives.

Capt. David Romley said Marines marching north toward Tikrit were met by Iraqi soldiers north of Samarra who approached the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Company and had the seven Americans with them.

Another spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Capt. Neil Murphy, said the Iraqi soldiers who had brought the Americans had been abandoned by their officers and "realizing that it was the right thing to do, they brought these guys back."

"We go to every effort to recover any of the Marines or any of our soldiers taken captive," Romley said.

In Washington, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Iraqis told U.S. troops they would find the seven missing soldiers at a location about four or five miles south of Tikrit.

"They said, 'You should go get them,' and they did,"
When Marine combat headquarters got news that the missing had been found, the troops applauded — rare in combat operations, Murphy said.

"You could feel the happiness and excitement in the combat operations center," he said.

Pentagon officials are committed to tracking down all soldiers still missing or captured since the spectacular rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch on April 1.

Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. forces, underscored his commitment to rescuing coalition captives although he said he didn't think that all POWs and MIAs could be recovered.

"I don't think we could predict that at all," he told Fox TV. "I think it would be a true blessing if we were able to do that, and I don't think we ... can count on it.

"But I can tell you this: Even though we can't count on it, we can work at them hard. And we have been, and we will," Franks added.

Officials had been sounding an upbeat note in recent days, saying more Iraqis were willing to talk and share secrets about potential POW sightings now that Saddam's henchmen are gone.

Lynch, who was rescued April 1 from a hospital in Nasiriyah after an Iraqi civilian tipped soldiers off, became the first POW to return home Saturday.

"This morning our family joins America in rejoicing over the news of the safe return of seven brave heroes to U.S. military custody in Iraq," Lynch's family said in a statement Sunday. "This is certainly an answer to our prayers and — we're certain — the prayers of literally millions of other concerned citizens of the world."

« Last Edit: Apr 13^th, 2003, 1:28pm by MzWings »

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GNS
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Re: 7 POW'S RELEASED!
« Reply #1 on: Apr 13^th, 2003, 2:32pm »

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What wonderful news to wake up to! Cool

I hadn't expected these seven to be alive, and yet they're in better physical shape than Jessica Lynch.

A debt of gratitude to the Iraqis who tipped us off, trying to do the right thing.

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Rhune
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Re: 7 POW'S RELEASED!
« Reply #2 on: Apr 13^th, 2003, 3:12pm »

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Marines rescue 7 U.S. POWs
Mother: 'They let me know my Joseph was safe'
Sunday, April 13, 2003 Posted: 3:14 PM EDT (1914 GMT)

TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Marines on Sunday rescued seven American soldiers held by Iraqis north of Baghdad before rushing off to join in the battle for Tikrit, according to a Canadian reporter embedded with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

Marines took custody of the Americans outside Samarra, a town about 25 miles south of Tikrit in north-central Iraq and 75 miles north of Baghdad.

U.S. Central Command identified the freed prisoners of war as Spc. Joseph Hudson, Sgt. James Riley, Spc. Shoshana Johnson, Spc. Edgar Hernandez and Pfc. Patrick Miller -- members of a convoy from the U.S. Army's 507th Maintenance Company that was ambushed March 23 near Nasiriya -- and Chief Warrant Officers Ronald Young Jr. and David S. Williams, pilots who were captured March 24 after their Apache helicopter gunship went down south of Baghdad.

President Bush said, "It's a great way to start a morning -- that seven Americans are going to be home soon in the arms of their loved ones."

Bush, returning to the White House from a weekend at Camp David, Maryland, said the United States would continue to search and pray for remaining missing troops.

Three of the seven received treatment for minor injuries at a military hospital in Kuwait City, said chief nurse Lt. Col. Ruth Lee, who said the other four required no treatment.

All seven, officials said, were released from the hospital and taken to an undisclosed location.

The Marine unit was sent to Samarra to keep traffic from interfering with an armored column approaching Tikrit, Brig. Gen. John Kelly told Matthew Fisher, a reporter with Canada's National Post newspaper.

Tikrit is Saddam Hussein's hometown and the only major Iraqi city outside of coalition control.

At a traffic circle near a dam on Samarra's outskirts, an Iraqi policeman approached the Marines and asked if they had come for prisoners, Fisher said.

The policeman led the Marines to a nearby building, Fisher reported, where they found the seven Americans guarded by Iraqi soldiers.

Kelly told Fisher that the Iraqis were surprised by the arrival of the Marines, telling the Americans they had thought they had "a few more days" before they came. The Iraqi soldiers reportedly said their officers had abandoned their posts and surrendered to U.S. forces.

The Marines surrounded the prisoners to assure them they wouldn't be abandoned and gave them fresh clothes, Fisher said. He said one of the former prisoners told the Marines, "It is so good to be back with Americans."

They were given first aid, Fisher said, and then whisked away on Army helicopters.

The seven Americans were taken to a coalition air base 65 miles south of Baghdad and then transferred to C-130 transport plane that took them to Kuwait City.

The Americans and their Iraqi guards were to be debriefed in Kuwait, said CNN's Bob Franken, who is embedded with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Fisher said he heard orders on military radio for the Marines near Samarra to complete the recovery as soon as possible and "get north as fast as you can."

"It was a lightning speed operation," he said.

CNN's Franken said five of the Americans ran as they got off the helicopter at the base south of Baghdad. The other two were more seriously injured but were able to walk and carry their gear.

Before receiving official word from the U.S. military, some family members of the former POWs said they recognized their loved ones in CNN's video of the soldiers' arrival at the coalition air base.

Young's parents said they recognized their son on TV. A Pentagon representative gave them the official confirmation later at their Lithia Springs, Georgia, home.

"I'm ecstatic," Ronald Young Sr. said.

"The main thing to me is knowing he's all right," Young said. "It's a relief. You just don't know how much it is. It's almost like Christmas, New Year's and everything all rolled into one."

He added, "He looked great. He looked like he's grown a few whiskers and maybe lost a little weight, but other than that, he's all right."

Anecita Hudson, Hudson's mother, said, "The Army, they let me know my Joseph is safe."

Five of the Americans were members of the same company as former prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch.

Lynch, who arrived Saturday for treatment at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, was rescued from a Nasiriya hospital in a dramatic operation April 1.

All seven POWs were seen on Iraqi television shortly after their capture, but Red Cross officials were never able to meet with them.

Finding POWs and MIAs has been a high priority as the war progressed and coalition troops took control of Iraqi areas.

« Last Edit: Apr 13^th, 2003, 3:14pm by Rhune »

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Rhune
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Re: 7 POW'S RELEASED!
« Reply #3 on: Apr 13^th, 2003, 3:15pm »

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This sure brings a teary smile to my face....this is wonderful news...

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Irishlass
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Re: 7 POW'S RELEASED!
« Reply #4 on: Apr 13^th, 2003, 11:44pm »

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This was indeed fantastic news to wake up to this morning. I, too, thought these people were probably dead. I hope the rest of our "missing in action" and POW's are as fortunate.

I think it is amazing that those we have rescued, have been rescued due to information provided to us by Iraqi citizens.

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Re: 7 POW'S RELEASED!
« Reply #5 on: Apr 14^th, 2003, 9:09am »

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Sgt Riley's parents were interviewed this morning. When the reporter asked them why they weren't jumping up and down, they replied that their joy was tempered by the loss of the other families.

Those are some caring folks!

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Rhune
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Re: 7 POW'S RELEASED!
« Reply #6 on: Apr 14^th, 2003, 11:23am »

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Report: Army POWs feared they'd be killed
Former prisoners tell newspaper they were treated well overall
Monday, April 14, 2003 Posted: 6:23 AM EDT (1023 GMT)

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (CNN) -- Seven American POWs rescued by U.S. Marines said they were treated well during their captivity but were constantly afraid they might be killed, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Peter Baker, who accompanied the soldiers on a transport plane from Iraq to Kuwait, said in an interview with CNN that the former POWs told him their days in captivity were filled with speculation and anxiety, though overall they were treated well. They were captured within the first few days of the war.

The seven were discovered Sunday by a group of Marines sent to Samarra, 75 miles [120 kilometers] north of Baghdad, to keep traffic from interfering with tanks headed to battle in Tikrit. When they got there, an Iraqi policeman walked up and asked if they had come for the prisoners. The policeman led the Marines to a nearby building where they found the U.S. soldiers under guard.

Sgt. James Riley, 31; Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30; Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23; Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21; and Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23 -- of the Army's 507th Maintenance Company -- along with chief warrant officers Ronald Young Jr., 26; and fellow Apache helicopter pilot David Williams, 30, were put on a helicopter and taken to an air base south of Baghdad, where they were put on a plane for Kuwait City, CNN correspondent Bob Franken reported.

The soldiers of the maintenance company were from the same unit as former POW Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who was rescued in a commando raid on a hospital last week.

The five from the 507th said they took a wrong turn in southern Iraq on March 23 and ended up in Nasiriya, where they were ambushed by Iraqi troops. Riley, the sergeant, said he felt he had no choice but to surrender his troops, whose weapons had jammed in the dust of the desert.

The soldiers were kicked and beaten when first captured, but the physical abuse subsided, they told Baker, and was replaced by the mental torture of not knowing their fate.

The Apache pilots were captured the following day when they were targeted by small arms fire and landed behind Iraqi lines. They ditched the helicopter, dove into a canal and swam away, but were caught by farmers waiting in a field with assault rifles.

All seven captives were taken to Baghdad, where they stayed about 12 days before they started to be moved every few nights. At one point, a bomb fell 50 yards from their prison.

The Iraqis questioned them, often using blindfolds, about why they were in Iraq.

Johnson, the only woman in the group, said she was treated physically more gently than her male colleagues. The Iraqis told her they had seen her mother in a television news broadcast.

She and two other soldiers were operated on by Iraqi doctors for gunshot wounds, Baker reported.

He said that as American troops got closer to where the POWs were being held, the prisoners felt they had become complication for the Iraqis. They were kept in individual cells initially, but as they began to be moved often, their guards began housing them together.

"They were thrilled to be out," Baker said. He quoted one soldier as saying, "I just kept thinking every morning I'd never seen my wife again."

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