Following a tip from an Iraqi, the Marines just executed a recovery mission that safely rescued 7 US POWs! More info to come.
Sunday, April 13, 2003 Associated Press WASHINGTON — U.S. Marines have found seven missing U.S. troops on the road between Baghdad and Tikrit, and they appear to be healthy, Gen. Tommy Franks said Sunday. An Iraqi tipped off the Marines who were near Samarra and were closing in on Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, that they would shortly "come in contact with a number of Americans," Franks told Fox News "I believe our guys picked them up on the road," he said. "I know they're in good shape and I know they're in our hands and under our control now," he told reporters. Franks said he was unsure whether the group was among five listed as missing or seven listed as POWs. Franks originally said six were found. Central Command later said seven Americans were safe. A television reporter who was with the Marine 24th Expeditionary Unit that found the Americans said they were brought to an airfield about 50 miles south of Baghdad in ambulances and all ran or walked to a C-130 transport plane to take them to Kuwait. Two walked with a limp and one of those was a woman, he said. One of the seven raised his hand in victory, and the woman was carrying her own equipment, he said. Marines nearby applauded as they went past, he said. Pentagon officials have committed to tracking down 12 soldiers still missing or captured since the spectacular rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch on April 1, but until Franks' revelation, there appeared to be no leads. Franks said he was reluctant to discuss the matter further until he had better information — but he made sure to underscore once again his commitment to rescuing coalition captives. "For sure we're going to take care of our own," he told reporters. "This is very good news." Families of U.S. POWs reacted to the news Sunday with optimism. "Either way, it's good news," said Ron Young Sr., whose son, Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., was listed as a POW after his helicopter was forced down March 23. "It gives me hope, it really does," he said. The sister-in-law of Army Spc. Joseph Hudson, a 23-year-old POW who was among the 507th Maintenance Company soldiers shown on Iraqi TV, was optimistic Sunday when she heard some of the troops had been freed. "I hope it's Joe," Bethany Hudson said. Officials had been sounding an upbeat note in recent days, saying more people were willing to talk and share secrets about potential POW sightings now that Saddam Hussein's henchmen are gone. "What we're finding now is that the regime has been moved away, people will speak about what it is they know," U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks at U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar said Saturday during a briefing. "And so, we suspect that much of the information that will assist us either in finding prisoners of war from this conflict or previous conflicts ... will come by way of the elimination of the regime." Lynch, who was rescued April 1 from a hospital in the southern city of Nasiriyah after an Iraqi civilian tipped soldiers off, became the first POW to return home Saturday. The United States lists five other soldiers as missing and seven as prisoners of war
The Pentagon will not speculate, as they wait for positive identivfication which consists of eyewitness accounts and verification before they begin to notify the next of kin. The embedded reporters on the other hand have come out and stated the 7 were all from Texas' Ft. Hood and Ft. Bliss, and they have shown the photos of them as well (all of the photos are ones we have seen)
Great news! I was getting worried that the Iraqi troops would just abandon them in some prison and we'd never find them.
This is good news after some the first POW's were found executed I didn't have much hope for the rest. Hopefully the Iraqi military will treat the other POW's still missing with the same respect it appears they gave this group. At any rate great news.
I was thinking the same thing. Or worse, I thought that if the Iraqi troops, figuring they were losing the war, would kill them. Thank god they're recovered. Keep it up boys, get all back home!
7 U.S. POWS RESCUED What a great day for an answer to many prayers. Posting part of an article from CNN website... Seven U.S. troops freed in Iraq Reporter: Battle for Tikrit under way Sunday, April 13, 2003 Posted: 12:54 PM EDT (1654 GMT) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOUTH OF BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Seven U.S. troops freed Sunday after being held by Iraqi forces arrived by helicopter at a base south of Baghdad and were transferred to a C-130 transport plane headed for Kuwait, CNN's Bob Franken reported from the scene. All seven were able to walk on their own, but two appeared to be more seriously injured and limped to the plane at the base, about 65 miles south of the Iraqi capital, Franken said. The other five ran to the plane, said Franken, who is embedded with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The seven were being flown to Kuwait City. The parents of Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young Jr., one of two Apache helicopter pilots shot down over Iraq, said they recognized their son in video shown on CNN. A Pentagon representative gave them the official confirmation about a half-hour 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." They said they also recognized Chief Warrant Officer David Williams, who was in the helicopter with Young. They said Williams' wife told them she also saw him. The families of Sgt. James Riley, Spc. Shoshana Johnson and Spc. Joseph Hudson of the 507th Maintenance Company also said they received official word Sunday that their relatives had been freed. The troops were released to a Marine unit Sunday north of Baghdad after Iraqi officers abandoned their posts, Franken reported. Sources said junior Iraqi guards took the captured U.S. troops to a light U.S. Marine armored unit north of Samarra, about 25 miles south of Tikrit -- Saddam Hussein's ancestral home and the last major Iraqi city that is not under coalition control.
Was anyone watching Fox News when someone from Howard Stern called up and claimed he was Sgt. Riley's father. As much of a stupid prank as it was, it was hilarious. They did worse when probably the same person called up ABC and said "Howards Stern thinks you're a dick!" to Peter Jennings.
