Seven Rescued POWs Arrive in U.S.
Saturday, April 19, 2003
URL:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,84582,00.html
EL PASO, Texas — A cheering, flag-waving crowd greeted the seven rescued American prisoners of war Saturday night, giving the former captives a joyous homecoming after their military plane arrived in Fort Bliss, Texas.
Thousands of supporters hoisted American flags and burst into cheers as the C-17 plane touched down on a wind-swept runway. As the plane taxied, two servicemen emerged from a hatch, holding an American flag and waving to the crowd.
Friends and family gathered under the tail of the plane with open arms as the soldiers exited, including Spc. Shoshana Johnson, who gripped a flag in each hand and hopped on one leg as she was helped onto a golf cart. She was shot in both ankles during an ambush.
The cart then took a victory lap in front of the overjoyed crowd, which occasionally broke into chants of "USA! USA!" Spc. Joseph Hudson, one of the former POWs, jumped off the cart at one point and said "This is a great country. God bless America!"
After a private reception and dinner of submarine sandwiches, cookies and pink lemonade, the five Fort Bliss soldiers were to spend the night at the post to undergo evaluation by doctors from nearby William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt said. The two other soldiers were later flown to Fort Hood, where they are based.
"They are in great shape and great spirits," said Col. Glenn Mitchell, commander at the medical center.
A nine-member team of debriefing specialists and a psychologist accompanied the seven on their trans-Atlantic flight from Germany, which was refueled in flight to avoid requiring an additional stop, U.S. Air Force officials said.
Five of the former POWs are stationed with the U.S. Army's 507th Maintenance Company. Two other Apache helicopter crewmen, who are with the First Cavalry Division.
The seven were rescued April 13 after three weeks of captivity when Iraqi captors abandoned their posts ahead of advancing American troops.
The Fort Bliss soldiers were captured and nine comrades were killed in an attack near Nasiriyah on March 23. Another member of the 507th, Pfc. Jessica Lynch, was rescued separately in a daring commando raid April 1 and continues to recuperate in Washington, D.C.
The Fort Bliss soldiers were Hudson, 23, Alamogordo, N.M.; Johnson, 30, El Paso; Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21, Mission, Texas; Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, Park City, Kan., and Sgt. James Riley, 31, Pennsauken, N.J.
The Fort Hood soldiers are Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, 30, of Orlando, Fla., and Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, of Lithia Springs, Ga. The Apache helicopter pilots were forced down in Iraq on March 24.
El Paso was awash in yellow ribbons, but the ribbons at the northeast El Paso home of Johnson's parents were purple, her favorite color.
Neighbor Tina Banston visited briefly because her 6-year-old daughter, Delaney, wanted to give a teddy bear to Johnson's 2-year-old daughter.
"I'm almost in tears because this is so exciting," Banston said. "We've all gone through so much just worrying about her."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
