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To: Barry Grossman who wrote (173985)	4/5/2003 3:25:10 AM
From: Barry Grossman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Here's the story from the Defense Department.. Iraqi Family Risks It All to Save American POW By Sgt. Joseph R. Chenelly, USMC Special to American Forces Press Service defenselink.mil MARINE COMBAT HEADQUARTERS, Iraq, April 4, 2003 -- New heroes have surfaced in the rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch. Under the watchful eyes of more than 40 murderous gunmen, the 19-year-old supply clerk laid in Saddam Hospital suffering from several wounds and broken bones. As her captors discussed amputating her leg, an Iraqi man, who for his protection will be identified only as Mohammad, leaned to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry." Lynch replied with a warm smile. He was already working with U.S. Marines to gain the critical information needed to rescue one of the first American prisoners of war in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Just a day earlier, the lawyer from Nasiriyah had walked 10 kilometers to inform American forces he knew where Lynch was being held. The shocked Marines asked him to return to the hospital and note certain things. He was tasked with counting the guards and documenting the hospital's layout. Knowing the risk, he agreed to help the young woman he had seen only once. "I came to the hospital to visit my wife," said the Iraqi man whose wife was a nurse. "I could see much more security than normal." The man asked one of the doctors about the increased security. "He told me there was a woman American soldier there." Together, the two went to see her. Peering through the room's window, Mohammad saw a sight he claims will stay with him for a life: An Iraqi colonel slapped the soldier, who had been captured after a fierce firefight March 23 -- first with his palm, then with his backhand. "My heart stopped," he said in a soft tone. "I knew then I must help her be saved. I decided I must go to tell the Americans." Just days earlier, Mohammad had seen a woman's body dragged through his neighborhood. He said "the animals" were punishing her for waving at a coalition helicopter. The brutal demonstration failed to deter him from going to the Marines. The same day he first saw Lynch, he located a Marine checkpoint. Worried he'd be mistaken for an attacker in civilian clothes, he approached the Marines with his hands high above his head. "[A Marine sentry] asked, 'What you want?'" Mohammad said. "I want to help you. I want to tell you important information - about Jessica!" After talking with the Marines, he returned to the hospital to gather information. "I went to see the security," he said. "I watched where they stood, where they sat, where they ate and when they slept." While he observed Saddam's henchmen, Mohammad said the notorious regime death squad paid his home an unexpected visit. His wife and 6-year-old daughter fled to nearby family. Many of his personal belongings, including his car, were seized. "I am not worried for myself," he said. But "security in Iraq (that is still) loyal to Saddam will kill my wife. They will kill my (child)." Meanwhile, Mohammad accompanied his friend into Lynch's tightly guarded room. She was covered up to her chin by a white blanket. Her head was bandaged. A wound on the right leg was in bad condition. "The doctors wanted to cut her leg off," he said. "My friend and I decided we would stop it." Creating numerous diversions, they managed to delay the surgery long enough. "She would have died if they tried it," he said. Mohammad walked through battles in the city streets for two straight days to get to back to the hospital. His main mission was to watch the guards, but each morning he also attempted to keep Lynch's spirits strong with a "good morning" in English. He said she was brave throughout the ordeal. When reporting back to the Marines on March 30, he brought five different maps he and his wife had made. He was able to point to the exact room the captured soldier was being held in. He also handed over the security layout, reaction plan and times that shift changes occurred. He had counted 41 bad guys and determined a helicopter could land on the hospital's roof. It was just the information the Marines needed. American forces conducted a nighttime raid April 1. Lynch was safely rescued. She has since been transported to a medical facility in Germany. Mohammad and his family are now in a secure location and have been granted refugee status. He doesn't feel safe in Nasiriyah, but he hopes things will improve as the war against the regime advances. "Iraq is not a safe place while Saddam Hussein is in power," Mohammad said. "He kills the Iraqi people whenever he wants. I believe the Americans will bring peace and security to the people of Iraq." Mohammad's wife said she wants to volunteer to help injured or sick American forces in the future. "America came here to help us," he said. "The Marines are brave men. They have been gentle with the Iraqi people. They are taking out Saddam Hussein. For that, we're grateful." Mohammad's family hopes to meet Lynch in the future. (Sgt. Joseph R. Chenelly is assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.)

To: Barry Grossman who wrote (173985)	4/5/2003 11:33:11 AM
From: Amy J	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Hi Barry, no problem with expressing your POV to me. The 3rd person was a bit different. My sister's husband's relative "lived" in a concentration camp (apparently, for being too neighborly with the Jewish family in the neighborhood.) When she was willing to talk about it to me, I asked her some questions, "why did they do this" and "did any neighbor offer to help and how big was the neighborhood" and "why didn't people help"? Always the same answer, "no excuse." I really didn't think of her as brave. I think of her as an independent person who stayed by her values, even if her other neighbors were like sheep following a dangerous leader. She was a very simple, quiet person that believed in the concept of being neighborly. It's amazing how something so simple and pure could be twisted into something so dangerous to her life. When I talked with her, I didn't think of it like how you seem to think on these matters (showing such bravery in the face of a regime no less fearful and brutal than the Nazis) - maybe because she was part of our family I didn't put her on a pedestal by thinking she was brave. I didn't think of her as a brave person. I thought she was simply being neighborly. And independent enough to continue to be neighborly, when all of the other neighbors turned their backs on the Jewish family in her neighborhood. When her and I discussed her background once (and only once, because it was very painful for her to even talk about it), I actually had my questions and thoughts turned more towards her other neighbors who turned their backs - how could they be like what they were - why were they like sheep? And I focused on society as a whole. I concluded at the time, after asking how many people were in the neighborhood and dividing 1 (her) by the total neighbor count, that she was a statistical anomoly (for reasons that I still do not understand today). She was a statistical anomoly. So, from my perspective, Jessica is very lucky because it's statistically unlikely to find people like Mohammed under situations of war and world crimes. I also kept thinking about how could a person slap another person while they're in a hospital bed. So, I think she was statistically lucky because people like Mohammed and my relative, are simply a statistical anomoly. Just curious, why you thought my interpretation was worth pointing out? I didn't understand. On another note, Mohammed's activities didn't restore my faith in human-kind, because of my relatives experience and another experience, where I've permenantly fixed in my mind, that humankind has the dangerous potential to be lead to approve or do something very dangerous or even murderous, and by forgetting that, society risks another Holocaust of any group. I never really gave any thoughts of bravery to what Mohammed did, probably because I never gave any thoughts of bravery to what my brother-in-law's relative did. I don't think of her as brave. I think of her as independent. Did what was expected. Rather than focusing on bravery, I tend to believe society could get to the next level, by spending more time thinking about why people so easily follow bad leaders and why don't people think more independently? Regards, Amy J