Embeds Share War Stories
N E W Y O R K, April 16 -- As U.S. soldiers continue the job they started nearly a month ago in Iraq, their embedded guests have returned to the states with their own up close and personal war stories.
Freelance journalist Richard Engel, who was not embedded with a unit, reported from Baghdad's Palestine Hotel for ABCNEWS from the time the war started until the tanks finally rolled into the heart of Baghdad.
"We were one of the last places, or where I was, one of the last places in Baghdad to be liberated, or taken under American control," Engel said on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "I was looking at the tanks across the road, we were just like 'hurry up.' "
No Going Back
Engel, who is fluent in Arabic and has reported for outlets ranging from the BBC to Voice of America since graduating from Stanford University in 1996, says he didn't regret his choice to stay in Baghdad even when the bombing got too close for comfort.
"Once the decision has been made, you're there. You're not leaving at that stage," Engel said. "Sure, as it gets closer, you debate the wisdom of that choice."
ABCNEWS' Mike Cerre and Don Dahler were two of hundreds of reporters who were embedded with troops during the war with Iraq.
They accompanied U.S. forces with troop units under Pentagon regulations, which centered on not reporting information that would endanger the safety of troops and the security of operations.
Cerre was embedded with 1st Marine Division, 5th Regiment, 2 Battalion's Fox Company. The unit is known as Fox 2/5. Cerre, who is a former Marine officer himself, says the most intense day of the war for his group came on April 4 while they were on the way to Baghdad.
"We took fire from the north. It was a five-hour, 30-mile firefight that was nonstop," Cerre said. "It was fairly terrifying for all of us involved — and the Marines themselves — the first real major combat they had. That day, we also lost the company Sgt. Ed Smith, he's being buried tomorrow."
As a journalist, Cerre said it was a difficult emotional challenge for him to report certain developments after getting to know the soldiers and after hearing about their families.
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