Details on POWs Found in Iraq
April 13, 2003 -- Seven U.S. service members were found in a house in Samarra, Iraq, located between Baghdad and Tikrit.
The service members found Sunday were the seven classified as prisoners of war by the United States.
The seven were taken in two separate incidents. Five were members of a maintenance convoy that got lost in the Nasiriyah area of southern Iraq on March 23. Two were crew members aboard an Apache helicopter downed in central Iraq the next day, March 24.
The former POWs reportedly said they were kicked, beaten, taunted and interrogated by their captors. They were given medical treatment and did not complain of torture, but some said they were certain they were going to die.
After being captured, the five members of the maintenance convoy appeared being questioned in an Iraqi television broadcast, sparking outrage among U.S. officials. The video also showed at least four dead bodies.
President Bush said at the time: "We expect them to be treated humanely, just like we'll treat any prisoners of theirs that we capture humanely. If not, the people who mistreat the prisoners will be treated as war criminals."
Maintenance Convoy
Here is information about the freed members of the maintenance convoy taken near Nasiriyah:
Sgt. James Riley, 31, of Pennsauken, N.J. Riley, who has dual citizenship, was born in New Zealand and moved to the United States with his parents in 1979. He has been in the Army for 13 years and works as a machinist, mostly doing vehicle maintenance, say his parents, Jane and Athol Riley. "He's doing what he's always wanted to do," says his father. He also has two younger sisters.
Army Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, of El Paso, Texas. Part of the U.S. Army 507th Maintenance, of the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. The 507th is a support unit and not considered a combat unit. Hudson graduated from Alamogordo High School in New Mexico in 1998 and likes weight training, fishing, bowling and card games, his mother said.
Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, of Park City, Kan. Part of the U.S. Army 507th Maintenance. Miller has a wife, Jessica, and two children, a 4-year-old son and a 7-month-old daughter. He graduated from Valley Center High School in Kansas and was a welder before joining the military last summer to help pay student loans, his brother said.
Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, of Fort Bliss, Texas. A single mother with a 2-year-old daughter, she is the first woman POW taken in the Iraq war. She has been in the Army for five years, where she works as a chef, according to reports.
Army Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21, of Mission, Texas, is a supply truck driver for the Army.
Helicopter Crew
In a separate incident, an Apache helicopter went down over Iraq and the two-man crew was taken prisoner by Iraqi forces.
Both men were part of Aviation Battalion, 1/227th Company C, Fort Hood, Texas. The freed crewmen are:
Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, of Lithia Springs, Ga. An Army man for three years, Young is divorced and has a son who will be a year old in June, according to his father, Ronald Young Sr. He has two brothers and two sisters, was an Eagle scout and likes camping and outdoor activities.
Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, 30, of Orlando, Fla. Military officials said Williams has been in the service for 12 years, and has a wife and two children who live at Fort Hood.