Posted on 12/04/2004 7:35:45 PM PST by STARWISE
Airmen fly Iraqi baby home
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- An Iraqi baby and her mother prepare to board a C-141 Starlifter as they start their journey home from here. The baby received about six months of medical treatment at Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Shaun Emery)
by Maj. Ted Theopolos
445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- An Iraqi baby and her mother prepare to board a C-141 Starlifter as they start their journey home from here. The baby received about six months of medical treatment at Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Shaun Emery)
12/1/2004 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- A 14-month-old Iraqi girl left for Iraq on a C-141 Starlifter recently after receiving about six months of medical treatment at Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Fatemah Khalil Hassan and her mother, Beyda’a Amir Abdul Jabar, were flown to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, before heading back to Iraq.
Airmen from the 452nd Air Mobility Wing at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., flew the mission on an aircraft assigned to the 455th Airlift Wing here.
The baby was diagnosed with a large hemangioma on the right side of her neck, which is a dense group of blood vessels that grow abnormally large. The growth had threatened to restrict her airway. Military doctors in Iraq arranged to have the baby flown to Ohio for life-saving treatment.
Airmen from the 445th AW flew the Iraqis here May 19.
God bless our fabulous military .. our brave AND tender American military and outstanding American doctors!! What other country in the world extends such kindness and generosity??
You said everything I wanted to. Right on.
BTT!
BTTT!!
It's what we do!
Great reporting on what our military, doctors and tax money does for people all over the world.
Thanks for the ping....
*TT*, Beth & Nana
Sort of conflicts with out "Great Satan" image, huh? :^)
Prairie
Thank You!
Where's the media?
Thanks to FreeRepublic many of us do know what our fabulous military and American doctors do to help an Iraqui child. As for the main stream media, they seem to be going down the toilet at a rapid flushing and it's where they belong. Good riddance forever!
out = our
Yeah, where are they? Looking for bad news to report no doubt. If they should happen to stumble on some good news they'd probably sue someone for twisting their ankle.
FORT POLK, La. -- Tactical air control party Airmen visit the 52-foot wooden range control tower here Nov. 30 following a dedication ceremony. The tower was dedicated to Staff Sgt. Jacob Frazier and Airman 1st Class Raymond Losano. They were the first tactical control Airmen killed in combat since the inception of the career field during the Korean War. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Trina Flannagan)
by Senior Airman Andrea Knudson
2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
12/1/2004 - FORT POLK, La. (AFPN) -- It was predicted there would not be a dry eye in the house. As the guests gathered to honor two fallen heroes, that prediction came true.
Family members and tactical air control party Airmen honored fellow tactical controllers Staff Sgt. Jacob Frazier and Airman 1st Class Raymond Losano during a dedication ceremony for a new range control tower here Nov. 30.
The Airmen died serving in Afghanistan fighting in the war on terrorism. They were the first tactical control Airmen killed in combat since the inception of the career field during the Korean War.
“It is a history of honor, of tradition and selfless bravery that we honor today in these two men,” said Brig. Gen. Gregory J. Ihde, commander of the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, who approved the tower’s designation as the “Losano-Frazier Tower.” “Let us never forget this group of men, who as young Airmen have tremendous responsibility and influence on our future as a country in the performance of their duties.”
Among the hundreds of thousands of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines fighting the war on terrorism, tactical controllers are a group of sometimes “silent and forgotten warriors” who live each day as both Airmen and Soldiers, General Ihde said.
“[They] are living a life of extreme responsibility, only wanting to serve their country in the best way they can,” the general said. “These men serve side-by-side with the Soldier, wet-soaked in mud, powdered with dust and dirt, inhaling the smell of diesel fuel and gunpowder.
“Please accept the dedication of this tower as a humble but heartfelt token, as a demonstration of our great respect and honor of this ultimate sacrifice by Staff Sergeant Jacob Frazier and Airman 1st Class Raymond Losano to their country,” General Ihde said. “They will not be forgotten.”
After a moment of silence, the estimated 100 guests listened to the Air Force song and then watched officials uncover the sign to officially dedicate the tower.
The tower is located above the woods and swamps of Louisiana at the Joint Readiness Training Center, home to Detachment 1, 548th Combat Training Squadron. The detachment’s mission is critical to fighting the war on terrorism and its Airmen are directly responsible for the new tower and the dedication, officials said.
The range has a joint mission; the focus is to train troops before they go to war, said Lt. Col. Gary Ducote, the detachment’s commander. It is the primary facility to train all tactical controllers before they deploy.
“The (tactical controllers) command and control aircraft and train with pilots and live ordnance,” he said. “They use the tower to control aircraft in our training area.”
The detachment had been working from a World War II-era bunker for decades. It was an old, beat-up wooden shack, the colonel said. After the war on terrorism started, they were authorized to build a new tower.
When the idea was conceived to build the tower, the initial concept was to do something for the tactical controller community, said Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Eberlan, the detachment’s superintendent.
“We were tracking events that were happening, doing background work on people in the career field who were making an impact,” he said. “Then we came across these two Airmen who were killed in Afghanistan and thought this was a proper way to honor them, their sacrifices and the enlisted career field.
“Their death is a testament that we’re there. The Air Force is there,” Sergeant Eberlan said. “We’re boots on the ground. It’s not just the flightline, not just the people associated with the aircraft. Other Airmen are out in front where the bullets are flying. They’re (in Iraq) clearing buildings, down in the streets in Baghdad, Fallujah; embedded and putting their lives on the line like our Army counterparts.”
Sergeant Frazier was assigned to the 169th Air Support Operations Squadron of the Illinois Air National Guard in Peoria, and served as the tactical controller for a 12-person special forces team calling in air strikes on enemy locations. He deployed to Afghanistan in January 2003 and was part of a unit searching for suspected al-Qaida members. While returning from a mission March 29, 2003, his convoy was ambushed, and Sergeant Frazier and another person were killed.
Airman Losano was in the 14th ASOS from Fort Bragg, N.C., and deployed to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne in March 2003. As a special operator, his job was to parachute behind enemy lines and call in air strikes. Airman Losano’s unit was ambushed April 25, 2003. He was one of two servicemembers mortally wounded in the attack. Before Airman Losano took his last breath, he called in the air strike that saved the rest of his company.
“I had a chance to spend time with both families,” said 2nd Lt. Phillip Hardin, a weather officer who worked on the dedication. “It brings what we do up close and personal, puts a face with a name. After meeting them, I wish I could have done more. No matter how nice the ceremony was, it will never be enough to pay honest tribute to the ultimate sacrifice these to heroes paid.”
=============
God.. hold the families of these brave men in Your embrace. Their heroes are home.
If this is same little girl, and I believe it is, Fox ran a special about her about 3 weeks ago. It is an amazing story.
Thanks for the Ping!
Thank you for the ping!
When the mother and child first came to Columbus, we got to hear all about it locally. Everyone was pretty excited. The military had to do a lot of legwork before they even got the mother and baby here. And, of course, once they got here, there was plenty more to do. I'm so glad that she's well enough to return home! What our military does is nothing short of spectacular, especially under the most adverse of circumstances! They should be highly commended!
Thanks for posting this. I didn't realize that they were going home so soon!
Great story !
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.