Marines find bodies of four American soldiers

WITH V CORPS HEADQUARTERS NEAR THE KUWAIT BORDER -- The bodies of four American soldiers were found by Marines on Friday in a shallow grave in the battle-worn town of Nasiriyah, near the Euphrates River.

U.S. Military officials said they believe the four were executed by Iraqi paramilitary forces after being seized in an ambush on Sunday.

Military officials declined to speculate as to whether the four were among those who were shown alive by the Arab television network last weekend. The military had heard reports that the soldiers were executed after they were shown on the Arab network, but there was no confirmation.

On Friday, a Marine unit found the four bodies in a freshly dug grave near a house in the northeast corner of the town of al-Jazeera. An Army official said the four bodies were clothed in U.S. military uniforms.

Today, the military were flying in a forensic team, military investigators and a member of the V Corps Staff Judge Advocate's office to the site. Officers said that the military was tentatively treating the deaths as a war crime.

The soldiers seized in the ambush have been listed as missing in action. The 507th Maintenance Co. is attached to the 3rd Infantry Division.

Officers of V Corps said the names of the dead would be released after their families were notified.

According to Army officers, soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Unit were traveling on Highway 1, a main north-south artery, in darkness in a convoy of six vehicles. The unit was en route to supply an antiaircraft battery.

The convoy made a wrong turn, mistakenly leaving Highway 1. Officials said they believed that as the Americans realized their mistake, they turned around and quickly encountered two Iraqi T-55 tanks and an advancing Iraqi military unit. The soldiers came under rocket and small-arms fire.

In the fight that followed, the first of the two cars, a Humvee, the standard Army vehicle and a tool truck, were separated from the other four. An Army captain in the Humvee -- the senior officer -- drove the vehicle carrying wounded soldiers through the gunfire. According to one account, the officer drove nearly four miles before being forced to stop because his tires had been crippled by gunshots.

The officer sought to change the tires of the Humvee, when an American Marine unit on patrol saw him and the soldiers in his vehicle, officers said. The Marines called in a helicopter, which evacuated the officer and his wounded soldiers. Some were seriously wounded, one of them shot in the jaw.

The Marines resumed their patrol in search of the Fedayeen, the paramilitary force. Within minutes, they came upon two American vehicles, damaged by bullets. Two other vehicles were burning. No Americans were in sight.

Hours later, grim photos of American soldiers were shown on the Arab network al-Jazeera. Some appeared to have been executed, with bullet wounds to the head. The uniforms of others were stained with blood.

Within 24 hours, the Army was hearing reports that some of the soldiers had been executed.

Here is that list:

Coalition Troop Casualties, POWs, MIAs (Less We Forget)

U.S. and British troop casualties from the war. U.S. totals (which include only those identified by military or confirmed by family members): 28 dead, seven captured, 16 missing. British total: 22 dead.

DEATHS:

March 26:

Marine Maj. Kevin G. Nave, 36, White Lake Township, Mich., vehicle accident

March 25:

Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, Boise, Idaho, grenade attack

Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Michael Vann Johnson Jr., 25, Little Rock, Ark., combat.

March 24:

Marine Cpl. Evan James, 20, La Harpe, Ill., drowned in canal

Marine Sgt. Bradley S. Korthaus, 29, Davenport, Iowa, drowned in canal

Army Spc. Gregory P. Sanders, 19, Hobart, Ind., combat

March 23:

Army Spc. Jamaal R. Addison, 22, Roswell, Ga., combat

Marine Sgt. Michael E. Bitz, 31, Ventura, Calif., combat

Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Rory Buesing, 20, Cedar Key, Fla., combat

Marine Lance Cpl. David K. Fribley, 26, Fort Myers, Fla., combat

Marine Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, 21, Costa Mesa, Calif., combat

Marine Cpl. Jorge A. Gonzalez, 20, Los Angeles, combat

Army Pfc. Howard Johnson II, 21, Mobile, Ala., combat

Marine Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Jordan, 42, Enfield, Conn., combat

Marine 2nd Lt. Frederick E. Pokorney Jr., 31, Tonopah, Nev., combat

Marine Cpl. Randal Kent Rosacker, 21, San Diego, combat

Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas J. Slocum, 22, Thornton, Colo., combat

March 22:

Navy Lt. Thomas Mullen Adams, 27, La Mesa, Calif., helicopter collision

Marine Lance Cpl. Eric J. Orlowski, 26, Buffalo, N.Y., machine gun accident

Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, 27, Easton, Pa., grenade attack

Army Reserve Spc. Brandon S. Tobler, 19, Portland, Ore., vehicle accident

March 21:

Marine Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin, 36, Waterville, Maine, helicopter crash

Marine Capt. Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 30, St. Anne, Ill., helicopter crash

Marine 2nd Lt. Therrel S. Childers, 30, Harrison County, Miss., combat

Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, 22, Los Angeles, combat

Marine Cpl. Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25, Houston, helicopter crash

Marine Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon Waters-Bey, 29, Baltimore, helicopter crash

Date not given:

Marine Sgt. Nicolas M. Hodson, 22, Smithville, Mo., vehicle accident

CAPTURED:

March 24:

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, Lithia Springs, Ga.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 David S. Williams, 30, Orlando, Fla.

March 23:

Army Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21, Mission, Texas

Army Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, Alamogordo, N.M.

Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, Fort Bliss, Texas

Army Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, Park City, Kan.

Army Sgt. James Riley, 31, Pennsauken, N.J.

MISSING:

March 23:

Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair, 24, Broken Arrow, Okla.

Marine Pfc. Tamario D. Burkett, 21, Buffalo, N.Y.

Marine Cpl. Kemaphoom A. Chanawongse, 22, Waterford, Conn.

Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Cline, Jr., Sparks, Nev.

Marine Pvt. Jonathan L. Gifford, 30, Decatur, Ill.

Marine Pvt. Nolen R. Hutchings, 19, Boiling Springs, S.C.

Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, Palestine, W.Va.

Army Spc. James Kiehl, 22, Comfort, Texas

Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick R. Nixon, 21, Gallatin, Tenn.

Army Pvt. Brandon Sloan, 19, Bedford Heights, Ohio

Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa, 22, Tuba City, Ariz.

Army Sgt. Donald Walters, 33, Salem, Ore.

Army Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, Cleveland

Army Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, El Paso, Texas

Army Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, 35, El Paso, Texas

Marine Lance Cpl. Michael J. Williams, 31, Arizona

OTHER COALITION CASUALTIES:

DEATHS:

British:

March 25:

Cpl. Stephen John Allbutt, Stoke-on-Trent, England, tank hit by friendly fire.

Trooper David Jeffrey Clarke, Littleworth, England, tank hit by friendly fire.

March 24:

Sgt. Steven Mark Roberts, Bradford, England, combat

Lance Cpl. Barry Stephen, Perth, Scotland, combat

March 23:

Sapper Luke Allsopp, London, England, combat

Staff Sgt. Simon Cullingworth, Essex, England, combat

Flight Lt. Kevin Barry Main, jet shot down by friendly fire

Flight Lt. David Rhys Williams, jet shot down by friendly fire

March 22:

Lt. Philip Green, helicopter collision

Lt. Marc Lawrence, helicopter collision

Lt. Antony King, Helston, England, helicopter collision

Lt. Philip West, Budock Water, England, helicopter collision

Lt. James Williams, Falmouth, England, helicopter collision

Lt. Andrew Wilson, helicopter collision

March 21:

Color Sgt. John Cecil, Plymouth, England, helicopter crash

Lance Bombardier Llewelyn Karl Evans, Llandudno, Wales, helicopter crash

Capt. Philip Stuart Guy, helicopter crash

Marine Sholto Hedenskog, helicopter crash

Sgt. Les Hehir, Poole, England, helicopter crash

Operator Mechanic Second Class Ian Seymour, helicopter crash

Warrant Officer Second Class Mark Stratford, helicopter crash

Maj. Jason Ward, helicopter crash

Missing soldier shocks Ariz. reservations
03/28/2003
By Lynn Ducey / Associated Press Writer

TUBA CITY -- In this wind-swept town on the sprawling Navajo reservation, an American flag flutters near a trailer home and a swing set moves in the breeze. A stream of solemn visitors silently pass by yellow balloons and signs offering support.

Pfc. Lori Piestewa is listed as missing in Iraq.
"The spirits are there and the angels have gone to keep her safe. Don't worry. We love you," reads one poster taped to a chain link fence.

Inside the home are the parents of Pfc. Lori Piestewa, who has been missing in Iraq since last weekend. The 23-year-old Hopi is the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, the granddaughter of a World War II veteran and a source of pride for Tuba City as one of the very few Indian women in the military.

"The town's kind of in a little shock," said one of the residents, Rick Holmes. "We can't have nothing done. We have to wait and see."

Piestewa is a member of the Army's 507th Maintenance Company, which was attacked by Iraqi soldiers last Sunday. At least two 507th soldiers were killed, and the Defense Department said eight more are missing and five are prisoners of war. Piestewa is among the missing.

This town of 8,200 people -- mostly a collection of government offices, a grocery store, a coin-operated laundry and a pizza parlor -- is marked by its dark red dirt and its tight-knit residents. It is on the Navajo Reservation but close to Hopi land.

"It's been a very sudden traumatic experience for everyone," said Vanessa Charles, spokeswoman for the Hopi Tribe. "These situations are the sort of things that bring people together. It unites people. It helps
people put their differences aside."

Officials from both tribes have attended prayer services in honor of Piestewa (pronounced pee-ESS-tuh-wah) and other military personnel. Hopi officials say she is one of 45 Hopis serving in the U.S. military.

Piestewa is shown with her 4-year-old son.
Historically, American Indians have enlisted in the U.S. military at higher rates than other groups. Defense Department officials say about 12,800 Indians are enlisted.

But as an Indian woman, Piestewa remains a statistical rarity.

Brenda Finnicum, a retired Army nurse and member of the Lumbee tribe, has researched the service of American Indian women in the military for five years and says many tell her they never met another Indian woman in the service.

"Indian women are what I call the invisible warrior. You don't see them," Finnicum said. But she said Indian women have fought in every American conflict for the last 200 years.

Piestewa's relatives say they aren't trying to draw attention to her.

"We are asking that you continue your prayers for all the brave men and women of the armed services and that you pray for their families as well," the family said in a statement.

They remains hopeful Piestewa, a mother of a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, will return home safely with the rest of her company.

"We're just keeping the faith," said one of her brothers, Wayland Piestewa. "And sometimes no news is good news, so we're still hoping."

Also Online
Arizona family still hopeful that missing soldier is alive

Family says loved one still missing in Iraq

Tuba City soldier missing

War with Iraq

Meanwhile, the town is doing what it can, regularly delivering food to the Piestewas, and messages of support. Many cars sport yellow ribbons.

Just inside the entrance to the Bashas' Supermarket, a large photo of Piestewa in uniform is surrounded by yellow roses and other flowers. Green poster boards have been set up to allow the community to write messages to the family.

"A lot of the community members wanted to express their feelings, but not everybody can talk to the family right now," said market employee Reva Hoover.

Teacher Marjorie McCabe said the uncertainty about Piestewa's whereabouts is hard to bear.

"It's just waiting to hear something. I wish the military would find out and let the family know," she said. "They need to know something more definite. The waiting must be killing them."

Associated Press Writer Michelle Rushlo contributed to this story.

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