Posted on 03/28/2003 11:04:35 PM PST by SlickWillard
To the POW's... we will not rest. God be with you until your brothers get there to bring you home.
Group photos: Iraqi women soldiers |
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3rd ID have reportedly been told by their commanders that just because a guy is waving a white flag, that doesn't necessarily mean that they have to stop shooting. Thanks to the Fedayeen, "no quarter" may become the Americans' rule.
LAURA CRUZ
Gannett News Service
March 27, 2003
The ambush in Iraq of 507th Maintenance Company members from Fort Bliss and the capture and possible execution of some of the U.S. soldiers could be one of the darkest moments in military history involving women in combat.
With one female soldier captured and two missing, the events that unfolded in the desert sands of southern Iraq on Sunday are sure to reignite the emotional debate over women in the military and in combat.
As families of the women involved in the ambush near An Nasiriyah await word of what happened, several relatives said they did not have a problem with women sent in harm's way.
West Virginian Ernie Cumbridge, a cousin of Jessica Lynch, who is one of the missing women, said, "Man or woman, it don't matter what sex you are. You can get killed either way."
Lynch, of Palestine, W.Va., and Pfc. Lori Piestewa of Tuba City, Ariz., are missing. (Piestewa may have executed)
Spc. Shoshana Johnson of El Paso, Texas, is being held by Iraqi forces.
They were part of a convoy that was ambushed after making a wrong turn near An Nasiriyah.
Johnson's father, Claude, said he believes women have a place in the military.
"I've always been an advocate of women joining the Army at any level they choose," said Johnson, a 20-year Army veteran.
"Women have proven their worth in the military. I don't have a problem with women even being combat soldiers."
Johnson said what he does have a problem with is placing soldiers who are not trained specifically for combat in hostile situations.
"She (Shoshana) was not an infantryman," he said. "Right now, I don't think women should be very close to the combat because they're not trained to be infantrymen. They are not trained to engage the enemy the way soldiers are engaging the enemy right now."
The U.S. military has about 200,000 women, 15 percent of the military's personnel.
In the 1991 Persian Gulf War, 13 U.S. female soldiers were killed.
Four of the deaths were under enemy fire, including three women who were among the 28 U.S. Army reservists killed Feb. 25, 1991, during an Iraqi Scud missile attack in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
It was also during that war that Army Spc. Melissa Rathburn-Nealy of the 233rd Transportation Company and Maj. Rhonda Cornum, an Army flight surgeon, were taken prisoner by Iraqi troops. While Rathburn-Nealy said she was treated well by her captors, Cornum said she was sexually molested.
Retired Maj. Gen. Travis "Rusty" Dyer, former Fort Bliss chief of staff, said women play a vital role in the military. But he does not like to see women in dangerous situations.
"The women who are in the 507th Maintenance Company belong in that company and definitely have a place there, but at the same time I don't think women should be in a combat unit," Dyer said. "I would hate to see my wife or daughters in a combat unit, knowing what I know and have seen."
Dyer said the reason he does not like women in combat units is that soldiers are required to carry and use heavy machinery, which the female body is not physically capable of doing.
"I had many females under my command, and I thought they were great soldiers, but I'm very protective of females," he said. "I didn't want to see them placed in harm's way."
I think last Tuesday there was an attack in the city of Nasiriya where 11 Marines were missing. The story you read detailed discovery of the remains of 7 Marines. (5 bodies in a burnt out vehicle. The other two the Iraqis buried)
Now they are looking for 4 more.
Found it...
LINK http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/29/1048653868288.html
By Patrick Bishop outside Basra and Reuters
March 29 2003
Iraqi forces fired mortar bombs near about 1000 civilians waiting to cross a bridge leading out of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a British officer said last night.
No one was believed to have died in the attack but one woman was seriously injured, said Captain Robert Sandford with the 7th Armoured Brigade.
"It would seem that there are several small groups of Iraqi militia using mortar plates on the back of small, mobile vehicles. They landed around eight or nine mortars near the group [of civilians]."
Captain Sandford said British forces could not return fire immediately because it was hard to locate the attackers.
A steady flow of people have been trying to leave the besieged city for the past two days, but it was not a massive outflow. For every two people trying to leave, one was trying to get back in.
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Tuba City native still missing in action
By Sararesa Begay
The Navajo Times
TUBA CITY, Ariz. | March 27, 2003
The war against Iraq has hit close to home.
A young Tuba City woman is one of about a dozen members of an Army maintenance unit who have been missing in action since Sunday.
The Percy and Terry Piestewa family believe that their youngest daughter, Pfc. Lori Piestewa, 22, and her comrades will be found safe and returned to their families, according to a prepared family statement issued by Vanessa Charles, the Hopi Tribe's pubic relations person.
Lori Piestewa is assigned to the 507th Maintenance Company at Fort Bliss, Texas.
She is a Tuba City High graduate, and joined the military about two years ago.
"We would like to thank all those individuals who opened their hearts and arms to our family in wishing Lori a speedy and safe return home," the Piestewa family statement said. "As of 2 p.m. (MST on March 25) Lori's current status remains at Missing in Action. We are asking that you continue your prayers for all the brave men and women of the Armed Service and that you pray for their families as well."
Lori Piestewa is a mother of two young children who are part Navajo.
The family is making 6 p.m. (MST) everyday a time for prayer and unity, according to the statement.
Waylon Piestewa, 32, the older brother of Lori, told the Navajo Times on Tuesday that his parents were "not entertaining questions" from the media.
Waylon Piestewa referred questions to Charles and the Army Depot in Beaumont, Ariz.
However, Army Depot representatives, who refused to be identified, wouldn't give information on the status of Lori Piestewa.
Reports show two members of Piestewa's unit were seen in an Iraqi state-run video broadcast on Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based Arabic language television news network.
Other members of the unit are missing and feared captured or dead after their unit became lost in southern Iraq and was attacked by enemy forces, according to the Associated Press.
About 300 friends and family met Monday night at the St. Jude's Catholic Church in Tuba City.
It was an emotional gathering, but there were words of encouragement and humor, according to Lena Fowler, a Tuba City resident.
"She's a real warrior," Fowler said during a Tuesday telephone interview. "Just like the Tuba City High School Warriors."
The 507th Maintenance Co. was deployed last month with the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, according to the Associated Press.
The 507th, mostly mechanics, keep diesel tanker trucks rolling, fix generators and keep mechanical parts in good shape.
Two American prisoners questioned on Iraqi television have said they were with the 507th.
Lori Piestewa was deployed about four weeks ago, according to the Associated Press.
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