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Town cheers Army pilot's safe return Homecoming at Douglas County High School for freed POW By MIA TAYLOR The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Douglasville -- A hometown crowd anxiously awaiting the arrival of their local hero pressed their faces against chain link fences and peered over the back of bleachers into Douglas County High School's parking lot, eager to catch a glimpse of the freed prisoner of war. Ron Young Jr. emerged from a black limousine wearing his Army uniform. The crowd of 2,500 erupted, cheering and clapping. Young looked wide-eyed as he stepped from the vehicle and surveyed the crowd from...

LITHIA SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) - An Army helicopter pilot who was captured in Iraq said he was beaten with a stick during his captivity, but the most terrifying part of his experience was right after his helicopter went down. Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young Jr. said the Iraqis kept firing at him and co-pilot David Williams after their helicopter went down in central Iraq on March 23. To try to escape, they dived into a canal and swam about a half-mile. Then they ran toward a stand of trees, but farmers with rifles captured them, Young said. The Iraqis held...

EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- Seven former prisoners of war were on their way back to their home posts Saturday, much to the relief of community members who for weeks anxiously hoped for their safe return. "I think there was a bit of fear with all of us," Fort Bliss contract worker Jennifer Murphy said. "There was a fear they wouldn't be found, abandoned in a cell to rot."The much-awaited homecomings were set for Saturday night, when a C-17 aircraft was to return five soldiers from Germany to El Paso's Fort Bliss, then head to Fort Hood in central Texas...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryApril 19, 2003 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This weekend, families across America will come together to celebrate Easter, and continue the observance of Passover. This holy season reminds us of the value of freedom, and the power of a love stronger than death. This year, Easter and Passover have special meaning for the families of our men and women in uniform who feel so intensely the absence of their loved ones during these days. More than 250,000 American troops are serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom to protect our security and...

Families of Seven Rescued POWS Rejoice By CHRIS ROBERTS .c The Associated Press EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Just two days after Fort Bliss mourned nine soldiers from the 507th Maintenance Company, ``great rejoicing'' began with word that five other members of the unit who were taken prisoner in Iraq are now free. ``When it all started it was like a nightmare,'' Joel Hernandez told NBC's ``Today'' show Monday about the capture of his brother, Army Spc. Edgar Alan Hernandez. ``We were just waiting for good news and we got that good news, and now it's time to celebrate.'' Hernandez...

Reuters Seven American soldiers rescued in Iraq were held in separate cells in Baghdad during most of their time as prisoners of war but were moved as US forces advanced on the Iraqi capital, The Washington Post reported today. For 12 to 15 days, the former prisoners could hear the nightly bombing raids as US warplanes pounded Baghdad. They were taken to another location after the prison was rattled by a powerful explosion about 50 metres from the building, the report said. It was the first of many moves. The former prisoners told the newspaper they stayed at a total...

Kaye Young, left, kisses Jennifer Skiver, the wife of another helicopter pilot, after a news conference at the Young home in Lithia Springs, Ga. To the family of former prisoner of war Ronald D. Young Jr., his rescue Sunday was an answer to prayer and fasting, and not just by their LDS ward members. "There were so many people praying for him, I don't see how it could possibly go any other way," said Ronald D. Young Sr., his dad, interviewed by telephone at their home in Lithia Springs, Ga. "Today was the best day of my life." For...

IN STRIPED pyjamas and sandals, seven American prisoners of war limped to freedom in northern Iraq yesterday, after their captors had fled from US forces advancing on President Saddam Hussein’s home city of Tikrit. Blinking from the sunlight as they emerged from 22 days of captivity, the six men and one woman clung to their rescuers, barely believing that they had escaped with their lives. News of the rescue, which included two Apache helicopter pilots shot down over Iraq on March 24, was greeted with jubilation by the soldiers’ families. Some wept with relief as they watched television pictures...

Being reported on CNN - 6 POWs - found alive. No more information.

A Lithia Springs aviator was one of two soldiers captured when their helicopter went down in Iraq. Military officials said the helicopter flown by Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, and David S. Williams, 30, of Orlando, both Army chief warrant officers, did not return from its mission Sunday. Young's mother said Monday night from her home in Douglas County that she had a feeling something had happened to her son. "I've never had such an awful feeling in my life," Kaye Young said. She was supposed to go to lunch Monday with her daughters, but she didn't. "I couldn't. I...

Seven American POW's, including tewo helicopter pilots as well as members of the 507th Maintenance Company, have been turned over to a Marine unit near amarra without a fight. The unit was in the area for another mission, when an Iraqi policeman apporached and said "I know you are here for the prisoners".

Families of recovered US servicemen notified WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Several families of U.S. soldiers captured in the Iraq war said they got official confirmation on Sunday that their relatives were safe, CNN reported. The family of Spc. Soshana Johnson, 30, of Kansas, the only woman officially listed by the Pentagon as a prisoner of war, said the Department of Defense Pentagon told them she had been recovered, according to CNN. Ronald Young Sr., the father of Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young Jr., a captured Army pilot, said he also received official confirmation that his son was among the...

<p>April 12, 2003 -- President Bush yesterday vowed to find the seven missing American POWs, whose whereabouts are still unknown three days after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.</p> <p>"We will use every resource we have to find any POWs that are alive," the president told reporters yesterday. "And we pray that they are alive, because if they are we will find them."</p>

Iraqi TV Shows Men Said Downed in Copter 29 minutes ago By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press WriterBAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi state television on Monday showed two men said to have been the U.S. crew of an Apache helicopter forced down during heavy fighting in central Iraq (news - web sites). AP Photo Latest news: · Bush, Blair Plan 2-Day Meeting in U.S. AP - 24 minutes ago · Allies Advance As Warplanes Hit Baghdad AP - 29 minutes ago · Iraqi TV Shows Men Said Downed in Copter AP - 29 minutes ago Special Coverage   Gen. Tommy Franks, the...

Helicoptor pilots family was on CNN. Great interveiw. Mother said that protestors are not helping out the families whao have loved ones, this is not Vietnam/this is a voluntary Army. Sister stated that she supports what troops are doing. God Speed Ronald Young!