http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16971-2003Apr13.html


MARINE COMBAT HEADQUARTERS, April 13 -- U.S. Marines today rescued seven American soldiers who were being held prisoner by Iraqi forces north of Baghdad, Marine officers said.

The rescued prisoners, all U.S. Army soldiers, were reported in good condition, although two had suffered gunshot wounds, the officers said. The rescued soldiers were being flown to a military medical facility near Baghdad. The soldiers were not identified; the Pentagon currently lists seven U.S. services members as prisoners of war and six others as missing in action.

This is so cool!  A true answer to prayers. :)

A blessing, that is for sure.

That's just amazing.  Hope the injured have quick recoveries.

Excellent news!

      ALL SEVEN of the soldiers were released after medical examinations in Kuwait, an Army nurse said Sunday.
     
      The seven had been flown to an undisclosed location in Kuwait within hours of their rescue. Three were examined for injuries; the other four were assessed and found to have no problems, said Army Lt. Col. Ruth Lee.
     
      Clad in an assortment of pajamas and shorts, the soldiers — who had been held captive for 22 days — clambered out of helicopters to a delighted welcome at an air base in southern Iraq, hours after their release.
     
      From there, the seven were taken by helicopter to a base near Kut and then flown to a military airport south of Kuwait City.
     
      Two of the POWs — Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr. of Lithia Springs, Ga., and Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, 30, of Orlando, Fla. - were shot down in their Apache helicopter south of Baghdad on March 23.

      The five others were part of the Army’s 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company whose convoy was ambushed outside the southern city of Nasiriyah, also on March 23. They are Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, Fort Bliss, Texas; Sgt. James Riley, 31, Pennsauken, N.J.; Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, Alamogordo, N.M.; Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, Park City, Kan.; and Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21, Mission, Texas.  
 
      All the missing members of the 507th are now accounted for.
     
      Iraqi troops north of Baghdad told Marines near the town of Samarrah that they would shortly “come in contact with a number of Americans,” Gen. Tommy Franks, the war’s commander, said on Fox News. The Iraqis apparently had been abandoned by their commanding officers as the U.S. forces advanced on Tikirt, the hometown of Saddam Hussein.
     
      The Washington Post, quoting a Marine commander near the Iraqi town Samarrah, reported that Iraqi guards brought the prisoners to the Marines.

Complete Story:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/889604.asp?0si=-&cp1=1