My father-in law was a good friend of his.
April 19, 2003, 9:25AM
Ex-POWs will soon be back in Texas
Dead F-15 pilot was from Amarillo
By JOHN W. GONZALEZ
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
Amid a modicum of fanfare and lots of joy, seven former prisoners of war in Iraq return to their Texas Army posts today to be reunited with loved ones and fellow troops, just as the grieving begins for a Panhandle native killed in action.
The former POWs were scheduled to depart Germany at 6 a.m. today and are due to arrive this evening near El Paso at Fort Bliss, where five of them are based with the 507th Maintenance Company.
Their military aircraft then continues to Fort Hood to deliver the other two rescued troops, both helicopter pilots, to awaiting families and friends in Central Texas.
All seven soldiers were liberated from three weeks' captivity a week ago as U.S. troops advanced on Tikrit. They were taken to Kuwait before undergoing several days of medical treatment and observation at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany. On Friday, they made a brief joint appearance and professed an eagerness to get home.
Officials at Fort Bliss said the group is scheduled to arrive at Biggs Army Airfield at 7 p.m. CDT. Returning to the post are Spc. Edgar Adan Hernandez, of Mission; Spc. Joseph Neal Hudson, of Alamogordo, N.M.; Spc. Shoshana Nyree Johnson, of El Paso; Pfc. Patrick Wayne Miller, of Walter, Kan. and Sgt. James Joseph Riley, of Pennsauken, N.J.
Continuing to Fort Hood, near Killeen, will be Chief Warrant Officers David S. Williams, of Orlando, Fla. and Ronald D. Young Jr., of Lithia Springs, Ga. Their Apache helicopter was shot down in Iraq the same day the maintenance company's convoy was ambushed, killing nine other members of the 507th from Fort Bliss.
Another survivor of that ordeal, Spc. Jessica Lynch, was taken captive and held separately from the others and was rescued several days before them. With several serious wounds, she's recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
At Landstuhl, Williams urged the public to keep praying for troops who are still in harm's way in Iraq.
"We all would like to thank our Americans for the tremendous support we've been getting, and we're looking forward to coming home as soon as we possibly can," Williams added.
Johnson is recovering from gunshot wounds to both feet. During the military flight from Kuwait to Landstuhl on Wednesday, a medical technician helped her to the galley where staff were baking cookies for the former POWs and others aboard.
"Shoshana, I got her up and had to hobble her the length of the aircraft on one foot to go up to the kitchen area," Russell Goodwater, 45, told reporters Friday.
At Fort Hood, Army officials are planning to greet the returning pilots no matter what hour they arrive at Gray Army Airfield. Troops from the 4th Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division and the division band will join the post's commanding general in welcoming them, officials said.
Williams will be greeted by his wife, Michelle, also an Army helicopter pilot, and his 2-year-old son, who live at Fort Hood. Young isn't married, but other family members may be journeying to Fort Hood from Georgia.
President Bush, who is spending the Easter holiday at his ranch near Crawford, plans to attend services at Fort Hood on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Air Force disclosed Friday it had recovered and identified the remains of one of two pilots recorded as missing on April 7 when their F-15E Strike Eagle apparently went down near Tikrit after a bombing run over northern Iraq.
Declared dead was Capt. Eric B. Das, 30, who was raised in Amarillo. The unidentified second pilot has not been found. The Pentagon disclosed no details of how Das' remains were recovered.
Das was assigned to the 333rd Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Wing, based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. He lived in Goldsboro, N.C., with his wife, Nikki, a pilot who was deployed to Iraq at the same time as her husband.
The parents of the war's latest casualty, Bruce and Rosie Das, issued a statement saying "Eric is a son that exemplified what faith in Christ, honor and duty and a life of excellence meant. His strong faith was an inspiration to our family, friends and his fellow servicemen and to all who knew him," they said.
"We thank you for your prayers and display of love for us in this time of loss and sorrow. We are comforted with the many joyous memories of Eric's 30 years of life. The Lord, whom we love and serve, is also comforting us," the parents said.
Their son graduated from Amarillo High School in 1991 and the Air Force Academy in 1995. He and his wife were married in Amarillo on October 20, 2001, they said.
After memorial services in Amarillo and Goldsboro, Das will be buried at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., the family said.
"He will be missed," added 4th Fighter Wing spokeswoman 1st Lt. Beverly Mock