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CNN Live At Daybreak

Body of Last American Listed as Missing in Iraq War Located

Aired May 01, 2003 - 05:57   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On Monday, the body of the last American listed as missing in the Iraq war was located. He was based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Now, yesterday a memorial was held for the 34 soldiers stationed at Fort Stewart who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
CNN's Brian Cabell was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-four helmets, 34 pairs of boots, 34 dog tags. That's the toll so far from the 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart. Thirty-four soldiers killed in the fighting in Iraq.

COL. GERALD POLTORAK, FORT STEWART COMMANDER: Throughout the fight, the values of our soldiers and our nation showed brightly. They fought for freedom and showed compassion to the vanquished.

CABELL: The Third Division led the charge up the center of Iraq from Kuwait to Baghdad, and that's why the casualties were so high. Almost one fourth of the American dead came from this division. And now to honor them, 34 trees, Eastern Redbuds freshly planted, forming what Fort Stewart calls Warriors Walk.

They'll bloom gloriously in the springtime, experts say, appropriate because that's when the men died. Consolation, perhaps, for the families who've come to say good-bye.

And talk to them, the families, and many will tell you they have few regrets about the career choices their soldiers made.

DENISE MARSHALL, WIDOW: I could sit here, you know, stand around all day and question his choice to do what he did. But I respect him for his choice.

CABELL: Was it worth it, dying on a battlefield in Iraq? For the father of Sergeant Eugene Williams, who's still pained by his loss, maybe it was.

ULYSES WILLIAMS, FATHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: One day I was watching TV and when I saw them guys jumping up and hollering, saying, "We free! We free!," I knew my son didn't die for nothing.

CABELL: It's the cost of war. Soldiers know that. So do their families. And sometimes there's nothing they can take home with them except a dog tag with a loved one's name on it, some cherished memories, tears that will be slow to dry and pride for a soldier who did his duty.

Brian Cabell, CNN, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Located>


Aired May 1, 2003 - 05:57   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On Monday, the body of the last American listed as missing in the Iraq war was located. He was based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Now, yesterday a memorial was held for the 34 soldiers stationed at Fort Stewart who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
CNN's Brian Cabell was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-four helmets, 34 pairs of boots, 34 dog tags. That's the toll so far from the 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart. Thirty-four soldiers killed in the fighting in Iraq.

COL. GERALD POLTORAK, FORT STEWART COMMANDER: Throughout the fight, the values of our soldiers and our nation showed brightly. They fought for freedom and showed compassion to the vanquished.

CABELL: The Third Division led the charge up the center of Iraq from Kuwait to Baghdad, and that's why the casualties were so high. Almost one fourth of the American dead came from this division. And now to honor them, 34 trees, Eastern Redbuds freshly planted, forming what Fort Stewart calls Warriors Walk.

They'll bloom gloriously in the springtime, experts say, appropriate because that's when the men died. Consolation, perhaps, for the families who've come to say good-bye.

And talk to them, the families, and many will tell you they have few regrets about the career choices their soldiers made.

DENISE MARSHALL, WIDOW: I could sit here, you know, stand around all day and question his choice to do what he did. But I respect him for his choice.

CABELL: Was it worth it, dying on a battlefield in Iraq? For the father of Sergeant Eugene Williams, who's still pained by his loss, maybe it was.

ULYSES WILLIAMS, FATHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: One day I was watching TV and when I saw them guys jumping up and hollering, saying, "We free! We free!," I knew my son didn't die for nothing.

CABELL: It's the cost of war. Soldiers know that. So do their families. And sometimes there's nothing they can take home with them except a dog tag with a loved one's name on it, some cherished memories, tears that will be slow to dry and pride for a soldier who did his duty.

Brian Cabell, CNN, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




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