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American Morning
Family Watching, Waiting in New Mexico
Aired March 24, 2003 - 08:43 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get to Ed Lavandera. He is standing by live in New Mexico. We do know of a handful of American POWs, now being held by the Iraqis, and there is some videotaped broadcasts yesterday.
Ed Lavandera is tracking that part of the story with one family watching and waiting back in New Mexico.
Ed, hello.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Bill. There are several families desperately hoping that good information will come out of Iraq today. They are the families of several U.S. soldiers that were taken as prisoners of war by Iraqi forces in the town near Nasiriyah (ph).
There is intense fighting that has been going on there. Some of the fiercest fighting we're told by military officials that has gone on to date. We're told one of the people that is under Iraqi forces controlled is 23-year-old Army Specialist Joseph Hudson. He works as part of the 507th Maintenance Company which has been under the operational command of the 3rd Infantry Division. Essentially this is a group of soldiers that helps with the maintenance of these units, making sure that everything runs properly for those other soldiers so they can accomplish their mission.
It was yesterday where Joseph Hudson's mother, who is from the Philippines originally, says she was in her living room watching satellite Filipino television as she has doing since this war has started, getting her news that way, when on the TV screen appeared the images of her son being interviewed by Iraqi forces. She says she dropped her coffee cup and just started crying when she heard the interview with her son. She has just a simple message for the Iraqi forces who are holding her son right now.
(BEGIN CLIP)
ANECITA HUDSON, JOSEPH HUDSON'S MOTHER: I would just like to pass the word of the Iraqi people that I hope they don't get mean to this prisoner, and I hope - I hope that they just going to let my son go home. You know? Like the American (INAUDIBLE), I just hope that my son lives (ph).
(END CLIP)
Bill, the 12 soldiers that have been taken as prisoners of war are from Ft. Bliss Texas, an army base here near El Paso. Many of the families holding on to that there will be good news for many of them coming out of that region, but officials here at this base have been working overtime over the last 24 hours ensuring that all of these families involved in this have been brought up-to-date and know what the situation is with their family members.
There's a family readiness group that has been called into action helping out with the flow of information for these families as well, so they are holding out for any kind of information that might come from Iraq later today perhaps.
Bill.
HEMMER: Tough, tough going. Ed Lavandera live in New Mexico. Ed, thanks to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 24, 2003 - 08:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get to Ed Lavandera. He is standing by live in New Mexico. We do know of a handful of American POWs, now being held by the Iraqis, and there is some videotaped broadcasts yesterday.
Ed Lavandera is tracking that part of the story with one family watching and waiting back in New Mexico.
Ed, hello.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Bill. There are several families desperately hoping that good information will come out of Iraq today. They are the families of several U.S. soldiers that were taken as prisoners of war by Iraqi forces in the town near Nasiriyah (ph).
There is intense fighting that has been going on there. Some of the fiercest fighting we're told by military officials that has gone on to date. We're told one of the people that is under Iraqi forces controlled is 23-year-old Army Specialist Joseph Hudson. He works as part of the 507th Maintenance Company which has been under the operational command of the 3rd Infantry Division. Essentially this is a group of soldiers that helps with the maintenance of these units, making sure that everything runs properly for those other soldiers so they can accomplish their mission.
It was yesterday where Joseph Hudson's mother, who is from the Philippines originally, says she was in her living room watching satellite Filipino television as she has doing since this war has started, getting her news that way, when on the TV screen appeared the images of her son being interviewed by Iraqi forces. She says she dropped her coffee cup and just started crying when she heard the interview with her son. She has just a simple message for the Iraqi forces who are holding her son right now.
(BEGIN CLIP)
ANECITA HUDSON, JOSEPH HUDSON'S MOTHER: I would just like to pass the word of the Iraqi people that I hope they don't get mean to this prisoner, and I hope - I hope that they just going to let my son go home. You know? Like the American (INAUDIBLE), I just hope that my son lives (ph).
(END CLIP)
Bill, the 12 soldiers that have been taken as prisoners of war are from Ft. Bliss Texas, an army base here near El Paso. Many of the families holding on to that there will be good news for many of them coming out of that region, but officials here at this base have been working overtime over the last 24 hours ensuring that all of these families involved in this have been brought up-to-date and know what the situation is with their family members.
There's a family readiness group that has been called into action helping out with the flow of information for these families as well, so they are holding out for any kind of information that might come from Iraq later today perhaps.
Bill.
HEMMER: Tough, tough going. Ed Lavandera live in New Mexico. Ed, thanks to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
