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American Morning
Historic Moment
Aired April 10, 2003 - 09:52 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.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
LESLIE SAGER, MOTHER OF U.S. MARINE: ... he said, mom, if you turn on TV, I'm on the statue holding the guy that has the American flag. And I'm also the one that put the chain around Saddam's neck.
ZAHN: Had you been watching television at that point?
L. SAGER: No, I had gone outside, and my neighbor next door, whose son is also a Marine told me, are you watching TV? They're getting ready to pull the statue down. I said no, I'm doing other things. And I went in the house, and I turned it on, and I saw it, but I saw him from a rearview, and he's lost weight, and I just -- I was just so in awe of watching him do it. I had no idea it was my son.
ZAHN: Jerry were you able to talk to him, too, when your son called when he was standing on the statue?
JERRY SAGER, FATHER OF U.S. MARINE: No, I was at work, and I'm disappointed I missed the phone call. First chance I had to talk to him was this morning. And I don't know, I wish I had been able to talk to him.
ZAHN: What did he tell you about the experience yesterday, and what Iraqi civilians told him about helping pull the statue down?
L. SAGER: He was just, I guess, excited, just really high on energy, watching all these people sitting there will cheering for them as they tried to help them do it. The people I guess just -- I guess had so much animosity in them, and they tried I guess with a rope to try to get him and hitting the darn statue, and they couldn't do it. So when the Marines said that they could, I guess it just broke out in pandemonium. And once it came down, then that was it. The people took over.
ZAHN: Well, it must have been a huge relief to your son that he kind of got the outpouring of support that he did there, but the government has warned clearly that the hardest part of this job is yet to come. Did he talk anything -- did he tell you anything about any of his fears as the mission kind of changes now, as you try to bring some sense of civil order to the city?
J. SAGER: Shifting gears is the hard part. It's going from knocking them down to help building them back up, and I think he's looking forward to it. ZAHN: I know, Leslie, you said it appeared as though your son had lost some weight, and I know in one of the telephone conversations, he told you that he smelled worse than a camel. How is he holding up physically, other than the weight loss?
L. SAGER: From what he told my mother, he -- they had a rough time coming in. He said it was not an easy trip. He told me he's seen quite a bit. And the fact that, you know, he got to be there with special forces to help rescue the POW also, and he saw quite a bit there.
So I guess he's just I guess really -- they were just really happy to see a nice change of scenery for a change, that people weren't throwing rocks at them and charging them as though they were going to hurt them, and in this case, they were welcoming them with open arms. In fact, my son got kissed by an Iraqi, which I thought was pretty cool.
ZAHN: He probably did, too. Before we let you go, we should also explain that your son, David, was involved in activity that actually helped lead to the rescue of Private First Class Jessica Lynch. Has he been able to share any of those details with you?
L. SAGER: He said they were out in front with the crossfire going, while special forces was sneaking in the backdoor. And he said that she was pretty badly beat up, and he said it was an experience he'll never forget, that it was the rush of helping her get out and picking up the other fallen soldiers, but there was also the sadness of seeing just how bad it was.
ZAHN: Well, we can only imagine how much pride you have in your son, David, also your son, Kevin, who is a Navy corpsman. I can't even imagine how much worry you must have in your heart.
L. SAGER: Yes. I mean, with him being in one end of Iraq and my other one in the other end, it's quite a jolt when you get a phone call, and like I said, when I got the call yesterday, I thought they were going to tell me he was dead. That was the last thing I expected to get a phone call from Baghdad, because he had already told me before he left that he wasn't going to be able to call.
J. SAGER: It's been a rough couple of weeks.
L. SAGER: Oh, yes. My mother, my neighbor next door we sit and live for CNN, NBC, Fox, anything that shows any sign of our guys.
ZAHN: Well, you certainly got the surprise of your life yesterday when your neighbor told you to turn on the television set and you see your son straddling that statue of Saddam Hussein.
Leslie and Jerry, best of luck to your family, and thank you so much for sharing your story with us this morning.
L. SAGER: Well, thank you.
J. SAGER: Thank you. ZAHN: Thank you very much.
It will be a very happy day when you get both those sons back, won't it?
J. SAGER: Looking forward to it.
L. SAGER: Yes.
ZAHN: I'll bet you are. Thanks again.
L. SAGER: Thank 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 April 10, 2003 - 09:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
LESLIE SAGER, MOTHER OF U.S. MARINE: ... he said, mom, if you turn on TV, I'm on the statue holding the guy that has the American flag. And I'm also the one that put the chain around Saddam's neck.
ZAHN: Had you been watching television at that point?
L. SAGER: No, I had gone outside, and my neighbor next door, whose son is also a Marine told me, are you watching TV? They're getting ready to pull the statue down. I said no, I'm doing other things. And I went in the house, and I turned it on, and I saw it, but I saw him from a rearview, and he's lost weight, and I just -- I was just so in awe of watching him do it. I had no idea it was my son.
ZAHN: Jerry were you able to talk to him, too, when your son called when he was standing on the statue?
JERRY SAGER, FATHER OF U.S. MARINE: No, I was at work, and I'm disappointed I missed the phone call. First chance I had to talk to him was this morning. And I don't know, I wish I had been able to talk to him.
ZAHN: What did he tell you about the experience yesterday, and what Iraqi civilians told him about helping pull the statue down?
L. SAGER: He was just, I guess, excited, just really high on energy, watching all these people sitting there will cheering for them as they tried to help them do it. The people I guess just -- I guess had so much animosity in them, and they tried I guess with a rope to try to get him and hitting the darn statue, and they couldn't do it. So when the Marines said that they could, I guess it just broke out in pandemonium. And once it came down, then that was it. The people took over.
ZAHN: Well, it must have been a huge relief to your son that he kind of got the outpouring of support that he did there, but the government has warned clearly that the hardest part of this job is yet to come. Did he talk anything -- did he tell you anything about any of his fears as the mission kind of changes now, as you try to bring some sense of civil order to the city?
J. SAGER: Shifting gears is the hard part. It's going from knocking them down to help building them back up, and I think he's looking forward to it. ZAHN: I know, Leslie, you said it appeared as though your son had lost some weight, and I know in one of the telephone conversations, he told you that he smelled worse than a camel. How is he holding up physically, other than the weight loss?
L. SAGER: From what he told my mother, he -- they had a rough time coming in. He said it was not an easy trip. He told me he's seen quite a bit. And the fact that, you know, he got to be there with special forces to help rescue the POW also, and he saw quite a bit there.
So I guess he's just I guess really -- they were just really happy to see a nice change of scenery for a change, that people weren't throwing rocks at them and charging them as though they were going to hurt them, and in this case, they were welcoming them with open arms. In fact, my son got kissed by an Iraqi, which I thought was pretty cool.
ZAHN: He probably did, too. Before we let you go, we should also explain that your son, David, was involved in activity that actually helped lead to the rescue of Private First Class Jessica Lynch. Has he been able to share any of those details with you?
L. SAGER: He said they were out in front with the crossfire going, while special forces was sneaking in the backdoor. And he said that she was pretty badly beat up, and he said it was an experience he'll never forget, that it was the rush of helping her get out and picking up the other fallen soldiers, but there was also the sadness of seeing just how bad it was.
ZAHN: Well, we can only imagine how much pride you have in your son, David, also your son, Kevin, who is a Navy corpsman. I can't even imagine how much worry you must have in your heart.
L. SAGER: Yes. I mean, with him being in one end of Iraq and my other one in the other end, it's quite a jolt when you get a phone call, and like I said, when I got the call yesterday, I thought they were going to tell me he was dead. That was the last thing I expected to get a phone call from Baghdad, because he had already told me before he left that he wasn't going to be able to call.
J. SAGER: It's been a rough couple of weeks.
L. SAGER: Oh, yes. My mother, my neighbor next door we sit and live for CNN, NBC, Fox, anything that shows any sign of our guys.
ZAHN: Well, you certainly got the surprise of your life yesterday when your neighbor told you to turn on the television set and you see your son straddling that statue of Saddam Hussein.
Leslie and Jerry, best of luck to your family, and thank you so much for sharing your story with us this morning.
L. SAGER: Well, thank you.
J. SAGER: Thank you. ZAHN: Thank you very much.
It will be a very happy day when you get both those sons back, won't it?
J. SAGER: Looking forward to it.
L. SAGER: Yes.
ZAHN: I'll bet you are. Thanks again.
L. SAGER: Thank 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
