Tuesday, June 19, 2007

U.S. Soldiers' Heroism With Neglected Iraqi Children


Army Staff Sgt. Kyle Richey cares for one of 24 starving boys in the back of an Iraqi army ambulance. Civic leaders escorted the abused and malnourished boys, found by U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in a Baghdad orphanage, to the Iskan Hospital for medical treatment. Photo by Lt. James Cook, USN

U.S., Iraqi Troops Rescue Malnourished Boys From Baghdad Orphanage
American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, June 20, 2007 – U.S. and Iraqi army forces found an orphanage housing 24 severely malnourished and abused boys in Baghdad's Fajr neighborhood June 10, military officials reported today.
The 24 boys, ranging in age from 3 to 15, were found naked in a darkened room without any windows. Many of the children were tied to their beds and were too weak to stand, officials said. In a nearby locked room, the soldiers discovered food and clothing that could have been used to aid the children. Three women claiming to be the caretakers, and two men -- the orphanage director and a guard -- were on the site when the soldiers arrived.
CBS Plays Story of U.S. Soldiers' Heroism With Neglected Iraqi Children NewsBusters.org: Posted by Justin McCarthy on June 19, 2007 - 11:38.
CBS’s Lara Logan performed a rare act: Reporting a story of heroism among U.S. soldiers. Both the June 18 edition of 'The CBS Evening News' and the June 19 edition of 'The Early Show' ran an extensive story some members of the 82nd Airborne rescuing neglected Iraqi orphans.
The soldiers discovered malnourished children living in extremely unsanitary conditions. Logan then gave played sound bites of several U.S. soldiers describing the horrific conditions and even gave a human face to those serving their country.
Captain Jim Cook noted he 'got a little angry' and Logan reported the children are now being cared for at another facility. At the end of the report, the CBS even ran footage of soldiers playing with and nurturing the children. The entire transcript from 'The Early Show' is here."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the link.

--Ken Shepherd, NB managing editor