Sunday, July 19, 2009

Captured Soldier

He's alive!

According to the Air Force Times:

The Defense Department on Sunday identified the soldier who has been listed as missing/captured in Afghanistan.

Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho, was declared Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown on July 1. His status was changed to missing/captured July 3.

Bergdahl is a member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, of Fort Richardson, Alaska.

The DoD announcement came one day after The Associated Press reported that the Taliban had posted a video of the soldier. In the video, the man, who two defense officials confirmed to AP was the missing soldier, said he’s “scared I won’t be able to go home.”

In the 28-minute video, the soldier is shown with his head shaved and the start of a beard. He is sitting and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit, according to AP.

Early in the video, one of his captors holds the soldier’s dog tag up to the camera. He is shown eating at one point and sitting cross-legged.

The soldier is interviewed in English by his captors, and he is asked his views on the war, his desire to learn more about Islam and the morale of American soldiers, AP reported.

Asked how he was doing, the soldier said: “Well, I’m scared, scared I won’t be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner.”

He later chokes up when discussing his family and his hope to marry his girlfriend.

“I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America. And I miss them every day when I’m gone,” he said, according to AP.

On July 2, the U.S. military said an American soldier had disappeared after walking off his base in eastern Afghanistan with three Afghan counterparts and was believed to have been taken prisoner, according to AP.


Staff report
Posted : Sunday Jul 19, 2009 10:13:20 EDT

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

May Almighty God watch over this warrior and bring comfort to his family.
May Almighty God protect all our soldiers from harm.
May Almighty God bless our nation.

16 comments:

CI-Roller Dude said...

This is a sad case...but for some "special" reasons, the public may not fully know why this soldier was captured....let's just say for now, that somebody didn't use the best judgement... (a polite way of saying somebody really ----ed up!)

That Janie Girl said...

Amen and amen....may angels given charge over him WAR on his behalf.

Thanks for posting.

Sarge Charlie said...

I feel sad for this soldier, he ain't in Gitmo.

Sarge Charlie said...

I had great response to your post of SFC Beal.

Coffeypot said...

I have felt all along that there was something fishy about this story. But regardless of how and why this happened, I still feel for and will pray for his family.

MightyMom said...

he "walked off" his base and was captured? huh??


tis chilling.

Unknown said...

c-i...we most likely will never know the details of this soldier. Sad, indeed.

Unknown said...

janie..I thank you for stopping by!

Unknown said...

sarge...no doubt about it, he is not in a good place. He and his family need our prayers.

Unknown said...

sarge..I thank you for passing the SFC Beal item along!

Unknown said...

coffeypot...I agree with you! It was a shock to me that he is still alive. May his family know love and support during this challenging chapter.

Unknown said...

mightymom...truly, I doubt if we will ever learn the details of this incident. so be it. Prayers for his family are needed.

Tami said...

AM~
There has been more than one story as to how this happened but it is still heartbreaking to see and hear the video and to think of one of our own going through this. I pray for this young man and his family.


God Bless,
aam

Unknown said...

aam...I have yet to bring myself to watch the video. It is so very heartbreaking...no matter how this happened, he has a mom who loves him so.

Julie D said...

I just pray for this young man nonstop.

Unknown said...

julie...our prayers are so very important for this soldier and his family!