Document Page: First | Prev | Next | All | Image | This Release | Search

		16
 a prisoner-of-war, then the Iraqis would be accountable
 for my whereabouts.

 Q: What kind of information was given back to your family
 in regards to your captivity?
 
 A: Nothing. The first the U.S. Government and my family
 knew about it was when they broadcast the tape on CNN
 that we were prisoners-of-war. Up until that time they
 just knew I was missing. Then when I was in prison, they
 knew nothing really, other than I was a prisoner.

 Q: It appears that CNN knew more about what was going on
 over there than the government.

 A: That's true, in regard that CNN had access. They were
 there, they had more access than the Red Cross. CNN
 could go just about anywhere in Baghdad. Now, granted,
 they were shown things that were slanted towards the Iraqi
 point of view. But you can't deny the press is going to
 be a lot quicker than any government to deliver news,
 because the governments just weren't talking. But they
 were talking to CNN. That's how my wife found out I was
 being released. She was up early one morning and heard
 they might release some prisoners...we were getting off
 the bus at the hotel to be turned over to the Interna-
 tional Red Cross. It was about 4 o'clock in the morning
 here (Goldsboro, NC), and about noon in Iraq and she saw
 me come off the bus. She called MPC (USAF Military
 Personnel Center), the number they gave her down there,
 and said: "I think my husband is one of the prisoners
 that's being released." And the guy down there said:
 "Ma'am, we know nothing about this." The Air Force
 didn't find out until they got the message from the Red
 Cross and we were turned over to the US Ambassador in
 Jordan. 

 Q: Did your captors ever give you any idea of how the war
 was progressing? Did they ever talk about it?

 A: No, except in one interrogation. Let me back up a little
 bit. Normally, we were given no news at all. After I'd
 been in this one prison a while, one guy approached me
 and said: "I think you know that President Bush
 has been assassinated. It was in the manner of this
 Kennedy assassination; it was in his house." And I
 thought: "Nobody calls it his house. It's the White
 House. Kennedy was shot on the street." So I didn't
 - believe the guy and I said: "Thanks very much." And I
 asked him how long ago did this happen? And he said two
 to three days ago. About five days later, I went into
 another interrogation and at the end of it they said:
 "Well, we'd like to give you some news. Your President

Document Page: First | Prev | Next | All | Image | This Release | Search