2 Utah soldiers get look at Saddam's rat hole

At least two Utah soldiers helped analyze the hiding hole where Saddam Hussein was captured, after the former Iraqi dictator was taken away by U.S. forces.

There is no indication so far that any Utahns were involved with the actual capture. Meanwhile, Utah troops in Iraq and at home were jubilant.

Diane Gundersen, West Jordan, said her husband told her about the investigation of the dictator's hiding place during a telephone call from Iraq on Sunday. Her husband is Lt. Col. Edward Gundersen, commander of the Utah National Guard 142nd Military Intelligence Battalion, stationed in Iraq.

"He just told me he doesn't want it glamorized because it's not a big deal," she said.

"There were two people from his battalion who were involved with the exploitation of the site, after the fact. After they took Saddam away, they went in and looked at the evidence."

Asked if any members of the unit were involved in the capture or provided information before forces swooped down on Saddam, she replied, "He didn't say. . . . He's only allowed to say what's already come out in the news."

Her husband is excited about American forces nabbing the dictator, and so is Diane Gundersen.

"I am absolutely thrilled," she said. "This is one of the best things that could happen."

Also elated was Lt. Col. John Pearson, a Rose Park resident stationed in Iraq who is the automation branch chief in a California Army Reserve unit.

"Yesterday was a great day here," he wrote in an e-mail to the Deseret Morning News. "In our TOC (tactical operations center) there were high-fives all around and a feeling of accomplishment for a strong team effort."

Pearson added that the troops know the battle is not over. "But the head has been cut off so it'll make it tougher for the rest," he noted, referring to those who are opposing the coalition presence.

"There was quite a lot of gunfire coming from town as people were quite excited about what was going on. For us here, we'll celebrate today and tomorrow will be another day," Pearson added.

By "town," he meant Baghdad. The communications center where he works is close to downtown Baghdad. He and others at the center heard a great deal of celebratory gunfire both at night after Saddam's capture was announced and again the following morning.