After Iraq: Let freedom ring has special significance for former POW

In Iraq, Chief Warrant Officer Ron Young Jr. experienced for himself the miracle of freedom.

On March 23, Young's Army Apache helicopter crashed during fierce fire over Karbala, 50 miles southwest of Baghdad. He and his co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Dave Williams, then ran for about an hour and a half and swam through a river and irrigation canals, trying to evade the enemy. But the two American pilots couldn't run forever and were captured.

Three weeks later, on April 13, a group of Marines kicked in a door near Tikrit and shouted, "If you're an American, stand up!"

He and six other American prisoners of war were free once more.

"For me it was like winning the lottery of life," Young told the Deseret Morning News in an exclusive interview. "We had just pretty much been sitting there waiting. For 22 straight days, every day we almost lost our life somehow."

Because of his bravery and role in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Young will be honored tonight during the 2003 Freedom Awards Gala of America's Freedom Festival at the Brigham Young University ballroom. Others to be honored include former U.S. Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah; Gerald R. Molen, producer of the award-winning film "Schindler's List"; and Helmuth Hbener, Rudi Wobbe and Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, members of a Nazi resistance group.

Young, of Lithia Springs, Ga., said it was indeed a miracle that he made it home safely.

Always an optimist, Young said his captors could have treated him a lot worse.

He said he was beaten the first couple of days, but the worst part of the ordeal was the food and dirty water. He lost 25 pounds in 22 days.

"They would feed us rice, and every three days they would give us a piece of chicken."

The chicken, he said, was not fully boiled. "I ended up with salmonella. It was just horrible. . . .

"It was truly terrifying pretty much every single day just thinking, 'How much more creative could this get,' " he said, "and 'How many more ways could you possibly almost lose your life.' "

Shared experience

Most pilots, Young said, have a certain self-assurance. No one ever thinks his plane or helicopter will go down.