POW and MIA in Iraq and Afghanistan Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
Here’s a look at US POW/MIA’s in Iraq and Afghanistan from 1991 to present.
Scott Speicher
January 17, 1991 – During the first night of Operation Desert Storm, Navy pilot Lt. Cmdr. Michael Scott Speicher is shot down over Iraq. He is initially declared MIA.
July 2009 – A crash site is investigated by US Marines after a tip from an Iraqi civilian.
August 2, 2009 – The Department of Defense announces that remains found at the crash site have been positively identified as Speicher’s.
Barry T. Cooke and Patrick K. Connor
February 2, 1991 – During a mission, Navy pilot Lt. Cmdr. Barry T. Cooke and Lt. Patrick K. Connor are shot down over Kuwait. Both are declared MIA.
March 31, 1991 – Connor’s remains are found on the northern shoreline of the Persian Gulf.
May 17, 1991 – Cooke is memorialized at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors. His body is not recovered and his status is changed from missing in action to killed in action.
Robert J. Dwyer
February 5, 1991 – During a mission, Navy pilot Lt. Robert J. Dwyer disappears over the Persian Gulf. He is declared MIA.
February 28, 1991 – The Pentagon confirms Dwyer as killed in action.
507th Maintenance Co.
March 23, 2003 – Members of the Army’s 507th Maintenance Co. are ambushed after getting separated from their convoy. Eight soldiers are killed and six are captured.
Five captives are kept together as a group:
– Specialist Joseph Hudson
– Pfc. Patrick Miller
– Specialist Shoshana Johnson
– Specialist Edgar Hernandez
– Sgt. James Riley
The sixth captive, Pfc. Jessica Lynch, is held separately. See CNN’s Jessica Lynch Fast Facts for details about her captivity and rescue.
April 13, 2003 – US Marines rescue the five POWs from the 507th Maintenance Company, as well as two pilots who were captured in March after their helicopter crashed near Karbala, Iraq. The pilots, Chief Warrant Officers David S. Williams and Ronald D. Young Jr., were held with the prisoners from the 507th Maintenance Company.
Keith Matthew Maupin
April 9, 2004 – Army Staff Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin is captured by insurgents after his convoy comes under attack near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.
April 16, 2004 – Al Jazeera broadcasts a video showing a person who identifies himself as Maupin.
June 28, 2004 – A video purportedly showing Maupin’s execution is broadcast by Al Jazeera. The identity of the person in the tape cannot be verified by US officials.
March 30, 2008 – Maupin’s family announces that his remains have been found in Iraq, and positively identified by DNA testing.
Ahmed K. Altaie
October 23, 2006 – Staff Sgt. Ahmed K. Altaie is kidnapped after leaving the Green Zone in Baghdad.
February 2007 – A video purportedly of Altaie appears on a militant Shiite website. Altaie’s uncle says that the man in the video is his nephew.
February 25, 2012 – The Pentagon confirms that it has positively identified the remains of Altaie. The DOD announces that he is the final missing soldier to be recovered from the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division
May 12, 2007 – Insurgents attack a military observation post south of Baghdad. Four American soldiers are killed and three troops go missing. The missing men are Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty. Two days after the ambush, a group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq claims to have captured the soldiers.
May 25, 2007 – The DOD announces that a body found in Iraq has been positively identified as Anzack.
June 4, 2007 – The Islamic State of Iraq releases a video in which they claim the other two missing soldiers have been killed. The video shows what appears to be their military identification cards.
July 11, 2008 – Officials confirm that two bodies found in the desert have been identified as Fouty and Jimenez.
Sgt. Bowe R. Bergdahl
See CNN’s Bowe Bergdahl Fast Facts for details about his captivity and rescue.
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