2 Missing Soldiers' Bodies Found In Iraq

(CBS/AP)  The bodies of two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq for more than a year have been found, their families said Thursday night. The military would not immediately confirm the report.

The father of Army Sgt. Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, said the remains of his son and another soldier, Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, of Waterford, Michigan, had been identified in Iraq.

CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports the families of the dead soldiers said they'd been told their sons' bodies were found by Iraqi authorities and identified by dental records.

Jimenez, 25, and Fouty, 19, were kidnapped along with a third member of the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division during an ambush in May 2007 that left several other soldiers dead. The body of the third kidnapped soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr. of Torrance, California, was found in the Euphrates River in May.

Days after the men disappeared al Qaeda in Iraq posted video on the Internet of what it said was an ambush that killed four U.S. and one Iraqi soldier on patrol 20 miles south of baghdad, reports Palmer. The video also showed the identity cards, credit cards and possessions of three more who - the video claimed - had been captured and executed.

Jimenez's father, Ramon "Andy" Jimenez, said uniformed military officials came to his home Thursday to tell him the body of his son and some of his son's personal effects had been discovered. Fouty's stepfather, Gordon Dibler, said military officials also came to his home Thursday to break the news.

Andy Jimenez told The Associated Press through a translator that the news "shattered all hope" the family had to "see Alex walk home on his own."

"Every day that he's been missing has been a day of `what could have been' ... but after hearing the news today ... I'm still in shock," Dibler said.

The soldiers' families, who had become friends over the past year, were notified around the same time and had been in touch. The Pentagon generally waits 24 hours after notifying the next of kin before making a release public.

Lawrence veterans services director Francisco Urena, who was at the Jimenez home Thursday and translated for the soldier's father, said the family was given no details on the discovery of the bodies or the nature of the soldiers' deaths. Dibler said Fouty's body was found in the Iraqi village of Jurf as Sakhr.

Urena said the Jimenez family expected to receive Alex Jimenez's body in five days.

"He's very thankful for everybody from the community in Lawrence and throughout the U.S. who have provided him support during the difficult time the family has been through during the past 14 months," Urena said of Andy Jimenez.

The soldiers were from Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment - nicknamed the "Polar Bears."

[patriot12436]

sgtrds
We may disagree on political issues but we both earned the right to our beliefs. Being a vet makes us all brothers.

[sgtrds10-4]

Posted by patriot12436 at 05:16 AM : Jul 12, 2008


Thanks for having my back bro.

[patriot12436]

nancy naive
You say suit up, why haven''t you joined ? You think it is a great war to support, show some real support.

[patriot12436]

hall5988
Sgtrds has never bashed the troops in any manner. He is a fellow veteran. We do not agree on political choices but he has earned the right to his beliefs, as i have mine. We have both been in combat and know the sacrifices made by our brothers who didn''t make it back. Bush and his greed are the cause of this war, nothing else. He doesn''t care about the Iraqui''s having a democracy any more than he cares about the death of these soldiers. You never see a politicians kid in battle except for McCain. I am niot for McCain either but i respect him as a veteran and i respect his sons for serving.

[sgtrds10-4]

hall5988

No one! I repeat NO ONE is ever bashing the troops here! I hate this criminal regime that has American by the throat, but I will never blame the troops for what these as*sholes have ordered them to do by invading and occupying Iraq. The troops did as they were told and did a wonderful job, befitting the best trained and equipped Army ion the world. That said, never ever ever DARE to make the mistake that attacking the morons in the White House is the same thing as attacking the troops! NEVER!

[hall5988]

Ok, Lets stick to the story here, if you want to bash, bush, the goverment, the military, or anyone else, do it else where. Two very young men have lost their lives so that you can sit here and write this comments on this board. You might not agree with what is being done over there or you might, however, these men and women have left their families for over a years time sometimes longer and sometimes forever to make sure we can stay free here...Stop bashing them, stop arguing on here, and just bless these men who have lost their lives. Thank you both for what you did for us and you gave the ultimate price for our freedom, thank you so much!! My thoughts and prayers are with your famillies at this time of crisis and need...THANK YOU!!!

[mbievtea]

Thank you to Jimenez and Fouty - a grateful patriot and a grateful nation mourn your loss, but your son''s will always be eternally meshed into the fabric of this great nation.

[patriot12436]

welschwoman
You should crawl back under your rock. Bush loves war, it has made him 100 times richer than he already was.

[patriot12436]

A lot of th commentors on here have never faced death, or been close to dying or suffered dehabilitating injuries for life. Without knowing what it is like you do not have a concept of death or your life being destroyed while you are condemmed to a life withiout the full use of your bodies. I am not faulting you for it and there is no way those of us who have can explain it to thos of you have not. I would hope that by sharing our experiences and and opinions we could build our country great once more.

[patriot12436]

We removed Sadaam for vbeing a sick dictator and killing innocent people. Why do we not apply the same moral conviction to our own leader ?