FORT BLISS, Texas, April 10 (UPI) -- A memorial Friday at Fort Bliss in West Texas will pay tribute to nine soldiers of the Army's 407th Maintenance Co. who were killed in the war with Iraq. Five other soldiers from the company are prisoners of war.
A roll call and taps will honor the soldiers killed March 23 in an ambush near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq. Four other soldiers were wounded and six were taken prisoner. One of prisoners, Pfc. Jessica Lynch, was rescued in a daring raid April 1.
The memorial will be the most recent of a series of prayer meetings, vigils and other events that have been held in the El Paso area since the ambush. The El Paso City Council will sponsor another unity event Friday night.
John Stock, executive director of the El Paso-area Red Cross chapter, said the community is united behind the soldiers and their families.
"The general mood from the very beginning has been this is a family of 730,000 people, one big family," he said. "It doesn't matter whether you wear the green suits or whether you are inside or outside the wall of Fort Bliss. It's all one big family."
The memorial will be open to the public although seats will be limited.
"The ceremony is open to everyone, and all the families (of the 507th) have been invited, but some of them may not be able to come," said Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt.
The soldiers killed were: Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, El Paso; Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, Pecos, Texas; Spc. Jamaal R. Addison, Roswell, Ga.; Pfc. Howard Johnson II, Mobile, Ala.; Spc. James Kiehl, Comfort, Texas; Pvt. Brandon Sloan, Bedford Heights, Ohio; Pfc. Lori Piestewa, Tuba City, Ariz.; Sgt. Donal Walters, Salem, Ore.; and Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, Cleveland.
The POWS are Spc. Shoshana Johnson, El Paso; Spc. Edgar Hernandez, Alton, Texas; Spc. Joseph Hudson, Alamogordo, N.M.; Sgt. James Riley, Pennsauken, N.J., and Pfc. Patrick Miller, of Valley Center, Kan.
After their capture, the Iraqi government released a videotape of the captured 507th soldiers being questioned by the Iraqis.
Phyllis Hudman, Hudson's mother-in-law, told the El Paso Times she was worried about how the collapse of the Iraqi government might affect efforts to find the POWs and return them home safe.
"I'm very concerned because things are in such disarray," Hudman said. "Now that the Iraqi government has broken up, who are we going to pressure? I think they can find Joe and the others, but we should not delay a moment longer."
The International Committee of the Red Cross has been attempting to gain access to the American POWs but expressed concerns about security in Baghdad. One of the Red Cross staff members was killed Tuesday in Baghdad after getting caught in cross-fire.
