HR 9127 2003
1	House Resolution
2	A resolution honoring the Iraqi citizen, known only as
3	"Mohammed," who was instrumental in the rescue of Pfc.
4	Jessica Lynch of the United States Army's 507th Ordinance
5	Maintenance Company.
6
7	WHEREAS, on April 2, 2003, Pfc. Jessica Lynch of the United
8	States Army's 507th Ordinance Maintenance Company was rescued
9	from a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, where she was being held by
10	Iraqi military forces in a daring nighttime raid conducted by
11	American soldiers, and
12	WHEREAS, Pfc. Jessica Lynch was one of 15 members of a
13	convoy from the Army's 507th Ordinance Maintenance Company that
14	was ambushed by Iraqi paramilitary fighters when it took a wrong
15	turn at the city of Nasiriyah on March 23rd, and
16	WHEREAS, the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch might never have
17	occurred if not for the compassion and courage of an Iraqi
18	citizen, a 32-year old lawyer, known only as "Mohammed," who
19	jeopardized his own safety and well-being and that of his family
20	because he witnessed and could not bear the inhumane treatment
21	Pfc. Lynch was receiving at the hands of her Iraqi captors, and
22	WHEREAS, several days prior to the rescue of Pfc. Lynch,
23	Mohammed had witnessed the American soldier being slapped and
24	beaten as she lay in a hospital bed with extensive injuries, and
25	WHEREAS, in the first of what would be a number of
26	decisions to put his own safety at great risk, Mohammed sneaked
27	into Pfc. Lynch's hospital room and assured her that he was
28	going to help her, and
29	WHEREAS, after locating U.S. Marines, Mohammed told them of
30	the female U.S. soldier he had witnessed at the hospital, and
31	WHEREAS, after reporting his information to the Marines,
32	Mohammed agreed to place himself in further peril by returning
33	to the hospital twice in the next two days, despite the intense
34	bombing and combat activity in the area of Nasiriyah, to gather
35	information that would not only enable the Marines to
36	successfully rescue Pfc. Lynch, but would also bring about the
37	discovery of nine of her fellow soldiers and the retrieval of
38	their bodies, and
39	WHEREAS, on Mohammed's first return trip to the hospital,
40	he overheard Iraqis discussing plans to amputate the leg of Pfc.
41	Lynch and successfully urged a friend who was a doctor at the
42	hospital to intercede and stop the amputation, and
43	WHEREAS, after returning to the Marine base, Mohammed, and
44	his wife, Iman, a nurse at the hopital who was also brought to
45	the base, drew five detailed maps of the hospital, and Mohammed
46	provided information regarding the number and positioning of
47	troops at the hospital and routes through the building that U.S.
48	military commandos could use in the rescue effort, and
49	WHEREAS, based on the information provided by Mohammed and
50	his wife, U.S. military forces formulated a plan whereby Marines
51	staged a diversionary attack in a distant area of Nasiriyah to
52	distract the attention of the Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary
53	forces while a Special Operations force of Navy SEALs, Army
54	Rangers, and Air Force personnel converged on the hospital early
55	on the morning of April 2nd and conducted the only successful
56	rescue of an American prisoner of war in the last half century
57	and the first rescue of a female POW ever, and
58	WHEREAS, Mohammed, whose last name is being withheld by the
59	Marines in order to protect his safety, his wife Iman, and their
60	6-year old daughter, whose house was subsequently ransacked by
61	Fedayeen, were flown by helicopter to the Marine desert camp
62	before being taken to a refugee center in the southern port city
63	of Umm Qasr to keep them safe from reprisals, NOW, THEREFORE,
64
65	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
66	Florida:
67
68	That the House of Representatives of the State of Florida
69	hereby expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the Iraqi citizen
70	known only as "Mohammed," whose courage, humanity, and
71	compassion brought about the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch of the
72	United States Army's 507th Ordinance Maintenance Company.