By Devin Knighton
A former prisoner of war in Iraq, Ronald Young, who also is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke at the Utah County Courthouse Thursday afternoon, July 3, before receiving a Freedom Festival award later that evening.
“I prayed about 12 hours on my knees the first day that I was in prison,” Young said. “Really, just asking God to bring me peace.”
Young was serving as a Chief Warrant Officer and an Apache helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army when he crashed during battle on March 24, about 50 miles southwest of Baghdad. What followed was a three-week adventure to both stay alive and get rescued.
“As soon as we got out of the aircraft, we were already being shot at from the tree line, so we immediately had to start running,” Young said.
Young and his fellow pilot ran for over an hour and a half that night and swam through a canal in hopes of finding some place to hide.
“I just can”t convey the feelings of desperation that we had that night, trying to get away from those guys,” Young said. “I mean, I was just hanging on every thread of hope that I was going to make it.”
Upon capture, Young and his colleague were beaten and threatened. They were moved from one prison to another and fed uncooked chicken. They slept on concrete floors and eventually ended up with five other POWs in a location near Saddam Hussein”s hometown, Tikrit.
“We were being bombed every day – I mean, you (reporters) saw the whole shock and awe phase,” Young said. “I was sitting in Baghdad listening to it.”
Young described the first week as the most difficult. He said he tried not to think of his family or the war too much, but, instead, put most of his effort in prayer. He said did not ask to be rescued but wanted to make sure his life was devoted to God in case he lost it.
By the second week, Young decided to put his focus back on the war.
“When the bombs would get really loud and really intense, I would give a big whoo-hoo, to let them know they hadn”t broken our will,” Young said. “We were going to beat them, and that”s all there was to it.”
The Fourth Of July has changed for Young. He said he can now identify better with those who fought in the Revolutionary War, but he feels it took greater strength to fight back then because they did not know if they were not as certain of the war”s outcome.
“That, for me, brings a deep respect for the guys that got us our independence and who ultimately fell for freedom,” Young said. “I am deeply more patriotic now than I”ve ever been in my life.”
Young was among five other individuals who were also honored at the awards gala of the Freedom Festival. Young said he was thankful for people everywhere who supported the troops, especially those in Utah. He has resumed active duty at Fort Hood, Texas.
