European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 18, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse A a a Zuj this ipes an iraqi doctor gets help from a . Army medic in treating iraqi Battle casualties. Had fallen into a predictable if grueling routine. George Manes the papers special projects editor had taken charge of the Bureau in Dhahran and was directing the daily rewrite of Pool reports from journalists assigned with the combat troops. The reports which usually appeared about 2 ., had to be picked Over combined and rewritten then sent via Modem to Griesheim by 7 Each Day. The material then had to be updated and sent by fax to Japan. Iraqi scud attacks which began on the second Day of the War had become almost routine. One evening for example Crawley and Owen were having a leisurely dinner in a Riyadh restaurant when Owen leaned Back and said a you know these air raid sirens go off so often in a starting to hear them even when there a no Crawley started to sympathize. Until he noticed the rest of the patrons scurrying for the basement. There really was a scud Alert on. The sirens Wail just did no to startle the stripes staff anymore. Clauson Back from air base duty had hooked up with a Supply unit near the northeastern City of Raja. Jagodzinski whose wife was about to give birth to their first child had shipped Home to Tokyo after four months in the Gulf. In Riyadh Owen and Jensen covered the daily British saudi and american press briefings then fed the information by phone and fax to Griesheim to make Early evening deadlines. Finally Vince Crawley had been sent to join the 2nd army Cav regt from Germany a unit he normally covered from his news Bureau in Niernberg. A i left at about the same time Vii corps was being secretly repositioned to the West a Crawley remembers. A the corps was cutting across the Only Road in the area and it was nearly impossible to get where i had to go. Finally a Reserve Captain who was just desperate to get in the War offered to drive me and we took off. Cross country at 60 Mph the humvee from hell with the maps in hot they made it to within five Miles of the front and Crawley hitched rides the rest of the Way to the cavalry unit which was spearheading Vii corps attack. He joined the regiments Headquarters for a few Days then moved in with 3rd so just As the unit broke through its protective Sand berms and began heading North into Iraq. Crawley tasted Battle for the first time the following Day when the regiment came upon scattered elements of iraqis 26th inf div. The iraqi unit had no tanks and the cavalry units Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles made Short work of the enemy a soviet made personnel carriers. The rest of the iraqis fled or surrendered. A Day later the regiment came across an enemy infantry battalion digging in behind a Hill. A the iraqis apparently thought we were reinforcements and kept digging a Crawley remembers. A your Guys fired a few shots Over their Heads and a couple of iraqis returned fire. There was a Brief fire fight then this tense situation us staring at them because some of them wanted to surrender and some it took an hour to get the enemy unit rounded up and Crawley got his first close up look at a combat casualty in the process. A it was one of the iraqis who had fired on us. He was just lying there dead. Badly Nightfall brought heavy overcast and pouring rain and the regiment stuck with More prisoners than it could handle decided to stay put until helicopters could be brought in to evacuate the detainees. But enemy personnel carriers stumbled upon the cavalry a position during the night and Crawley suddenly found himself surrounded by fire. A i was in this humvee that did no to have a radio so i decided to go find out what was going on a Vince Crawley Battle weary american Soldier. He said. A the unit had moved apparently and i realized i was Only a couple Hundred Yards from the front. I was groping around in the rain it was so dark you Sec More than a few feet in front of you and suddenly there a this Guy an american on an my 13, with his machine gun locked and loaded on me. A i finally convinced him i was from stripes and he just yelled at me angrily. A done to be walking around out Here a he said. A there Are iraqi troops All Over the a it was the scariest night of my life. I made it Back to my humvee and just sat there dying for a Crawley saw action with the unit for another two Days including the Battle of 73 fasting in which the regiment took on a Republican guard tank division in a blinding sandstorm. Using the Thermal sights on their Abrams the regiment was Able to destroy most of the enemy a t-72 tanks and when the dust storm finally settled the horizon was lit with the glow of burning iraqi Armor. A it was just like training at Grafe Wohr a one cavalry officer told Crawley after die fight. A and i thought these Guys were supposed to be their first the regiment would suffer six combat deaths ant Muni an Putic it a Crawley saturday april 18, 1992 50th anniversary special edition a Page 59
