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The 507th Maintenance Company was a unit of the
U.S.
Army which provided maintenance support to 5th
Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery (ADA) (PATRIOT), based at
Fort Bliss, Texas.
An
Nasiriyah Incident
A trail vehicle convoy element of this unit was ambushed during
the rapid advance towards Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom on March 23, 2003. The
507th was last in a march column of over 600 vehicles from the 3rd Infantry
Division. This element which included the heavier, slower
vehicles of the 507th, made a wrong turn into Nasiriyah, a major crossing point
over the Euphrates River northwest of Basra.
A U.S. Army investigation[1]
concluded that this wrong turn was the result of a navigational
error compounded by a lack of rest, limited communications and
human error.
In the summer of 2005, the 507th was disbanded and re-formed as
E Company, 5/52
ADA BN. As of fall, 2007, they are now F Company. A monument was placed
at the battalion's area on Fort Bliss.[2]
Killed in
Action
The following soldiers of the 507th were killed in
action (KIA):
- Specialist Jamal R. Addison, 22,
Roswell, Georgia
- Master
Sergeant Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of Cleveland, Ohio,
who was the Company First Sergeant.
- Private
Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, of El Paso, Texas.
- Private First Class Howard Johnson
II, 21, of Mobile, Alabama. He was the first
casualty from Alabama during Operation Iraqi Freedom. A graduate of LeFlore
High School in Mobile, Alabama, Johnson enlisted two
weeks after graduating from high school and according to a CNN
Newsnight desired a career in the Army hoping that someday he would
rise to the rank of Sergeant Major. [1] Johnson was the
son of Rev. Howard Johnson, pastor of Truevine Baptist Church. His
funeral service was held on 5 April 2003, at Truevine Baptist
Church and buried in Gethsemane Cemetery, Mobile, AL. Among the
politicians present were Gov. Bob Riley, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions,
R-Mobile, and Mayor Mike Dow. U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, served
as the funeral's master of ceremonies. He was posthumously awarded
the Bronze
Star and the Purple Heart. [2]
- Specialist James M. Kiehl, 22, of Comfort,
Texas
- Chief Warrant Officer Johnny
Villareal Mata, 35, of Pecos, Texas.
- Private First Class Lori Piestewa, 23,
of Tuba
City, Arizona, first female soldier killed during Operation
Iraqi Freedom. She was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and a Prisoner of War Medal.
- Private
Brandon Sloan, 19, of Bedford Heights, Ohio.
- Sergeant Donald Walters,
33, of Kansas City, Missouri. He was
posthumously awarded a Silver Star
(upgraded from a Bronze Star) for gallantry with marked
distinction, and a Purple Heart.
The following were assigned to the 3rd Forward Support
Battalion, 3rd Infantry
Division Fort Stewart,
Georgia and had fallen back in the march column to assist the
507th in vehicle recovery:
Prisoners of
War
The following 507th soldiers were captured and held as prisoners of war (POWs):
- Specialist Edgar Hernandez, 21, Mission, Texas.
(Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal)
- Specialist Joseph Hudson, 23, Alamogordo, New Mexico. (Bronze
Star Medal, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal)
- Specialist Shoshana
Johnson, 30, El Paso, Texas. (Bronze Star Medal,
Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal)
- Private First Class Jessica Lynch, 19,
of Palestine, West
Virginia. (Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War
Medal)
- Private First Class Patrick Miller, 23, Wichita,
Kansas. (Silver Star, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal)
- Sergeant James Riley,
31, Pennsauken, New
Jersey. (Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War
Medal)
Wounded in
Action
The following 507th soldiers were listed as wounded in
action (WIA) by media accounts:
- Sergeant Curtis Campbell, Brooklyn, New York (Bronze Star
Medal, Purple Heart)
- Corporal Francis
Carista (Purple Heart)
- Specialist James Grubb, Manchester, Kentucky. (Bronze Star
Medal, Purple Heart)
- Staff
Sergeant Tarik Jackson (Purple Heart)
- Corporal Damien Luten (Purple Heart)
Others
Other 507th soldiers who escaped capture as reported by media
accounts:
- Private First Class Adam Elliott
- Captain Troy Kent King, Company Commander
- Sergeant Matthew Rose, Salem, Oregon (awarded the Bronze Star
with V Device for valor)
- Private First Class Dale Nace III, Captain King's driver.
- Specialist Nicholas Peterson, Rockwall, Texas (awarded the Bronze Star
)
Media
coverage
The most famous member of the unit became Private First Class Jessica Lynch whose
dramatic rescue from an Iraqi
hospital received world wide media coverage. This media interest in
Jessica Lynch has largely overshadowed the sacrifice and valor
displayed by other members of the unit. For example, Sergeant Donald Walters
and Private First Class Patrick Miller were awarded
the Silver Star for
valor.
Notes
References
- The Oregonian, Left Behind, April 13, 2003.
- Texas Senate Resolution 50, recognizing 13 members of the 507th
Maintenance Company
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