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Hamill Speaks at Hometown Prayer Vigil
Fox News ^
| Saturday, May 08, 2004
Posted on 05/08/2004 8:22:38 PM PDT by WKB
Edited on 05/08/2004 9:29:25 PM PDT by Admin Moderator.
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1
posted on
05/08/2004 8:22:38 PM PDT
by
WKB
To: smonk; somniferum; Keltik; John Vaught; Sybeck1; fatrat; RKB-AFG; southern bale; dixiechick2000; ...
Missippy ping
2
posted on
05/08/2004 8:23:17 PM PDT
by
WKB
(3!~ Term Limits: Because politicians are like diapers., need to be changed for the same reason.)
To: WKB
I saw that interview Rita Cosby did with him. Well, he was on the phone at least.
Something not included in this article is his response to whether or not he wanted to meet George W. Bush.
He said that he would love to be able to meet him and that one of the reasons he went there to start with was because he believed in the mission and in the President.
That's not an exact quote, but pretty close.
3
posted on
05/08/2004 8:28:47 PM PDT
by
texasflower
(in the event of the rapture.......the Bush White House will be unmanned)
To: texasflower; WKB
THOMAS HAMILL: "GEORGE BUSH MAKES ME PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!"
from FoxNewsChannel.
4
posted on
05/08/2004 8:31:22 PM PDT
by
onyx
(WHO LEAKED TO CBS? Was it you Col. Hackworth?)
To: WKB
He said on Fox News that his captors told him they were going to kill him. God bless him, glad he's home safe.
5
posted on
05/08/2004 8:32:25 PM PDT
by
Ciexyz
To: Ciexyz
He said on Fox News that his captors told him they were going to kill him. Isn't that torture? Where's the outcry?
To: Ciexyz
I hope it's repeated:
heard he's on Rita and Geraldo.
I missed it.
7
posted on
05/08/2004 8:36:23 PM PDT
by
onyx
(WHO LEAKED TO CBS? Was it you Col. Hackworth?)
To: onyx
Yes! That was a great part of the interview!
The entire interview was fascinating, but I loved that part.
I'm so glad he's home.
8
posted on
05/08/2004 8:40:54 PM PDT
by
texasflower
(in the event of the rapture.......the Bush White House will be unmanned)
To: onyx
For the record...
GEORGE BUSH MAKES ME PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN, ALSO!
9
posted on
05/08/2004 8:41:41 PM PDT
by
texasflower
(in the event of the rapture.......the Bush White House will be unmanned)
To: WKB
It's people like this truck-driving Mississippi dairy farmer who make me proud of America. For every Michael Moore, there are a hundred Thomas Hamills. For every Jane Fonda, there are a hundred Pat Timmermans.
To: WKB
Paragraphs are our friends ... You should know that 'ol timer! ;-)
Hamill Speaks at Prayer Vigil
Saturday, May 08, 2004
MACON, Miss. Former hostage Thomas Hamill (search), back home Saturday after his three-week ordeal in Iraq, credited God and worldwide support for his survival and said the rebuilding mission that nearly cost him his life must continue.
"I knew I was going to make it. I knew I was coming home," Hamill told reporters before a prayer vigil held in his honor at the Noxubee County (search) Court House. "I told the Lord to pick the time and place."
Speaking publicly for the first time since his early-morning return to Mississippi, Hamill said daily, multiple prayers reinforced faith that he would survive captivity.
The truck driver was wounded and captured when his convoy was ambushed April 9. He escaped May 2 from a farmhouse about 50 miles north of Baghdad, squeezing open a sheet-metal door and running after he heard U.S. military vehicles rumbling outside.
Hamill, 44, said his captors moved him many times throughout the Iraqi desert. He said he waited to be brought to an area with which he was familiar with the roads, and plotted to escape when his kidnappers left him alone.
Thomas Hamill initially hadn't planned to make any statements this weekend, but he changed his mind after viewing media coverage of his escape and return. Still, he said, "I want to keep this low-key.
"I just want to get back to some normalcy."
Hamill returned to Mississippi about 1 a.m. Saturday to a chorus of cheering family and friends.
On the day before Mother's Day, "It was the best gift I could get," said his wife, Kellie Hamill. The couple flew home together from Germany, where Thomas Hamill had been treated for an arm injury.
Hamill's first duty after landing was to hug his 11-year-old daughter, Tori, and his son, Thomas, 13.
Hamill, who works for Halliburton Corp (search). subsidiary KBR, said he would consider returning to the job in Iraq but worries about how it would affect his children.
"We got to get that country back on its feet," he said.
Hamill was among seven American contractors who disappeared after the April attack. The bodies of four have been found, and two workers remain missing. Two military men also vanished; one was later found dead and the other, Pfc. Keith M. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, remains missing.
Earlier Saturday, Hamill released a statement through Halliburton, saying that he is praying for "my two missing colleagues, the safety of my friends and co-workers in Iraq as well as the families of those who have lost a loved one."
Saturday's vigil came after a day of quiet celebration at the Hamills' modest brick home, where yellow police tape kept waiting media crews off the lawn and red, white and blue balloons floated atop the mailbox.
"I was so thrilled just to see Tommy back on this side. Now if he can just get a little rest," said his grandmother, Vera Hamill, 92.
About 20 friends and family members attended a cookout at the home Saturday afternoon. Hamill came out to the back yard, holding up his wounded arm in greetings to those outside. He and Kellie Hamill then walked around, arm in arm, greeting friends and family before joining others for the meal.
Hamill said earlier this week that he was particularly looking forward to quiet time with his children. As a result, Macon Mayor Dorothy Baker Hines said plans for a parade and other celebrations in his hometown were called off for now.
The news was a disappointment to some in this rural east Mississippi community of about 2,500.
"They prayed and had hopes up. They are glad he's home. They wanted to celebrate with him," said Tina Brooks, 36.
But Jesse Green, a family friend who visited the Hamills on Saturday, said Hamill "does not want to draw any attention to himself. He does not consider himself a hero."
After meeting with his family, one of the first things Hamill will have to deal with are letters and calls offering him movie and book deals.
"He's got mail about movie deals and all sorts of things," his mother, Phyllis Hamill, said Friday.
Hamill has made no decision about a book deal, said Stephen Goodwin, another family spokesman and part of the public relations team hired by former POW Jessica Lynch. Lynch received a book deal valued at $1 million and a network turned her story into a television movie.
11
posted on
05/08/2004 8:58:15 PM PDT
by
Tunehead54
(Have a nice day or else!)
To: WKB
Mr. Hamill sounds like a good, decent guy! I confess, I was a little afraid about how this might pan out.
I don't get Fox News, but would have loved to see the phone interview with Rita Cosby.
I, too, am proud to be an American, proud of our troops and proud that President Bush is our president!
12
posted on
05/08/2004 9:02:36 PM PDT
by
Theresawithanh
(Tagline temporarily out of order)
To: WKB
Heard part of his interview with Rita Cosby, and the part that upset me was when he said his Iraqi captors asked him about the treatment of the Iraqi prisoners. He said that AFTER that, he was handcuffed/tied (didn't quite catch which). Thanks to those who sent those pictures to See BS.
13
posted on
05/08/2004 9:10:25 PM PDT
by
Humal
To: WKB
That's quite a man, but then we knew that by the way he acted when he was first captured. Interesting what he said about the Australian TV crew knowing about the attack.
14
posted on
05/08/2004 9:32:02 PM PDT
by
McGavin999
(If Kerry can't deal with the "Republican Attack Machine" how is he going to deal with Al Qaeda)
To: WKB; onyx
My goodness! I see WKB has a 'history'. ;o)
Thanks for the ping. I never tire of reading
about a real hero. He's a good ole Mississippi
boy trying to 'do' for his family. It's hard
to imagine how he got through this ordeal as
well as he did. However, I believe in good ole
Mississippi boys. ;o)
15
posted on
05/08/2004 11:14:54 PM PDT
by
dixiechick2000
(President Bush is a mensch in cowboy boots.)
To: onyx
Fox News this Sun AM showed pics of Hamill going up the courthouse steps, then sitting with his family and giving an interview. They'll probably repeat this thruout the day.
16
posted on
05/09/2004 8:10:34 AM PDT
by
Ciexyz
To: texasflower
For the record...
GEORGE BUSH MAKES ME PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN, ALSO!
Me too!
I managed to see the replay.
God blessed Tom Hamill.
17
posted on
05/09/2004 1:17:46 PM PDT
by
onyx
(WHO LEAKED TO CBS? Was it you Col. Hackworth?)
To: dixiechick2000; WKB
I believe in good ole
Mississippi boys. ;o)
Me too!
18
posted on
05/09/2004 1:19:04 PM PDT
by
onyx
(WHO LEAKED TO CBS? Was it you Col. Hackworth?)
To: dixiechick2000; WKB
Wonder how he's going to like #11.
LOL! (old timer) LOL-LOL-LOL!
19
posted on
05/09/2004 1:20:50 PM PDT
by
onyx
(WHO LEAKED TO CBS? Was it you Col. Hackworth?)
To: Tunehead54; dixiechick2000; onyx
Paragraphs are our friends ... You should know that 'ol timer! ;-)
Look Again
Maybe you need to get your eyes checked their
Whipper Snapper. :>)
20
posted on
05/09/2004 2:00:43 PM PDT
by
WKB
(3!~ Term Limits: Because politicians are like diapers., need to be changed for the same reason.)
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