Pardon my ignorance, but who is (was) he?
Yes, tell us! Inquiring minds want to know!
He was the U.S. Army non-com who was captured by the Iraqi crazies about a month or so ago. He was from Ohio.
It's called google ( I love Safari, it has a permanent google spot!)
MATT MAUPIN
Reported by: 9News
Web produced by: Liz Foreman
Photographed by: 9News
Last updated: 4/16/04 9:01:45 PM
Tri-state native Pfc. Matt Maupin, who has been missing for a week, has apparently been taken hostage by Iraqi insurgents.
On a videotape obtained by Arab news organization Al-Jazeera, Maupin appears apparently unharmed and surrounded by masked men holding automatic rifles.
Maupin, wearing camouflage and a floppy desert hat, is shown sitting on the floor and speaking, but his voice cannot be heard. A voiceover in Arabic quotes him as identifying himself as Pfc. Keith M. Maupin.
"I came to Iraq to liberate it. But I didn't have the desire to come here because I wanted to be with my son," the voiceover on Al-Jazeera quoted him as saying.
On the tape, one of the gunmen was heard saying: "We are keeping him to be exchanged for some of the prisoners captured by the occupation forces."
Maupin, 20, of Batavia, Ohio, is the first known U.S. serviceman to be captured by insurgents. He and Sgt. Elmer C. Krause, 40, of Greensboro, North Carolina, were listed as missing after their convoy was attacked April 9 outside Baghdad, amid a wave of kidnappings targeting foreigners.
"Some of our groups managed to capture one of the American soldiers, and he is one of many others. He is being treated according to the treatment of prisoners in the Islamic religion and he is in good health," the gunman said.
Friends of Maupin said they are "ecstatic" that Maupin is alive and they said their "prayers have been answered," but they were understandably teary-eyed while talking with 9News Friday afternoon because of the dangerous situation Maupin is in.
The friends added that they remember situations with other soldiers who have been released, and that gives them hope.
A rally for Maupin was held Friday night in Batavia. CLICK HERE for the story, photos and complete raw video of the ceremony.