Re: Iraqi Who Heled Lynch Has Book

Date: April 30, 2004

"Iraqi who helped Lynch to sign books

Festival of Books Saturday at Big Sandy
By BOB WITHERS - The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief, the Iraqi attorney who told U.S. forces where to find prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, will sign copies of his book at the second Ohio River Festival of Books in the Big Sandy Superstore Arena’s Conference Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

They meet at last

Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief met Jessica Lynch earlier this month, after a year of conflicting schedules.

The meeting -- with no reporters present -- took place in Washington D.C., where Lynch had gone to speak during a "Get Motivated Seminar" sponsored by author and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar.

"It was a wonderful meeting and I can never control my emotion," al-Rehaief said. "I cry."

Al-Rehaief said Lynch seemed grateful for his part in her rescue.

"She tell me 'thank you,' and she say 'thank you very much for what you have done,'" he said. "We feel like it will be a very nice friendship between us in the future. We hope to meet again."

He and his wife, Iman, took their 6-year-old daughter, Abir, along -- and Lynch, now 21 and an aspiring kindergarten teacher, is said to have quickly bonded with her.

"Her eyes never got off my daughter," he said.

The book, "Because Each Life is Precious: Why an Iraqi Man Risked Everything for Private Jessica Lynch," tells how al-Rehaief risked his life to tell coalition forces that the seriously injured Lynch was in a Nasiriyah hospital where his wife, Iman, worked as a nurse. The soldiers sent him back to the hospital to draw floor plans that enabled a Special Operations task force to stage a daring midnight raid to get the young Army private out and fly her to freedom.

Al-Rehaief is raising money to help support 14 family members who fled to the United States for their safety. One of those relatives is his seriously ill 75-year-old father, who has piled up enormous medical bills. He also has gone blind and needs cataract surgery, but does not have Medicare coverage.

Al-Rehaief will be accompanied to Huntington by Iman and a family friend. The trip is being underwritten by members of Seventh Avenue Baptist Church and a group of U.S. Marine Corps veterans.

"I am thankful for the people of West Virginia who have given me the opportunity to come back to this beautiful state," said al-Rehaief, now a consultant for The Livingston Group LLC, a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm who has visited the Mountain State previously. "Every vacation I have, I want to come to West Virginia."

That, despite what some of his kinfolk think.

"Mohammed’s family has expressed some uncertainty about living in a new country, but Mohammed believes that if they could see firsthand how much the people of West Virginia love him and respect what he did, then they will understand better and know that a great future is ahead," said Chris Terrell, a principal with the Livingston firm.

Author Rick Bragg, who wrote "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story," also will be at the festival. He will speak about his book at 11 a.m. and sign copies at the Borders Books Music & Café table beginning at 1 p.m.

© 2004 The Herald-Dispatch"