* Savannah Morning News, Monday, March 4,1991
5A
War in the Middle East
24th Destroyed Elite
Unit in Major Battle
By KRIS EPLEY
HinMvHte-Rfchmond MHI Bureau
FORT STEWART - Soldiers
from Fort Stewart's 24th Infantry
Division (Mechanized) Saturday engaged Iraqi ground troops and destroyed an elite unit of the Republican Guard, in what military officials
said was one of the biggest battles
fought by the Division during the
brief Gulf War, Brig. Gen. Terry
Scott, assistant division commander, said Sunday in a teleconference
from the Joint Information Bureau
in Saudi Arabia.
The battle, fought .near Iraq's
Rumalah oil fields, was instigated
by the Iraqi Hamurabi Division of
the Republican Guard which began
firing on elements of tha_24th'^ 1st
Brigade, Scott said.
The Iraqi unit launched its attack
against elements of the
sion's 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry,
commanded by Lt. Col. Chuck Ware.
When hostilities began, the American units "continued to exercise restraint," but eventually were forced
to return fire when engaged by Iraqi
tanks, Scott said.
The battle was orchestrated by
1st Brigade Commander Col. John
Lemoyne, who ordered the 2-7th Infantry to fix the enemy. At the same
time, the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor,
commanded by Lt. Col. John Craddockytnaneuvered to attack the Iraqi's from the flank.
The Aviation Brigade, commanded by Col. Burt Tackaberry, provided the additional firepower of two
air cavalry troops and three Apache
Peace
Continued From Page 1A
related damage.
The meeting between allied and
Iraqi officers was held at Safwan
airstrip, eight miles north of the
Iraq-Kuwait border and part of the
broad swath of Iraqi territory captured by the coalition south of the
Euphrates River.
Iraq's eight-member delegation
was led by Lt. Gen. Sultan Hashiem
Ahmud, chief of military operations,
and Lt. Gen. Salah Abud Mahmud,
commander of the 3rd Army Corps.
They arrived at the airstrip by car
for an event that had the trappings
of a surrender ceremony.
They found Safwan surrounded
by U.S. M1-A1 tanks and shadowed
by Apache AH-64 helicopters flying
overhead. Several hundred U.S. soldiers surrounded the tent where the
two delegations sat on folding chairs
on opposite sides of a table.
Schwarzkopf, wearing standardissue army camouflage, sat unsmiling next to Saudi Lt. Gen. Khalid bin
Sultan, commander of allied Arab
forces, when television cameras
were allowed into the tent before the
session began.
Ahmud and Mahmud, also unsmiling but turning briefly to face
the cameras, wore green uniforms
with ribbed sweaters. Behind the allied commanders were senior officers from coalition nations, while
the rest of Iraq's delegation sat behind the Iraqi generals.
The session began about 11:30
a.m. Iraqi time. Two hours later,
Schwarzkopf emerged to announce
that all had gone well and that the
next step was for Iraq officially to
accept the Security Council resolution outlining the cease-fire terms.
"I would just say thatl think that
we have made a major step forward
in the cause of peace," Schwarzkopf
said. "And I have every expectation
that if we continue the open and
frank and cooperative dialogue that
we had today - and I would say
very candidly that the Iraqis came
to discuss and to cooperate with a
positive attitude - that we well on
our way to a lasting peace.''
Schwarzkopf took care to avoid
embarrassing the Iraqi officers, who
did not issue a statement. When they
arrived, the allied commander or-
Woman Pilot, 3 Soldiers Killed in Crash
24th Infantry Casualties
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia <AP) A woman pilot and three other soldiers were killed when the helicopter
she piloted crashed in northern Saudi Arabia, the U.S. military said
Monday. It was the first reported
death of a woman pilot in the Gulf
War.
Officials in Saudi Arabia refused
to give details on the accident, but
the "entagon confirmed that Army
Major Marie T. Rossi, 32, of Oradell,
N.J., piloted the Chinook helicopter
Here id a list of the soldiers from the 24th Infantry Division who
have been killed in the Persian Gulf in recent days. A list of those
wounded in action from the 24th has not been compiled by the Department of the Army.
attack helicopter companies, Scott
said.
Four artillery battalions, including a multiple rocker launcher battalion, provided long range, indirect
fire support. Scott said Air Force air
support was overhead, but was not
called in because of the enemy's
close
proximity to friendly forces.
f
Near the battles conclusion, Apache helicopters blocked the attempted escape of major elements of the
Hamurabi Division.
"When the Battle of Rumalah
was over, the Hamurabi Division
ceased to exist as a viable fighting
Jfbrce," Scott said.
The engagement resulted in the
destruction of almost 190 Iraqi armored vehicles, including 23 Soviet
4nade_ T-72 main battle tanks, seven
t-55 medium tanks,"and 65 armored
personnel carries.
more uiuii *iu ir
400 trucks^and other wheeled Vehicles, and nine multiple rocket
launchers were also destroyed in the
battle, and more than 100 Iraqi soldiers were captured, Scott said.
There were no fatalities from the
24th during the battles but one soldier was slightly wounded, he said.
The 1st Brigade also captured
more than 200 armored and wheeled
vehicles during another skirmish
Saturday with Iraqi troops.
Among the captured Iraqi equipment in that campaign were 72 T-72
main battle tanks, 14 artillery guns,
several rocket over ground systems,
and 40 ammunition bunkers filled
with 500 and 1,000 pound bombs.
More than 200 enemy soldiers
were captured during the fight, including an Iraqi battalion commander who persuaded his entire unit to
surrender, Scott said.
Since the war began the 24th has
been responsible for the capture of
6,500 Iraqi prisoners of war.
dered aides to be searched only with
a metal detector, and out of the sight
of cameras. "I don't want them em-bamu
-hewas overhead to say while walking to the
tent. "I don't want them humiliated."
Coalition forces have more 62,000
Iraqi soldiers as prisoners-of-war, a
number that senior officers say will
rise. There are 13 known coalition
soldiers and pilots captured by Ira<
including nine Americans, two Britons, one Italian and one Kuwaiti.
Another 45 Americans are listed as
missing in action.
Hostile Deaths:
Spc. Andy Alaniz, 20, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry
Regiment, of Corpus Christi, Texas.
Spc. Michael Daniels, 20, A Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation
Regiment, of Leavenworth, Kan.
Spc. Timothy Hill, 23, 632nd Maintenance Company, of Detroit,
Mich.
Re. John W. Hutto, 19, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry
Regiment, of Andalusia, Ala.
CW2 Hal Reichle, 27, A Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation
Regiment, of Marietta, Ga.
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Non-hostile Deaths:
Spc. William Brace, 24, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation
Regiment, of Fountain Hill, Pa.
Re. Marty Davis, 19, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, of JacksorrCounty, Kan.
CWO Robert Hughes* 35, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 159th Avia-
Comedy Housej
Theater
Maj. Marie T. Rossi, 32, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation
Regiment, of Oradell, NJ.
Re. Corey L Winkle, 21, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry
Regiment, of Lubbock, Texas.
317 EISENHOWER • SOUTHSIDE
CORRECTION: Re. Robert Wade, 31, of Savannah, was a reservist who had not been assigned to a unit at the time of his death in Saudi Arabia last Monday. The News-Press erroneously reported otherwise in a wire service story Saturday.
Since President Bush's cease fire
announcement, the activities of the
24th have been concentrated on establishing "hasty defenses," resupply, area clearing operations and the
destruction of "massive quantities
of enemy vehicles/'
9?b .' J8.<
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that crashed Saturday.
The co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Robert Hughes, 35, of Vernon,
Conn., and crew chief Specialist William C. Brace, 24, of Fountain Hill,
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the fourth victim was not given.
The crew were from the 159th
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