Missionary rescued after firefight in jungle

Philippine army commandos tracked Muslim guerrillas through a jungle rain Friday afternoon to find the kidnappers resting under a tree near their three hostages, including a Kansas missionary couple with ties to Southeast Missouri.

The army Scout Rangers moved to within 30 yards of the group on the southern island of Mindanao before spotting the couple -- Martin and Gracia Burnham, captives for more than a year. The soldiers started shooting.

The firefight with about 30 Abu Sayyaf extremists raged for about two hours before tapering off. Then Cpl. Rodelio Tuazon found Gracia Burnham, 43, with a gunshot wound to her thigh.

"I saw her lying wounded by a creek," said Tuazon, who also was wounded. "I asked her if she was OK. She just cried."

Another wounded soldier, Pvt. Rene Mabilog, added: "We applied a tourniquet to her wound and carried her away."

Soldiers later found the body of Martin Burnham and Philippine nurse Ediborah Yap. It was unclear whether they were shot by their captors or were victims of friendly fire. At least four guerrillas also died.

Gracia Burnham's rescue was a cause for celebration for family members and friends in Kansas, Arkansas, Illinois and the Southeast Missouri region.

Gracia Burnham, 43, was born in Cairo, Ill., and spent part of her childhood in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

On Friday, Donna Pirc recalled her friendship with Gracia, which began when Gracia's parents and four siblings moved to Poplar Bluff when she was about 6 years old.

"She was just a real hardy individual, a country girl," said Pirc, now a principal in the Neelyville School District in Poplar Bluff. "I hoped that that helped her a lot. Maybe it helped her survive as well as they did."

After Friday's rescue, Philippine air force Huey helicopters evacuated Gracia Burnham to Zamboanga city, where she underwent surgery.

"I was so happy when I got out of the jungle," the Wichita, Kan., woman told doctors. And she said of her husband: "That is God's liking. That is probably his destiny."

When rescued, Mabilog said, "I could see her face was happy. But sometimes she would break into tears. She was clutching their pictures. She had many pictures in her bag that she would look at."

Gracia Burnham telephoned family members in Kansas from her hospital bed in the Philippines to say she is well and looking forward to seeing her children.

She called the Rose Hill home of her husband's parents, Paul and Oreta Burnham. Her own parents, Norvin and Betty Jo Jones of Cherokee Village, Ark., had been staying at a Missouri lake cabin with the couple's three children at the time of the rescue. They were returning to Kansas Friday afternoon and did not speak to their mother.

"It is going to be real hard for the kids with Father's Day coming up," said Teresa Burnham, sister-in-law of Martin Burnham.

The children since have returned to Rose Hill, where they have been living since the kidnappings more than a year ago.

A group of about 40 Philippine commandos -- outfitted by the United States with silencers, night vision equipment and high-tech headsets -- found the Muslim guerrillas Friday. Abu Sayyaf is believed to have links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorism network and says it is fighting to carve an Islamic state out of the southern Philippines.

"We were following them since last night," Mabilog said while being treated for arm wounds. "This morning, we found their tracks and we followed them. There were about 30 of them."

He said the guerrillas stopped to rest under trees because of heavy rain. The soldiers silently advanced, ready for action, before spotting the Burnhams at about 2:30 p.m.

"When we saw that the two Americans were there, our commanding officer gave us the order to open fire," Mabilog said. "We opened fire and they fought back."

The Scout Rangers soon were joined by hundreds of other elite, U.S.-trained Filipino troops. American troops were not involved in the raid, Philippine and U.S. military officials said.

Strong personality

Over the past year of her friend's captivity, Pirc hoped that the personality traits she loved about her childhood friend would help Gracia survive.

Burnham adapted to the outdoors well, Pirc said, and "when we camped, we would just stay outdoors all the time."

Pirc said Burnham was able to take anything that came her way; she could adapt to different situations easily.

"It just seems so unfair that they would have given 15 to 18 years of their lives to the Philippines, to the people out there, and then it turns around and they would have to suffer for a year because of it," Pirc said.