New Mexico town welcomes home rescued POW

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. -- Grinning from ear to ear in his Army dress uniform, former prisoner of war Spc. Joseph Hudson waved from the back of a red convertible Saturday as his hometown celebrated his return with a parade.

Hundreds of Alamogordo residents shouted "Welcome home, Joe!" and waved American flags as the soldier, his wife, Natalie, and 5-year-old daughter, Cameron, cruised down a main street of the yellow-ribbon-plastered southern New Mexico city.

The parade, with marching bands, World War II veterans, a tank and a troop transporter, also honored stealth fighter pilots from Holloman Air Force Base.

After the parade Hudson addressed the crowd, thanking God, his wife and all the people who supported him, and asking for their continued help.

"I ask that everybody here continue to pray because we still have soldiers, we still have airmen, we still have Marines and we still have U.S. Navy out there fighting," Hudson said.

Hudson and other soldiers with the 507th Maintenance Company were attacked March 23 near Nasiriyah, a major crossing point on the Euphrates River northwest of Basra in Iraq. Five were held captive for three weeks until U.S. Marines rescued them and two helicopter pilots south of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.

Another soldier from the 507th, Pfc. Jessica Lynch, was rescued April 1 at a hospital behind Iraqi lines. The bodies of nine members of the 507th were found during Lynch's rescue.

In a trembling voice, Hudson asked the crowd Saturday to pray for his fallen comrades.

"To their families I send my deepest condolences. I lost eight brothers and one sister that day. God bless their families," he said.