Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
April 1, 2008
Pg. 3
Four years after disappearance, DNA test identifies remains
By Cliff Radel and Howard Wilkinson, Cincinnati Enquirer
CINCINNATI — Keith and Carolyn Maupin paid tribute Monday to their son, Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin, in the same way they have for the past three years — by appearing in the Cincinnati Reds' Findlay Market opening day parade.
This year was different though. They got word Sunday that their son, who had been missing longer than any soldier in Iraq, is dead.
"I don't look at it as a loss," Keith Maupin said. "I look at it as a gain. My boy is coming home. Some day I'd like to meet those guys (who found Matt) and tell them thanks."
Keith Maupin said the family was informed about their son's fate by a three-star general who came to their home. President Bush, who has met with the family several times, later called with condolences.
Staff Sgt. Maupin, a native of Batavia, Ohio, had been missing since April 9, 2004.
At the Reds' parade, people cheered and put their hands over their hearts as the Maupins went past in a convertible during a light rain. A sign on the front of the car read, "All gave some, some gave all." On the back: "Freedom isn't free."
They sat beneath a red and white umbrella adorned with pictures of their son. At the Great American Ball Park, the flag flew at half-staff in Maupin's honor as the Reds played the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Near the end of the parade, Ken Gannon of Ludlow, Ky., handed a red rose to Carolyn Maupin, who broke into tears.
Gannon said he made the gesture "because I want them to know that we are always going to remember their son."
On Monday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates also expressed sympathy. "This has been especially difficult for the Maupin family because of not knowing for almost exactly four years," he told reporters.
The Army didn't say how or where in Iraq the remains were discovered, only that the identification was made with DNA testing, Keith Maupin said.
"I think the community will more or less rejoice that his remains were found," said Dick Ostendorf of American Legion Post 72 in Mount Carmel, where Matt Maupin was a member. "We've been hoping all the time he would be found alive, but hope kind of slipped away as time went on."
The Army had been searching for the Army reservist since his fuel convoy was ambushed by insurgents near Baghdad.
Two of Maupin's fellow soldiers in the 724th Transportation Company were killed in the attack. Maupin, then a 20-year-old private first class, was taken hostage.
He has been listed by the Army as "missing and captured" since April 16, 2004, when the Arabic television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing a stunned-looking Maupin wearing camouflage and a floppy desert hat. He was surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.
Four U.S. servicemembers remain missing in Iraq, including a Navy pilot who went missing in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
April 1, 2008
Pg. 3
Four years after disappearance, DNA test identifies remains
By Cliff Radel and Howard Wilkinson, Cincinnati Enquirer
CINCINNATI — Keith and Carolyn Maupin paid tribute Monday to their son, Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin, in the same way they have for the past three years — by appearing in the Cincinnati Reds' Findlay Market opening day parade.
This year was different though. They got word Sunday that their son, who had been missing longer than any soldier in Iraq, is dead.
"I don't look at it as a loss," Keith Maupin said. "I look at it as a gain. My boy is coming home. Some day I'd like to meet those guys (who found Matt) and tell them thanks."
Keith Maupin said the family was informed about their son's fate by a three-star general who came to their home. President Bush, who has met with the family several times, later called with condolences.
Staff Sgt. Maupin, a native of Batavia, Ohio, had been missing since April 9, 2004.
At the Reds' parade, people cheered and put their hands over their hearts as the Maupins went past in a convertible during a light rain. A sign on the front of the car read, "All gave some, some gave all." On the back: "Freedom isn't free."
They sat beneath a red and white umbrella adorned with pictures of their son. At the Great American Ball Park, the flag flew at half-staff in Maupin's honor as the Reds played the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Near the end of the parade, Ken Gannon of Ludlow, Ky., handed a red rose to Carolyn Maupin, who broke into tears.
Gannon said he made the gesture "because I want them to know that we are always going to remember their son."
On Monday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates also expressed sympathy. "This has been especially difficult for the Maupin family because of not knowing for almost exactly four years," he told reporters.
The Army didn't say how or where in Iraq the remains were discovered, only that the identification was made with DNA testing, Keith Maupin said.
"I think the community will more or less rejoice that his remains were found," said Dick Ostendorf of American Legion Post 72 in Mount Carmel, where Matt Maupin was a member. "We've been hoping all the time he would be found alive, but hope kind of slipped away as time went on."
The Army had been searching for the Army reservist since his fuel convoy was ambushed by insurgents near Baghdad.
Two of Maupin's fellow soldiers in the 724th Transportation Company were killed in the attack. Maupin, then a 20-year-old private first class, was taken hostage.
He has been listed by the Army as "missing and captured" since April 16, 2004, when the Arabic television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing a stunned-looking Maupin wearing camouflage and a floppy desert hat. He was surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.
Four U.S. servicemembers remain missing in Iraq, including a Navy pilot who went missing in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.