If Joseph Lovoi could speak with Army Spc. Alex Jimenez, he would tell him that "life is worth it." Cooperate with your captors, Lovoi would say.
And pray.
"Anything to save your life," former U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Lovoi said last night from his Methuen home. "You're just a kid. Your whole life is ahead of you."
And then, with his voice quivering, forcing forward the words: "Goddammit. You shouldn't be there in the first place."
An emotional Lovoi spoke after learning Jimenez was believed captured by al-Qaida during an ambush in Iraq Saturday. His reaction: "Oh my God."
He knows how it feels. After his plane was shot down over Austria in World War II, he was taken prisoner by the Nazis and held in Germany for six months in 1944 and 1945.
At the time, he took it as a reality he had to face. But later, it changed.
"When I retired, my world just caved in on me. All of the sudden, the post-traumatic stress came to life. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep," Lovoi said.
John Katsaros knows it too. Like Lovoi, his plane was shot down in 1944. Katsaros went down over France. Germans captured him for four days, but he escaped with the help of French resistance fighters. Six weeks later, he was captured again and held for two days. Again he escaped.
"The feeling is like being a man without a country and survival is only with the help of other people and yourself," Katsaros, 83, of Haverhill said.
To be captured in Iraq would be "more of a traumatic experience than I've experienced in my life," former U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Katsaros said. "The terrorists out there have no feeling for life, their life included."
Katsaros' family had no idea where he was from March 20 to July 6 of 1944. That feeling, felt now by Jimenez's family, must be horrible, Katsaros said.
"You can imagine what this family is going through, knowing what these terrorists do to people," he said. "We can only pray for them now."
Local News
POWs' advice to Jimenez: Do 'anything to save your life'
-
-
After 10 days on the run, dog is home
AMESBURY — After days of wandering, the Italian greyhound Merlin reappeared yesterday morning just like mystical figure he's named after.
Continued ...
Merlin was found in a trap set by his owner. The dog was cold, had lost some weight, had a few cuts and scrapes, and was dirty after his 10-day journey, but otherwise in good health. -
Petitions won't stop nuke plant relicensing
NEWBURYPORT — The chorus of local communities and elected leaders trying to temporarily halt the relicensing of the Seabrook nuclear station is growing, but their petitions alone will not stop it.
Continued ... -
Newbury man sentenced in marina crimes
NEWBURYPORT — A Newbury man has been convicted for his part in last year's wave of thefts that resulted in almost $100,000 in copper wiring being stolen from the docks at city marinas.
Continued ...
Timothy R. Noonan, 35, of 248 High Road, Newbury, was found guilty in Newburyport District Court on one count of larceny of merchandise worth more than $250 in a theft traced back to Jan. 26, 2011, with a worth estimated at between $50,000 to $60,000. Judge Peter Doyle sentenced Noonan to one year's probation. He was also sentenced to a year in jail, though that was suspended — meaning, he will not be jailed initially, but if he violates the terms of his probation, he could be jailed. -
NHS booting up 'From Home' technology program
NEWBURYPORT — Until now, they were almost considered contraband in Newburyport schools.
Continued ...
But a philosophy that had students leaving their smartphones and mobile devices in their locker or backpack for fear they would distract from learning is about to change. -
Memories of Horton Home have lingered vividly throughout years
Back in the late 1920s and early 1930s, there was a facility, the Horton Home, named after the Rev. William Horton, who was well-known for his kindness and benevolence. He was concerned with the poor and elderly because, as they got older and lost their families, many had no place to go.
Continued ... - Trooper at fault in cruiser crash
- Police logs
- District Court
- What it means to truly love in light of Valentine's Day
- Fewer birds at local feeders this winter
- Programs at Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats
- Parker River wildlife refuge offers free programs
- Elder menus
- Church notes
- Church directory
- Bird watch
- West Newbury news in brief
- Heard Around Town
- February 10, 2012
- cat of the week
- Salisbury police officer fired
-
After 10 days on the run, dog is home
LAPD: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
