Strangers Linked by Iconic Desert Storm Photo Meet 24 Years Later

[Jesus Malverde]

Twenty-four slow, burning years have passed since Sgt. Ken Kozakiewicz got wrecked to his soul.

Raw from a battle that ended moments before, dazed from the two missiles that smoked his Bradley Fighting Vehicle and weary from traversing an ungodly expanse of Iraq desert, Kozakiewicz did what any man would.

He read the name on the dead soldier's identification card, looked away from the bloody body bag and wailed.

Kozakiewicz's helpless, primal howl became the signature image of Operation Desert Storm. The picture, taken by David Turnley, showed war's wicked truth and is considered one of military history's most provocative photos.

Kozakiewicz, his broken left hand in a sling, had been guided into a medical evacuation helicopter after the Jalibah Airfield rout Feb. 27, 1991. The battle was among the final objectives of a dominant campaign to expel Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein's army from neighboring Kuwait.

Kozakiewicz and Cpl. Mike Tsangarakis were about to be whisked away. Then a body bag was loaded onto the helicopter floor. Kozakiewicz demanded the dead soldier's name.

A medic reluctantly handed Kozakiewicz the ID for 20-year-old Pvt. Andy Alaniz. In the center of the photo, Tsangarakis lifted his head bandages to glimpse the sack at his feet.

"I was just dumbfounded," Kozakiewicz recalled Friday. "I said, 'You've got to be kidding me. He just got married. There's no way.'

"Then it hit me like a ton of bricks."

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/06/02/strangers-linked-by-iconic-desert-storm-photo-meet-24-years-late.html?comp=7000023435700&rank=5

[Wilms]

1. ^

[pinboy3niner]

2. K&R