5 Former POWs, Including 2 Women, Awarded Gulf Medals

WASHINGTON —  The Army’s chief of staff bestowed medals Wednesday on five former prisoners of war in Iraq, lauding them as “the embodiment of the spirit, courage and sacrifice” of those who fought in Operation Desert Storm.

“For each of you, Desert Storm has a much more personal side,” Gen. Carl E. Vuono said in a ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. “You have paid a steep price in the name of freedom.”

Four of the soldiers--two women and two men--were present for the ceremony. The fifth, Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Stamaris, was in another part of the hospital recovering from two operations since he and the others returned from the Persian Gulf on Sunday.

Vuono pinned Purple Hearts, Prisoner of War and National Defense Service medals on the four and said he was going to Stamaris’ room to present the fifth set.

Stamaris, 31, a helicopter crewman from Boise, Ida., was injured in a helicopter crash.

Also honored were Maj. Rhonda L. Cornum, 36, an Army flight surgeon from Freeville, N.Y.; Specialist Troy A. Dunlap, 20, Massac, Ill.; Specialist David Lockett, 24, Bessemer, Ala., and Specialist Melissa Rathbun-Nealy, 21, Newaygo, Mich.