(CSX distributed the following e-mail news on March 25.)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -– CSX Chairman Michael Ward telephoned Trainman Ronald Young Sr. on March 25 to express CSX’s support for the employee whose son was taken as a prisoner of war after his helicopter was forced down about 50 miles southwest of Baghdad. “We want to support you and your family because your son is supporting us in the cause of freedom,” Ward told Young, of Lithia Springs, Ga. During the call, Young asked that employees include his son and family in their thoughts and prayers. Ward offered Young, who joined CSX Transportation in July 2000, the company’s full support and assistance.
Young’s son, Army Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., and his partner, Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams of Orlando, were shown on videotape following their capture. Their AH-64 Apache attack helicopter was one of 30 engaged in a frenzied battle with Republican Guard units outside Karbala when it was brought down, appearing largely undamaged in television accounts. Young and Williams are from the First Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. In news reports, a sibling, Kelly Lively, said Young enlisted more than three years ago, after two years of college, because he wanted to learn how to fly. “He’s always wanted to fly. That’s why he went into the military – to learn to fly,” she said. “He’s very proud to be serving his country.”
More than 80 CSX employees are on active duty with Guard or Reserve units, including Army National Guard Sgt. First Class Scott Barkalow, a locomotive engineer from Nashville, Tenn., who is recovering from a leg amputation after the vehicle he was riding in tripped a mine in Afghanistan on Feb. 19. Hundreds of employees are personally affected by the Iraqi conflict because of relatives and friends who have been called to active duty in the region. Employees in Atlanta’s Tilford Yard have begun planning ways they can assist the Young family and display support for Chief Warrant Officer Young.
Employees who wish to send cards or letters to the Youngs should send them
to CSX Corporate Communications, J420, 500 Water Street, Jacksonville, Fla. 32202. All messages will be forwarded to the family.