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"I’m happy but I still can’t believe it," Riley’s mother, Jane, said during a press conference outside her home yesterday. "When I touch him, then I’ll know it’s real."
His father, Athol, said the day had started like most Sundays, but obviously had a much happier ending.
Athol said he had woken up yesterday morning to his clock radio blaring a war broadcast that seven POWs had been rescued. But no names were given, so he and his wife went to their church’s Palm Sunday services.
It was only when they returned home from church that the Riley’s found out their son was among the group of freed men.
"I think the power of prayer had something to do with it," Athol said of the fact that his son was found alive and well. "Generally people have a good side, and that includes the Iraqis. And this proves it."
By the end of the day yesterday the Riley’s had spoken with their son on the phone. Jane told him she is happy he is safe and free, that she loves and misses him and that she can’t wait to see him.
After the conversation, Athol said his son sounded exhausted.
"He said he was tired, his mind had a million things running through it," Athol said. "He wished this never happened, but it had and we had to deal with it."
Riley was taken prisoner March 23 after his convoy from the 507th Maintenance Company was ambushed. Shortly after he was shown on the news, stores in Pennsauken sold out of yellow ribbons and support for the family started coming out of the woodwork.
Athol Riley said he never gave up hope throughout the ordeal and that he spent a lot of time praying for James and his daughter, Mary, 28, who died March 28 after spending two months in a coma.
Though the last few weeks have been hard, Athol said he and his wife’s faith have helped keep the family strong.
When Riley is flown home, his parents said he probably won’t act like a hero or think of himself as one. The family said yesterday that they’d probably have Riley weld some bird cages and do housework, as he usually does when he is on administrative leave.
Riley might even feel guilty for missing three weeks of work while being "AWOL," Athol joked.
Around the country, relatives of the six other POWs who were rescued yesterday were just as happy as the Riley’s. The soldiers include four members of the 507th Maintenance Company -- Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21, of Mission, Texas; Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, of Alamogordo, N.M.; Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, of Fort Bliss, Texas; and Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, of Park City, Kan. -- and two Apache helicopter pilots -- Chief Warrant Officer 2 David S. Williams, 30, of Orlando, Fla., and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, of Lithia Springs, Ga.
"Greatest day of my life," Ronald Young Sr. beamed yesterday as he and his wife, Kaye, watched choppy CNN video of their son, Ronald Jr. "I’m just so happy that I could kiss the world! When I saw him, it was like somebody had won the World Series. Everybody was jumping around and hollering."
In Southern Texas, the Hernandez family waved American flags while rejoicing in Spanish.
"I feel that my heart wants to burst out of my chest," Maria De La Cruz Hernandez said in Spanish. "I’m going to have a heart attack here with so much happiness."
At Fort Hood in Texas, the family of a helicopter pilot was soaring as high as the aircraft their son flew for the army.
"I’ve always remained positive," David Williams Sr. said. "When you believe in God, as I do and my son does, you know he will come back home safely."
When President Bush heard the good news of the POWs return to safe ground, he was as happy as the military families.
"It’s just a good way to start off a morning, to be notified that seven of our Americans are going to be home soon and in the arms of their loved ones," the president said.
