I grew up in Palestine, West Virginia, which is mostly a farming community; there aren't a lot of jobs.

I grew up in Palestine, West Virginia, which is mostly a farming community; there aren't a lot of jobs.

I know that I'm already in the history books and that people are going to remember me as the prisoner of war and the fabricated stories, but you know, to me I was just another soldier over there doing my job.

I'm not about to take credit for something I didn't do. I did not shoot - not a round, nothing. I went down praying to my knees - that's the last thing I remember.

The nurses at the hospital tried to soothe me, and they even tried unsuccessfully at one point to return me to Americans.

Since coming back from Iraq, there's been so many triumphs and obstacles standing in my way, so whenever I set my mind to something, I definitely just go full blast at it.

The whole idea that the rescue was staged or the soldiers were shooting blanks, that's just obvious stuff. Why would you do that in the middle of a war? It's just crazy.