Video of U.S. prisoner Bowe Bergdahl surfaces

By Debbie Gregory.

The family of Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier captured by militants while stationed in Afghanistan more than four years ago, has renewed hope for Bergdahl’s return.

On January 14, 2014, Bergdahl’s family released a statement, distributed by the Idaho National Guard, saying, “Today we learned that a new video of our son, U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, has been distributed by his captors.” Bergdahl is the only U.S. soldier from the Afghan war known to be held by militants.

An anonymous U.S. official has verified the existence of a video showing Bergdahl, who is believed to be held by Taliban-linked militants in Pakistan, alive. Continuing the plea of the past four and a half years, his family has requested that Bergdahl’s captors release him safely so that he can be reunited with his mother and father.

On June 30, 2009, about two months after arriving in Afghanistan, Bergdahl disappeared under unclear circumstances from Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan. Bergdahl was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Bergdahl was born in the small ski resort town of Sun Valley, ID. He grew up in Hailey, ID, a small community outside of Sun Valley. There, he was home schooled by his mother Jani. In 2012, two U.S. Marine Veterans founded the Bring Bowe Home Project and have set up a website, http://bringhomebowe.com/,  to spur a grass-roots movement to keep Bergdahl’s name in the forefront of American hearts and memories. The Bring Bowe Home Project raises funds to promote awareness campaigns about the status of Bowe Bergdahl, as well as advocate for his safe and timely return home.

So far, the efforts to free Bergdahl have been unsuccessful, but the family and their supporters refuse to give up until Bowe comes marching home.