Yahoo News -- DETROIT - The bodies of two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq for more than a year have been found, their families said Thursday night. The military would not immediately confirm the report.

The father of Army Sgt. Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence, Mass., said the remains of his son and another soldier, Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, of Waterford, Mich., had been identified in Iraq.

Jimenez, 25, and Fouty, 19, were kidnapped along with a third member of the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division during an ambush in May 2007 in the volatile area south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of death." The body of the third seized soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr. of Torrance, Calif., was found in the Euphrates River a year later.

Jimenez's father, Ramon "Andy" Jimenez, said uniformed military officials came to his home in Lawrence on Thursday to tell him that his son's body and some of his son's personal effects had been discovered. Fouty's stepfather, Gordon Dibler, said military officials came to his Oxford home to break the news.

The Pentagon generally waits 24 hours after notifying the next of kin before making a release public.

Andy Jimenez told The Associated Press through a translator that the news "shattered all hope" the family had to "see Alex walk home on his own."

"Every day that he's been missing has been a day of `what could have been' ... but after hearing the news today ... I'm still in shock," Dibler said.

He said he spent much of Thursday on the phone talking with family and friends, including Andy Jimenez. The soldiers' families had become friends over the past year, and Dibler said he always considered the two missing soldiers "our nation's sons."

"Byron went to Iraq to help people who couldn't help themselves," he said, adding that conditions there have since improved. "I know their sacrifice was not for nothing. It was not in vain."

Lawrence Veterans Services Director Francisco Urena, who was at the Jimenez home Thursday and translated for the soldier's father, said the family was given no details on the discovery of the bodies or the nature of the soldiers' deaths. Dibler said Fouty's body was found in the Iraqi village of Jurf as Sakhr.

Fouty was identified using dental records, Dibler said, adding that the bodies of both soldiers were taken to Dover, Del., where military officials are expected to perform further tests to positively identify both men and determine a cause of death.

"It's a very sad relief," he said. "But I know I have to go forward, not just for our family, but for the other men and women who are still doing their job over there."

Urena said the Jimenez family expected to receive Alex Jimenez's body in five days.

"He's very thankful for everybody from the community in Lawrence and throughout the U.S. who have provided him support during the difficult time the family has been through during the past 14 months," Urena said of Andy Jimenez.

Massachusetts state Rep. William Lantigua of Lawrence, who also was with Jimenez on Thursday evening, said the family had held out hope for a happy ending.

"That does not take away from the fact that he was doing what he wanted to do," Lantigua said of Alex Jimenez. "We'll just remember his life, and what a gentleman he was. The community will continue to support his family any way we can."

The three soldiers, from the Fort Drum, N.Y.-based 10th Mountain Division, disappeared May 12, 2007, after insurgents ambushed their combat team 20 miles outside Baghdad. An Iraqi soldier and four other Americans from the same unit were killed in the attack.

The soldiers were from Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment — nicknamed the "Polar Bears."

Jim Waring of the family support group New England Care for Our Military said he spoke to Jimenez' and Fouty's families Thursday night.

"It's going to be tough on them," he said. "They really had hoped they were alive."

Waring said his group had a banner for the missing soldiers: "Together they serve our nation and together they will come home."

"They did come home together, just not the way we wanted," Waring said. Boston Globe -- No matter how or when Alex R. Jimenez comes home from Iraq, he'll receive a hero's welcome, family friend Wendy Luzon said last night.

Jimenez, a 25-year-old Army specialist from Lawrence , was among the US soldiers captured -- or killed -- by insurgents in an ambush Saturday south of Baghdad by a group that includes Al Qaeda members, Department of Defense officials said last night. The group, the Islamic State of Iraq, warned the United States not to search for the missing soldiers.

The military said Jimenez had been traveling in a patrol by two Humvees in the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Al Taqa, looking for insurgents planting roadside bombs, when they were hit by automatic weapons fire and explosives.

Killed in the attack were Sergeant First Class James D. Connell, Jr., 40, of Lake City, Tenn.; Private First Class Daniel W. Courneya, 19, of Nashville, Mich., and Private First Class Christopher E. Murphy, 21, of Lynchburg, Va. The military listed four other soldiers as "duty status whereabouts unknown," a term often used prior to formally listing soldiers as missing or unidentifiable.

Among the four, however, one is known to be dead. The victim, who was not identified, was badly burned in the ambush that left the soldiers' Humvees ablaze, so the military must conduct forensic tests to confirm his identity.

In addition to Jimenez, the missing soldiers are Sergeant Anthony J. Schober, 23, of Reno; Private First Class Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif.; and Private Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich. All the soldiers were members of the Fourth Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, Second Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Specialist Jimenez's family could not be reached for comment last night.

Luzon, 35, an anti-domestic violence specialist and neighbor, said Jimenez's father Ramon "Andy" Jimenez had been against the war, participating in antiwar protests, even though Alex Jimenez felt strongly about his service.

Luzon said she was at their home on Sunday when military personnel informed Ramon Jimenez that his son was unaccounted for. He initially thought Alex Jimenez had been killed. "I could hear him crying" from another room, she said. "But I think it was confusion over a language barrier. "He's not doing well," she said.

Luzon said she plans to hold a vigil tonight outside of the Jimenez home. "We still have hope, and we are praying for him."

Francisco Ureña, the director of veterans' services in Lawrence, said that Jimenez's father and mother were at Fort Drum and that Jimenez's wife was in Pennsylvania. Neighbors at an apartment complex in Lawrence listed as Jimenez's address said last night that he had lived in the city until age 10 before moving to the Dominican Republic, then returned to Lawrence a few years ago.

Department of Defense -- The Department of Defense has changed the status of two soldiers serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom from duty status whereabouts unknown (DUSTWUN) to missing-captured.

Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich., and Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., were declared missing-captured June 27.

On May 12, Fouty and Jimenez were categorized as DUSTWUN when their patrol was attacked by enemy forces. They are assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

Efforts continue for their successful and safe return. For more information in regard to the ongoing search and recovery operations please contact the Coalition Press Information Center-Baghdad at (703) 270-0299 or (703) 270-0320.

Eagle Tribune -- November 22, 2007. Andy Jimenez took the wheel and set out on the seven-hour drive to Watertown, N.Y. His destination: Fort Drum, a military base nestled north of Syracuse and not far from Lake Ontario.

It was the second time he would travel to Fort Drum. The first was three years ago when his son Alex had returned to the base from a tour of duty in Korea.

He headed back Monday, but this time Spc. Alex Jimenez wouldn't be there. He was captured in a pre-dawn terrorist ambush on May 12 in an area of Iraq known as the Triangle of Death and hasn't been heard from since.

For Andy, the trip was tough but necessary. He needed to say thank you to Alex's friends and fellow soldiers in the Army's elite 10th Mountain Division. They had recently returned after a 15-month tour of duty and six months of looking for his son.

For the seven-hour ride, Andy was pensive. He fiddled with the radio, listening to country music. Willie Nelson's "Always on My Mind" began to play.

"I wanted to come to thank them for helping search for Alex and Byron," said Andy. Byron is Pvt. Byron Fouty, 19, also taken in that May 12 ambush.

"The visit is bittersweet. I'm happy that the soldiers have returned, but I'm sad because Alex is not here.

"He knows how much I love him and how we're waiting for him with open arms."

Waiting with open arms for Andy at Fort Drum was Spc. Shawn Gopaul, Alex Jimenez' best friend and confidant. Andy spent the night at Gopaul's house, just as his son had done many times. Sitting next to each other on the couch, Gopaul and Andy cried as they talked about Alex.

Gopaul pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket and gave it to Andy. It was Alex's name tag, which was found at the ambush site.

Andy held it in the palm of his hand, running his fingers over each letter. "Wow, thank you for this," Andy said with a grateful smile.

A few other soldiers met with Andy outside the barracks where Alex had his bunk. The soldiers stood tall and composed in their military fatigues - the image of strength. They shared stories about Alex, and their composure was lost. The men - including Andy - fell to tears.

Andy Jimenez took out a white handkerchief and told the young men, "From the bottom of my heart, God bless you and give you a long a life. Love your mother and your father while they are still with you, because once they die, you can't do anything."

Arriving at Fort Drum

Fort Drum sprawls over the upper northwest corner of New York state. It's as big as Haverhill, Methuen, North Andover, Lawrence, Salem, N.H., and Windham, N.H., linked together. It has a population of about 12,500, but trains and mobilizes some 80,000 troops annually.

It is also home to the Army's 10th Mountain Division, ready to go anywhere in the world within 48 hours. Its members are trained to fight in jungles, deserts, cities and mountains.

The 10th Mountain Division was made famous in World War II when soldiers scaled a sheer, 1,500-foot cliff under cover of darkness and fought their way through the snowy mountains of northern Italy in 1945. That spearheaded the drive that would liberate the country from the Nazis.

More recently, the division's daring 1993 rescue of ambushed Army Rangers in Mogadishu was chronicled in the best-selling book and movie, "Black Hawk Down."

Alex and Byron are part of Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment - nicknamed the "Polar Bears."

Alex was sent to Iraq in 2005. Already fluent in Spanish, he taught himself Arabic and worked as a translator for fellow soldiers. Army officials praised his leadership, while his buddies talked of his sense of humor, his love of reggae and bachata music, and his loyalty as a friend.

Staff Sgt. Roberto Zendejas, 24, worked out with Alex at the gym on the base before he and Alex were deployed to Iraq. He told Andy of the day Alex went missing.

"I couldn't believe it. It was hard to take in because you hear about people dying and kidnapping, and we were right down the road from where it happened."

Andy said hearing people talk about his son gave him a lot of comfort.

Military response

A ceremony for the returning soldiers was planned for Tuesday morning. About a half-hour before it started, Andy met with Col. Michael Kershaw. He gave Andy an update on the search mission.

Kershaw said the search was often frustrating because they would get a lead on the missing soldier's whereabouts, but it would not pan out.

"We went through peaks and valleys of emotions, which is incredibly frustrating," Kershaw said.

But Kershaw added, "To say we understand what they're going through is inaccurate ... We have gone through the same emotions, but as soldiers and brothers."

Attending the 45-minute ceremony with Andy were Byron's parents, Mick Fouty of Michigan and Hilary Meunier of Texas, and Byron's former stepfather, Gordy Dibbler Jr. of Michigan.

A six-minute video was played in tribute to the 52 lost from their division, and to Alex and Byron. Each of their faces was shown on a big screen while Eric Clapton's "Tears from Heaven" played.

During the event, Andy sat stoically, looking straight at the soldiers in formation in front of him and the sea of Army men and women in their fatigues and berets who sat on the bleachers.

Following the ceremony, he was swarmed by soldiers offering support - and reassurance that they won't stop looking.

"Although we're back here, the search has not stopped," said Capt. John Gilbreth, the company commander. "It's been our number one priority since the ambush. We've never given up hope, and we have been physically digging and following intelligence leads."

Lt. Col. Michael Infanti agreed.

"If it was up to me, I would go back in a heartbeat and continue searching until they kill me or send me home," Infanti said.

Following the ceremony, Andy toured Fort Drum, and one of his stops was his son's barracks.

Each soldier cried as Andy approached. Andy, who until now had remained strong, began to sob.

"I'm sorry; it's hard to control my emotions," Jimenez said as several soldiers crowded him and hugged him. "I'm sad because Alex is not here, but I'm happy because I have a good son and he is so loved."

The way home

James Sereigo-Wareing, founder and director of New England Caring for Our Military, took the trip with Andy. On the way home, Sereigo-Wareing drove.

Instead of country music, the selection was from the '50s and '60s.

On the first leg of the 780-mile journey, Andy couldn't stop talking about the people he met and how touching the ceremony was.

He then became quiet. He began to cry.

He did not speak for much of the rest of the ride home.

The Buffalo News -- FORT DRUM (AP) — A 10th Mountain Division soldier missing since May when his unit was attacked by insurgent forces in Iraq has been promoted to the rank of sergeant, Fort Drum officials said Wednesday.

Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez’s family will receive all entitlements due retroactively to June 26, the date of his promotion, according to a post news release. Soldiers who are missing or captured are promoted as their time in rank and service make them eligible.

Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pfc. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich., were seized May 12 when insurgents attacked and overran a checkpoint in a volatile area south of Baghdad. Fouty was previously promoted to private first class from private.

A third soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., was also captured during the raid, but his body was found May 23 floating in the Euphrates River. Four other U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi soldier were killed in the attack.