Douglas Wood’s life was valued at $25 million by the Iraqi insurgents who held him hostage for 47 days. But Wood said his release was instead the result of 25 million prayers, a spiritual chain that encompassed all beliefs as folks around the world prayed for his release.
This is the story Wood and his wife Yvonne Given want to tell the world, they said at their home in Alamo on Sunday. They want to thank everyone, and especially their community, for their support during this difficult time.
When the American-trained Iraqi soldiers broke into the house June 15 where Wood was held captive, he couldn’t tell what was happening. “Frankly, I thought it was Al Qaeda coming to cut my head off,” he said.
“They tore off my blindfold and threw a blanket over me. One said, ‘I’m Iraqi.’ And I said, ‘I’m Australian.’ They helped me out, and I peeked out and saw their uniforms.”
It was an operation of the Iraqi Army, monitored by the Americans. They were checking out “bad” houses, said Wood. He was held in two different locations, the first for 10 days, the other for 37 days, sometimes with other prisoners. “They shot one man two inches from my foot – bang, bang.”
“I was fed only bread and water. And I was blindfolded,” Wood said. They also shaved his head. “I assume it was to humiliate me,” he mused, running his fingers over his short hair.
Wood, an Australian engineer, moved to the United States in 1967, when he worked for Bechtel Corp., which is headquartered in San Francisco. He has been married to local Realtor Yvonne Given for 16 years.
“I sold him a horse ranch in Lodi for his thoroughbreds,” Given said, recalling how they met.
Throughout the years Wood worked on assignments overseas, in the Czech Republic, the Philippines, Armenia, Georgia, and then 18 months ago, he went to work in Iraq as a contractor in the reconstruction of Iraq.
He knew Iraq was a dangerous place and took precautions. “I didn’t go out at night. I didn’t go to the same place twice,” he said.
Then came April 30 and he thought he was going to a meeting at the home of the Deputy Minister of Oil and Business, accompanied by two Iraqi associates.
“Instead of the host, out came the boys with guns,” he recalled. “They put handcuffs on me, and took my wallet, my ring, watch, my shoes.”
They forced him to take part in a video recording urging the U.S.-led coalition to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
“President Bush, Prime Minister Howard, Gov. Schwarzenegger, family, friends, please take the Australian troops, the British troops out of here and let Iraq look out for itself,” the video begins.
At the time, his captors had their guns aimed at the heads of his two Iraqi associates, whom they did end up killing, he said. As he recalled making the recording, his eyes began to fill with tears, and Yvonne put her hands on his to calm him while he recovered his emotions.
Meanwhile, back in Alamo, Given received a phone call from a reporter. “She said, ‘Mrs. Wood? Have you heard about your husband?'” recalled Yvonne. She replied that she’d heard nothing and said she expected the worst. “Then she asked, ‘Are you alone?'” She was alone but she nonetheless demanded an explanation and learned that Douglas had been kidnapped by a terrorist group, which identified itself as the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq.
The reporter e-mailed Yvonne Given the details, and by that time, other media had begun to gather on Vagabond Court in Alamo’s Whitegate neighborhood, at the foot of Mount Diablo. Given decided right away that her only response to reporters would be “no comment” and contacted her daughter Kimberly and her son, J.P., who flew from Seattle to be with her. She also called Wood’s brother Vernon in Australia, for him to inform other family members including Doug’s daughter Christina.
Given’s friends of 45 years, Ann and George Brown, came immediately and spent every day with her. Their son James, who is a policeman, helped to keep the flock of reporters from her door.
She said the normally peaceful court was filled for weeks with reporters and photographers. She tried to be sympathetic because she knew they were just doing their job. But one woman rang her doorbell and left a note stating that if Given did not speak to her, it would be worse for her husband. This left her shaking her head in disbelief.
“I couldn’t believe how over the top it was,” she said. “They were looking in the front windows. I didn’t want them gone, I just wanted them to be more considerate.”
A second video was released a week later, this time showing Wood with a black eye, his head shaven and guns pointed at him from either side. But any photo of Wood was a good one to Yvonne. “The pictures were proof he was alive,” she said.
The neighbors were wonderful during this time, Given recalled. They offered to block the court with their vehicles to keep the reporters out, but Given declined the offer, not wanting to inconvenience the neighbors any more. When she apologized to them for the continual bright television lights and media traffic, they told her it didn’t matter, the only important thing was to get Douglas home safe again. “My neighbors said, ‘Whatever it takes,'” she recalled.
She said the FBI and the Australian Federal Police were also attentive, contacting her daily with updates and to check on her well-being. FBI Special Agent Denise Gastambide gave her a telephone number where she was available for her 24 hours a day. The FBI also sent Victim Specialist Lorraine Kratzer to help.
“The FBI also installed a tap on the telephone,” said Given. “Our (U.S.) government was very involved.”
It also made sure posters with Wood’s image were circulated throughout Iraq, looking for leads.
“The Australian government wanted to make clear how helpful our government was,” Given reported.
Wood has apologized to both governments for the tape he made urging the withdrawal of troops. He hasn’t heard from President Bush yet but Australian Prime Minister John Howard told him no apology was necessary.
“I still feel like a coward and a traitor,” Wood said earnestly, his face flushing.
Yvonne, too, became a sort of hostage in her own home. She would send her friends Ann and George Brown home at night, needing to be by herself. She also used the time – and her nervous energy – to redecorate a guest room.
Meanwhile in Baghdad, Wood used his memories and his faith to bring him comfort.
“I thought of everything,” he recalled. “I went back to the children in my class.” He would call up their faces and their names in his memory, going over and over them to get it right. He thought of all the girls he had ever known. He recalled playing Australian Rules Football – in college and amateur. He brought back memories of losing his first tooth, of his first bloody nose.
“We had a holiday house on the beach when I was a child,” he said. “I remembered all of this.”
He said the Lord’s Prayer to himself and the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” His father was a Presbyterian minister, but his religious background was purposely kept quiet while he was a captive, said his wife. His family didn’t want to release any information that might aggravate his captors.
Wood said the only time he feared for his life was when he heard shots and he knew that someone was being killed, and perhaps he might be next.
Given said she heard from people all over the world. Some letters and cards were addressed to “Douglas Wood’s wife; Alamo, CA – Please deliver.” And the U.S. Postal Service did deliver.
His brothers worked for his release through the Australian Muslim community. Al Jazeera broadcast an appeal by the brothers to the kidnappers, describing Douglas as a caring family man and saying he was not in good health. They also made it clear that he had no involvement in politics.
Wood sees his release as proof that the Americans are having success in training the Iraqi Army. He also said the Iraqis he knew did not describe themselves as Shiite or Sunni. “They all say they are Iraqis,” Wood said, “and they’re all very grateful to the Americans for getting rid of Saddam.”
Yvonne and Douglas were reunited in Dubai, where he was undergoing further debriefing. Then they spent time in Australia before returning here last week.
When they returned Thursday night, their friends the Browns had again been there to help out, watering the plants and handling telephone calls.
“I couldn’t have done it without them,” said Yvonne. The generosity and the prayers of their neighbors – around the world – are an important part of the story, she said.
She also wanted to thank the anonymous person who attached both the yellow ribbon and the red, white and blue bow to their mailbox.
“They braved the press to do that,” she said.
The nightmare also showed her a world full of people who formed a prayer chain to free her husband, and for that she is eternally grateful.
