Iraq prison abuse hits home

FORT ASHBY, W.Va. — Two weeks ago, this was a friendly town where folks were more likely to smile than scowl at a stranger.

Before journalists from around the globe descended, few people outside West Virginia had heard of the peaceful, middle-class community along Patterson Creek. And residents liked it that way.

Three words — “reporter” and “Lynndie England” — are now enough to send people scurrying from the Family Dollar, the ice cream stand and the bait shop.

“They trashed us,” says a woman at the pharmacy, smile fading as she backs away. “Just look at the Internet.”

“Nobody’s going to talk to you because they don’t think the media’s going to tell the truth,” says barber Joe Godlewski.

Pfc. England, 21, a reservist and one of Fort Ashby’s own, is among seven soldiers from the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company charged with mistreating Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison. If convicted, she could face punishment ranging from a reprimand to more than 15 years in prison.

Privately, many people support the woman who used to bag their groceries at the IGA. The infamous leashed-inmate picture was clearly staged, they say.

“Somebody told her to take those pictures to humiliate those men,” Mr. Godlewski says. “Everybody I talk to believes that.”

But not everybody will say so anymore.

About 1,300 people call Fort Ashby home, and despite the image that TV cameras might project, only a few live in the tiny trailer park behind a sheep farm.

Most live in modest, well-kept homes along state Route 28. Some work on missile technology at Allegany Ballistics Laboratory. Others drive 50 miles to jobs at the Pilgrim’s Pride chicken plant.

“This is a wonderful town filled with lovely people,” says Laura Sours, who has lived here for 25 years. “What’s happened is just horrible, and I hope to God it doesn’t reflect on what the world thinks of us.”

Fort Ashby is only 107 miles from the District, but it might as well be 1,000. It’s a place where children play safely and people leave doors and cars unlocked.

But people say that’s not how it’s been portrayed.

At the height of the press onslaught, the owner of the trailer park where the England family lives banned TV crews, then all press interviews.

Story Continues →