Ronald D. Young Jr. (born January 10, 1977) is an American former POW in the 2003 Gulf military action against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

who later became a contestant in the

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

The Amazing Race 7 ''The Amazing Race 7'' is the seventh season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS March 1, 2005, and concluded on May 10, ...

''. Young is also an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

Biography

Young grew up in

Lithia Springs, Georgia Lithia Springs () is a census-designated place and unincorporated area, formerly incorporated as a city, located in northeastern Douglas County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the community had a population of 16,644. The area is ...

and lives in

Villa Rica, Georgia Villa Rica (Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese translation: Rich Village) is a city in Carroll and Douglas counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located roughly 30 miles west of Atlanta, a decision to develop housing on a large tract of land led ...

. He graduated from Douglas County High School in

Douglasville, Georgia The city of Douglasville is the county seat of Douglas County, Georgia, United States. , the city had a population of 34,650, up from 30,961 in 2010 and 20,065 in 2000. Douglasville is located approximately west of Atlanta and is part of t ...

, studied mechanical engineering at Southern Polytechnic State University in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

, before joining the Army. At the time of his becoming a POW in Iraq his father was living in Lithia Springs,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Iraqi POW

Young was among seven POWs who were taken prisoner by Iraqi forces in the 2003 invasion. Back then, he was a Chief Warrant Officer whose Apache Longbow

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

crashed in

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governor ...

on March 24, 2003. Fellow pilot and Chief Warrant Officer David Williams, 31 from the 1-227 Helicopter Attack Battalion tried to elude capture, but they were taken prisoner by an Iraqi group who took them to

Samarra Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional ar ...

, about south of

Tikrit Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

's hometown. The Iraqi forces kept the two with the members of the

507th Maintenance Company The 507th Maintenance Company was a United States Army unit which was ambushed during the Battle of Nasiriyah in the rapid advance towards Baghdad during 2003 invasion of Iraq on 23 March 2003. The most well known member of the unit was Private ...

who were earlier captured along with their comrade

Jessica Lynch Jessica Dawn Lynch (born April 26, 1983) is an American teacher, actress, and former United States Army soldier who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a private first class. On March 23, 2003, she was serving as a unit supply specialist ...

. The 507th POWs included Patrick Miller, Joseph Hudson,

Shoshana Johnson Shoshana Nyree Johnson (born January 18, 1973) is a Panamanian-born former United States soldier, and the first black female prisoner of war in the military history of the United States. Johnson was a Specialist of the U.S. Army 507th Mainte ...

, James Riley, and Edgar Hernandez. They were rescued soon after on April 13, 2003.

''The Amazing Race''

In 2004, he competed on ''

'' together with his then girlfriend,

beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

Kelly McCorkle Kelly McCorkle Parkison, (born December 27, 1979) held the title of Miss South Carolina 2002 and placed in the Top 15 at the Miss America 2003 Pageant held on September 21, 2002, in Atlantic City, NJ. She also competed in '' The Amazing Race 7'' ...

. They were billed as the "Former POW/Beauty Queen couple" and his back story about his POW days were mentioned in the show. Young, like almost all contestants who competed there (except for well-known '' Survivor'' contestants Rob Mariano and

Amber Brkich Amber Joy Mariano (née Brkich; born August 11, 1978) is an American television personality and winner of '' Survivor: All-Stars'' with its $1,000,000 prize, after appearing as a contestant on one of its predecessors, '' Survivor: The Australian ...

), was identified only by his first name. Ron & Kelly's relationship was strained during the competition and they broke up after the show but they still have remained friends. They eventually finished third when in San Juan, Puerto Rico they "went to the regional airport instead of the international airport," Young said, going to the wrong airport caused them to miss their flight.

The Amazing Race 7 finishes

*An placement with a double-dagger () indicates that Ron and Kelly were the last to arrive at a pit stop in a non-elimination leg. * An ''italicized'' placement means it was Ron and Kelly's placement at the midpoint of a double leg. *A indicates Ron and Kelly were on the receiving end of the Yield. ''Roadblocks performed by Young are bolded '' ;Notes

Later life

Young became part of an urban legend when a viral email claiming that the

Red Lobster Red Lobster Hospitality LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam) and Canada, as well as in China, Ecuador, Ho ...

in the town Young's unit was based refused to donate money to the Young family. Even though the Army "highly discourages spouses soliciting businesses on behalf of families," and that "no business should feel strong-armed into donating" Red Lobster had actually wanted to give money but had run out of gift certificates.

References