POW shares story of survival to Johnstown

A prisoner of war visits Johnstown for the first time to share how his experiences in Operation Desert Storm forever changed his life.

"I didn't know if I were going to make it alive," says Mohammad Mubarak, a P.O.W.

That was one of the first thoughts Mubarak, who is from Kuwait, had when he was captured by the Iraqi’s in Desert Storm in 1991.

"Although they were all in Kuwait, I was bombing my own home land but the Iraqis were occupying every square of Kuwait," says Mubarak.

Now he is sharing his story to those in Johnstown. He stopped by the Richland High School Tuesday morning to tell them what it was like to be a prisoner of war.

"Shed the light on the whole experience slowly so there is a lesson that can be learned,” says Mubarak.

Such as being a pilot in the first wave of strikes in Operation Desert Storm and being shot down and held captive in Baghdad.

"I was unlucky to be shot by one of the anti-air and I had to eject and land in the hands of the Iraqis. I stayed there for 49 days in captivity; they moved us from one location to another."

Mubarak was finally released on March 6^th, 1991, a day he says he celebrates like a holiday.