An Army Humvee is seen on the side of the highway with 507 painted on its side. This was the 507th Maintenance Company, an Army service-unit comprised of rear-echelon personnel, cooks, mechanics, clerks.
Before dawn that day, the 507th was lost, missed their turn to catch up with their division, and blundered into Nasiriyah. They got out the far side of the city without incident. Their commander, Captain King, realized they were lost and decided to retrace their steps by going back into the city which, by now, was swarming with Iraqi army and Fedayeen militia.
In a run-and-gun fight the unarmored vehicles were picked off. Many weapons of the 507th were jammed from the sand and grit of the desert. The Humvee's positioning is based around a photo of the battle. It was driven by Specialist Lori Piestewa, a Hopi Native American from Arizona. Riding backseat was her roommate, PFC Jessica Lynch, wedged between two soldiers they picked up in their run, Specialist Edward J. Anguiano and Sgt. George Buggs, when their vehicle was disabled. Riding shotgun was First Sergeant Robert Dowdy. Either an explosion or enemy fire caused Piestewa to lose control and slam into the back of another disabled 507th truck and trailer at high speed.
The crash killed Spec. Anguiano, Sgt. Buggs, and 1st Sgt Dowdy instantly. Piestewa suffered severe head trauma and later died in a Iraqi hospital. Lynch was also severely wounded and captured by the Iraqis. A few days later she was rescued in a night-time raid. Eleven of her comrades were killed in Nasiriyah. Five more were captured. They were later rescued by Marines in Baghdad.
