Southern California Soldier Found Dead in Iraq (VIDEO)

Back in Torrance, California, where Joe Anzack played football for South High and graduated in 2005, people are feeling the loss.

Joe Anzack in Iraq, October 2nd, 2006 Photo courtesy: Anzack family/MySpace.com

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., who was reported missing in Iraq for the second time in two months - has been discovered dead, floating in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad with numerous injuries and what appeared to be whip marks on his back.

It is a painful day in his hometown of Torrance, California.

After an intensive search involving thousands of American and Iraqi forces, Iraqi police told reporters today that they found the body of a Western-looking man in the river in the Mussayab area 60 km south of the capital, in the area known as the "Triangle of Death." The body, wearing U.S. Army-issue pants and boots, had bullet wounds and signs of torture.

The Army PFC from Torrance, California, was briefly and falsely rumored to have been killed last month. The report led to him being called to a phone to tell his family that he was alive. This time his family gets no reprieve.

The twenty year old U.S. soldier was on the patrol that was ambushed May 12th. PFC Joseph Anzack Jr. was part of a convoy that included seven American soldiers and one Iraqi army interpreter. Military officials say they were attacked by insurgent forces. The violence left four other U.S. soldiers dead. The two other soldiers, 19-year old Pvt. Byron Fouty of Waterford, Michigan and 25-year old Spc. Alex Jimenez of Lawrence, Massachusetts, are still unaccounted for.

If the three were taken alive, it would comprise the single biggest capture of U.S. soldiers in Iraq since Pvt. Jessica Lynch and six others were captured on March 23rd, 2003.

The event also brings to mind the tragic disappearance, capture and subsequent deaths of Tommy Tucker from Oregon and Christian Menchaca of Texas last year. Hideous video clips of a soldier's beheading were released by insurgents over the Internet. The barbaric behavior stunned our nation.

As a nation that has advanced to a position where political forces actually debate whether or not the United States should torture prisoners, the average American can only hope that stories like these lead to the regaining of our national conscience, one which clearly knows from the framework of all we stand for, that the sanctioning of torture as a practice is always, unequivocally wrong, every time.

The military reports that the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade combat team. The 10th Mountain Division. Based out of Fort Drum, New York, the 10th Mountain are continuing a search that includes 4,000 U.S. troops and 2,000 Iraqis.

Back in Torrance, California, where Joe Anzack played football for South High and graduated in 2005, people are feeling the loss. The passage of 11 days since his disappearance means they have had too much time to hope for good news.

LA media reports that Joe's father's modest stucco apartment in this beach town is adorned with yellow ribbons. Hearts were heavy as word of Joe Anzack's death spread throughout this city of about 150,000, 20 miles southwest of downtown LA.

Some soldiers say accountability needs to be part of this story, citing how poor decisions from officers who aren't up to the task should be investigated and acted upon. A soldier told Salem-News.com today, "The NCOIC, The OIC, whoever it is that put those guys in that position, needs to answer for it, because there is no excuse."

The Pentagon on Monday said an al-Qaida-affiliated group called The Islamic State of Iraq has claimed responsibility for the ambush and said it has the missing soldiers.

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The video below is from the Pentagon Channel. It was recorded before the identification of Joseph Anzack Jr. but it does include relevant information

Video