The father of one of the rescued soldiers, Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young, told CNN that they recognized their son in video shown on the network, and were surprised by how well he looked.

The parents of Young, one of two Apache helicopter pilots shot down over Iraq, said a Pentagon representative gave them the official confirmation about a half-hour later at their home in Lithia Springs, Georgia.

"I'm ecstatic," said his father Ronald Young Sr.

"He looked like he grew a few whiskers and lost a little weight," but his son seemed otherwise unchanged by his ordeal.

"He's walking out of there like it's just another day," Young told the network as he watched footage broadcast by CNN.

"The main thing to me is knowing he's all right," Young said. "It's a relief. You just don't know how much it is. It's almost like Christmas, New Year's and everything all rolled into one."

Young's relatives said they also recognized Chief Warrant Officer David Williams, who was in the helicopter with Young. They said Williams' wife told them she also saw him.

The families of other missing service members, James Riley, Shoshana Johnson and Joseph Hudson -- all members of the 507th Maintenance Company -- said they also had received official word Sunday that their relatives had been freed.

In Alamagordo, New Mexico, Anecita Hudson told CNN that US officials have confirmed her son's rescue.

"The army ... let me know my Joseph is safe," she said.

SPACE.WIRE