Surprise reunion for Iraqi who received free spinal surgery, and more

Surprise reunion for Iraqi who received free spinal surgery

In 2008, Dr. Kevin Murphy of the Minnesota National Guard arranged for Lamyaa Kareem of al-Harza, Iraq, to travel to St. Paul, Minn., to receive free surgery for her curved spine. Afterward, she and her mother, Shanna Hassan, stayed at the home of Johanna Clyborne, Dr. Murphy’s fellow guardsman. Over nine weeks, the three women bonded and became good friends. Last week in Iraq, where Clyborne is now stationed, Murphy arranged a surprise reunion for all three women, when he paid a follow-up medical visit to Naseem. There were many tears and hugs. Despite the fact that they were on an Army base, said Clyborne, “It was almost a girlie moment.”

Capt. Sullenberger and passengers celebrate anniversary

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Exactly one year after US Airways Flight 1549 made a dramatic crash landing in the Hudson River without the loss of a single life, its crew and passengers returned to New York for an anniversary celebration. More than 100 of them joined Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, the hero of the day, to board a ferry that took them to the site of their splashdown; at 3:31 p.m., the moment of impact, they toasted their good fortune. The day was marked by much reminiscing and reconnecting. “Being here is so wonderful,” said Lucilie Palmer of Brooklyn. “We’re family now.”

New Yorker saves woman from oncoming subway train

Douglas Murphy had just stepped onto a subway platform in the Bronx, N.Y., last week when a group of teenagers accidentally bumped into 88-year-old Anna Lebron, knocking her to the tracks. Murphy urged her to get up, but she was unconscious. So he jumped down onto the tracks and struggled back onto the platform with her, just seconds before a train came tearing through. “I didn’t hesitate,” Murphy said. “You know, it was like an act of faith at that moment, like it was my mother down there or something.”