Pubdate: Fri, 28 Feb 2003
Source: Montgomery Advertiser (AL)
Copyright: 2003sThe Advertiser Co.
Contact:  http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1088
Author: John Zenor, The Associated Press

ALABAMA MAN KILLED IN COLOMBIA

Judith Janis got the news upon returning home from Colombia on Feb. 13: Her
husband's plane had gone down while she was en route.

"It was 36 hours before we knew anything, and that was a horrible 36 hours,"
Janis said Thursday.

Thomas Janis, 56, and Colombian Army Sgt. Luis Cruz were shot and killed
near the crash site by rebels, and three other Americans are being held
hostage. The identities of the deceased were released Monday by John
Walters, director of White House drug control policy.

Janis, a retired chief warrant officer who won the Bronze Star and other
awards during his 32-year military career, was buried Monday with full
honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

U.S. Rep. Terry Everett, R-Enterprise, planned to submit a statement for
publication today in the Congressional Record memorializing Janis as an
"American hero" who was killed "while serving to defend his country in the
war on narco-terrorism."

"Tom's murder will not go unpunished and his sacrifice will not be
forgotten," the statement read. "We all grieve Tom's loss and the entire
Janis family will be in our prayers through these difficult days. Tom was
one of Alabama's best and we shall truly miss him."

He and the hostages all worked for defense contractor Northrop Grumman.

Janis had worked with Northrop Grumman for about a year, but also worked in
Colombia for another company before that, Judith Janis said.

"I did my darndest to talk him out of the job," she said, "but Tom was a
soldier and this was just another way of being a soldier."

State Department officials asked Judith Janis not to discuss the three
Americans who were still held captive by rebels of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The U.S. government plane crashed during an
intelligence mission.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh