EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

For weeks, U.S. Army Pvt. Byron Fouty's belongings have sat unopened in his father's Michigan home.

"I'm not ready. It tears me up. I don't want to look at them," said Mick Fouty, the biological father of U.S. Army Pvt. Byron Fouty, 19, who was captured May 12 south of Baghdad along with Spec. Alex Jimenez of Lawrence.

For the past five months, Mick Fouty has kept a low profile, avoiding the media and attending few public events. But now, for the first time, he talks openly about his son, their relationship and how difficult it has been for him as he waits to hear about his son's whereabouts.

"I miss my son terribly. I'm stressed, angry, sad and confused," Fouty said during a telephone conversation from Michigan. "I'm angry with the government. I'm totally against this war. I support our troops, but I want to see an end to the war. It's an unnecessary thing because there are too many soldiers dying, and for what?"

Jimenez and Byron Fouty have not been seen since May 12 when their unit was ambushed by al-Qaida-linked militants 20 miles south of Baghdad. The dead body of a third soldier was found floating in the Euphrates River.

About a month after their disappearance, their ID cards were found in Samarra, more than 75 miles north of where the two soldiers were captured. The Army lists the status of the two soldiers as "missing/captured."

Mick Fouty, 51, will never forget the day of his son's capture.

"I was devastated. My heart dropped and I went completely numb," he said. "My heart goes out to Alex's father as well. We're the only two who know what we're going through."

Fouty said the most difficult part of the ordeal is constantly thinking about the torture his son and Jimenez may be going through.

He said family members and friends give him the physical and emotional strength he needs not to fall apart. Though he doesn't consider himself a religious person, Fouty said, his faith also plays an important role.

"Every day when I get up I ask, 'Please God, let this be the day they find him,'" he said. "That gives me hope he's alive."

And, Fouty said, he has a heap of memories he shared with his son, including days spent fishing, teaching him how to drive, hiking, and swimming. He also recalls the little boy who enjoyed playing in the mud, snow boarding and reading Harry Potter books.

Fouty said he supported his son's decision to enlist in the Army. While in Iraq, the father and son talked on the telephone every two weeks.

"We joked about things we've done," Fouty said. "I felt closer to him than I've ever felt in my life. I have no regrets."

Byron Fouty's parents separated when he was 2. He returned to live with his father at age 9.

"He taught me how to be a parent again," Fouty said.

Last month, Andy Jimenez of Lawrence, Jim Sereigo-Wareing, director of New England Caring for Our Military in Methuen, and Francisco Urena, director of Veterans Affair in Lawrence, flew to Michigan to meet Mick Fouty and Byron Fouty's former stepfather, Gordon Dibler Jr. Mick Fouty did not attend the meeting because of a rift in the relationship with Dibler.

"I was honored because my son is being recognized and we should not forget," said Mick Fouty, a stained-glass artist. Although Mick Fouty and Andy Jimenez did not meet in person, they have talked on the phone.

"I wish I had met him because we share so much in common," Andy Jimenez said. "I wanted to show him my support face to face."

In addition to not having his son around, Mick Fouty is saddened that his Byron Fouty is the only child who would carry on the family name.

He still holds out hope, and knows what he will say when he sees his son again.

"'Thank you, God.' I'll hug him, hold him and probably won't let him go," Fouty said.

SUBHED: For Andy Jimenez, the wait still brings pain

These last four months have also been torture for Lawrence's Andy Jimenez, 53.

"I don't look forward to the 12th of the month because I know it's another month without him," said Jimenez.

He has held a vigil marking the anniversary of his son's and Byron Fouty's disappearance, as a sign of hope and prayer for their safe return home.

"The support of those who attend brings me a lot of comfort," said Jimenez, a construction worker.

A vigil to mark five months since their disappearance will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday outside Andy Jimenez's home at 11 Albion St. in Lawrence.

He has also kept busy attending ceremonies for his son in Michigan and Boston. Jimenez said one of the biggest honors has been a poster his unit, the 10th Mountain Division, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, created for POW/MIA day honoring the missing men.

The poster features a photograph of both soldiers in Army fatigues posing in front of an American flag. Above the picture are the words, "Their Sacrifice ... Our Freedom" and lights coming through the bars of a cell.

Now, the missing soldiers' unit is preparing to return to the United States, but not without making a final effort to search for the two men.

"This is still our brigade's No. 1 priority, its commander, Col. Michael Kershaw, said Friday. "We've been doing everything possible to bring them back before we leave."

The 3,600-member brigade is in its 14th month of an extended 15-month tour, with 52 killed and more than 270 wounded in action, Kershaw said.

The brigade has received conflicting reports from captured suspects and "numerous other intelligence sources" on whether Jimenez and Fouty are still alive.

"Just last week, we received one significant intelligence thread that indicated that they at least were potentially alive recently, but another that said they had been killed shortly after the attack," Kershaw said.

But both fathers said they have not given up hope.

"Their futures are in God's hands and I have to believe in that," Mick Fouty said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.