| Ronald D. Young, Jr. | |
| Birth Date: | 10 January 1977 |
| Birth Place: | Villa Rica, Georgia |
| Allegiance: |  |
| Branch: | United States Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1999–2004 |
| Rank: | Chief Warrant Officer |
| Unit: | Aviation Battalion, 1/227th Company C, Fort Hood, Texas |
| Battles: | 2003 invasion of Iraq |
| Laterwork: | The Amazing Race 7 |
Ronald D. Young Jr. (born January 10, 1977[1]) is an American former POW in the 2003 Gulf military action against Iraq who later became a contestant in the reality show The Amazing Race 7. Young is also an Eagle Scout.[2]
Young grew up in Lithia Springs, Georgia and lives in Villa Rica, Georgia. He graduated from Douglas County High School in Douglasville, Georgia, studied mechanical engineering at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Georgia, before joining the Army.[3]
At the time of his becoming a POW in Iraq his father was living in Lithia Springs, Georgia.[3]
See main article: American P.O.W.s in 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Young was among seven POWs who were taken prisoner by Iraqi forces in the 2003 invasion. Back then, he was a Chief Warrant Officer whose Apache Longbow helicopter crashed in Karbala on March 24, 2003. Fellow pilot and Chief Warrant Officer David Williams, 31 from the 1-227 Helicopter Attack Battalion tried to elude capture, but they were taken prisoner by an Iraqi group who took them to Samarra, about 25miles south of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown.[4]
The Iraqi forces kept the two with the members of the 507th Maintenance Company who were earlier captured along with their comrade Jessica Lynch. The 507th POWs included Patrick Miller, Joseph Hudson, Shoshana Johnson, James Riley, and Edgar Hernandez. They were rescued soon after on April 13, 2003.
In 2004, he competed on The Amazing Race 7 together with his then girlfriend, beauty queen Kelly McCorkle. They were billed as the "Former POW/Beauty Queen couple" and his back story about his POW days were mentioned in the show. Young, like almost all contestants who competed there (except for well-known Survivor contestants Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich), was identified only by his first name. Ron & Kelly's relationship was strained during the competition and they broke up after the show but they still have remained friends. They eventually finished third when in San Juan, Puerto Rico they "went to the regional airport instead of the international airport,"[5] Young said, going to the wrong airport caused them to miss their flight.
Roadblocks performed by Young are bolded
| Episode | Leg | Destination(s) | Detour choice (underlined) | Roadblock performance | Placement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | United States → Peru | Rope a llama/Rope a basket | No roadblock | 10th of 11 | |
| 2 | 2 | Peru → Chile | Shop/Schelp | Ron | 2nd of 10 | |
| 3 | 3 | Chile → Argentina | Paddle/Pedal | Ron | 4th of 9 | |
| 4 | 4 | Argentina | Shipwreck/Island | Kelly | 4th of 8 | |
| 5 | 5 | Argentina → South Africa | Tunnels/Tribes | Kelly | 2nd of 7 | |
| 6 | South Africa → Botswana | Food/Water | Ron | 1st of 7 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Botswana | Carry it/Milk it | Ron | 2nd of 6 | |
| 8 | 8 | Botswana → India | Solid/Liquid | Kelly | 2nd of 5 | |
| 9 | Trunk/Dunk | Kelly | 2nd of 5 | |||
| 10 | 9 | India → Turkey | Columns/Kilos | Ron | ||
| 11 | 10 | Turkey → United Kingdom | Brains/Brawn | Kelly | 2nd of 4 | |
| 12 | 11 | United Kingdom → Jamaica | Raft it/Build it | Kelly | 1st of 3 | |
| 12 | Jamaica → Puerto Rico → United States | Pony up/Tree it up | Ron | 3rd of 3 |
Young became part of an urban legend when a viral email claiming that the Red Lobster in the town Young's unit was based refused to donate money to the Young family.[6] Even though the Army "highly discourages spouses soliciting businesses on behalf of families," and that "no business should feel strong-armed into donating" Red Lobster had actually wanted to give money but had run out of gift certificates.[6]