Posted on 07/25/2015 6:41:03 AM PDT by pabianice
... The crash left her with broken bones in her back, a compound fracture of her left femur and a mangled right foot.
In captivity, the Iraqis removed her femur and replaced it with a 1940s rod that was made for a man.
"I woke up with four or five Iraqi men staring at me and didn't know where I was or where my company was," Lynch said. "I laid there in fear."
An infection set in in her leg, and she said her captives wanted to amputate.
"I cried and begged them to please stop and to leave me alone and they did," Lynch said. "They told me they'd try and get me to the Americans. I didn't believe them, but I was hopeful..."
At least she got some of that Obamacare medical care.
She’s a her like McCain.
Any one of us would be frightened in such a vulnerable state.
at least her injuries were not made up-
A La- John f’n kerry- who was in vietnam
As he was kicked out of the Navy.
“At least she got some of that Obamacare medical care.”
“She’s a her like McCain.”
I don’t recall Jessica Lynch running for office or claiming American Forces are torturing our prisoners. She was a “Supply” troop. Her chain of command made some poor decisions which led to the wrong turn. Their weapons maintenance practices were abysmal (I also believe the weapons they were issued weren’t in great condition when received).
I know from experience that the first thing you want to do when issued a weapon that isn’t your assigned regularly carried weapon is inspect it and clean it. Most rank and file noncombatant troops don’t understand this and have never been taught it.
I received an M16A2 from my base armory prior to a deployment to Afghanistan. When I cleaned it I spent nearly an hour just scraping carbon deposits off the bolt (I had to pound the bolt on the workbench before I could break it down). The bore and barrel took another hour. I’m sure it would have malfunctioned had I not checked it out and fixed it.
Prior to this, I had managed an Armory for a small, mobile Air Support Operations Squadron. As an Air Force NCO I knew more about weapons and weapons maintenance than your average Army Support troop.
Your post about weapons and maintenance is undoubtedly correct, and amazingly depressing.
So, what should she have done? Told them to cut off her leg while she lay there biting on a stick?
It wasn’t her fault TPTB tried to turn her into a female Rambo. She refused to participate in the farce and told the true version of what happened at the first opportunity, IIRC.
My foster some was an armour for awhile at Fort Bliss. He couldn’t believe the neglect he found regarding there weapons. I sent him several bottles of Butches Bore Shine and told him the fastest way to dissolve carbon deposits.
She has said she never did anything heroically.
And for this she was awarded a Bronze Star.
I would assume there was much more to I than that. I will also state that I doubt I would have felt any different then what she has stated here.......
Yup.
During the 91’ Gulf War, some truck driving supply troops were supplied with WWII era M3 Grease Guns.
Jessica Lynch did her duty the best she could, but war is a rough, violent place.
When the carbon is that built up, soak it with WD-40 or oven cleaner for at least 30 min. If you have some Simply Green and the time, soak the whole thing over night.
I’ll never forget the first break we got on a small joint convoy in Iraq. The National Guard support soldiers all sat down and started smoking and joking, and the Marines started field stripping and cleaning weapons. The Soldiers looked at us like we were crazy, and it dawned on me that I’d better look into this, so inspected a rifle that a nearby Guardsman was carrying. It was full of sand.
An understanding was reached that included better weapons maintenance. They weren’t bad soldiers, they just had bad training.
BTW, I don’t blame Lynch either. The fact that men like Pvt. Miller and Sgt Walters don’t get remembered isn’t her fault. As far as I know she hasn’t tried to cash in on at the expense of others.
She is like McCain only in that her fame came from being a POW, and I’m pretty sure she didn’t ask for a Bronze Star, she was told she was going to get one. Her daddy wasn’t an Admiral or General, she had no pull. She has repeatedly expressed dismay at the attention focused on her that was generated by her capture and rescue.
Lots to dislike about the way the whole thing was handled, but Lynch has has been consistent and forthright about her role. Blame the Washington Post and the Pentagon PR machine.
I had no idea she was so badly injured.
Good story!
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