Posted on 11/06/2003 7:29:27 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Army private Jessica Lynch, the badly injured U.S. prisoner of war who was rescued from a hospital during the Iraq war, said in her first interview that she is not the Rambo-style hero she has been portrayed as by American media and the military. Lynch, 20, told ABC network reporter Diane Sawyer in an interview to be aired on "Primetime" next Tuesday, the same day as her authorized biography is published, that she never fired a shot when ambushed. "My weapon did jam and I did not shoot, not a round, nothing. I don't look at myself as a hero. My heroes are Lori (Private Lori Piestewa, who died in the ambush of Lynch's convoy), the soldiers that are over there, the soldiers that were in the car beside me, the ones that came and rescued me," she said. Lynch is still recovering from injuries to her spine, and cannot walk without crutches. She has no feeling in her left foot and has other medical problems. Lynch, who became a symbol of U.S. heroism during the early stages of the war on Iraq, insisted, "I am just a survivor." In an advance, partial copy of the ABC interview, Lynch said she was hurt that other people had "made up stories" about her fiercely fighting her Iraqi captors. "I'm not about to take credit for something that I didn't do... It hurt in a way that people would make up stories that they had no truth about. Only I would have been able to know that because the other four people on my vehicle aren't here to tell that story." 'PRAYING ON MY KNEES' Lynch, a supply clerk who was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War medal, received an honorable military discharge from the Army in August due to her injuries, allowing her to sign the $1 million book deal. U.S. commandos filmed their rescue of Lynch from the Iraqi hospital on April 1, nine days after she was captured at the onset of the war. An early media report quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying she "fought to the death" before being captured and suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The Army later concluded she was hurt when her Humvee crashed into another vehicle in the convoy after being hit by a grenade. Sawyer asked Lynch if she went down "like, somebody said, Rambo?" "No, I went down praying on my knees," she replied. Lynch said she was thankful to the soldiers who rescued her but said she was troubled by the way the incident was portrayed by the military. "It does (bother me) that they used me as a way to symbolize all this stuff ... yeah, it's wrong ... I don't know why they filmed it, or why they say the things they, you know." The full details of her story have yet to come out since Lynch said she suffered a loss of memory after her capture. ABC said that in the interview she discussed for the first time a report she was sexually assaulted during her captivity, saying that she did not remember such an incident but adding, "even just the thinking about that, that's too painful." According to Sawyer, the book "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story," cites a medical record as indicating that Lynch was raped. The young private was captured by Iraqis on March 23 near Nassiriya. Eleven other U.S. soldiers were killed and nine wounded in the incident.
The jealous, insecure, and perpetually angry make me ill.
You've never had the weapon jam when you tried to chamber a round?
Uh oh, that statement is going to rile up the cavemen (by "cavemen", I don't mean the ones who have honest concerns about having women near the front lines, but the perpetually angry cavemen). lol
Probably wrong.
The 507th is part of the 5/52 ADA Regiment (ADA = Air Defense Artillery), which is part of the 11th ADA Brigade. The Imperial Brigade.
While not a CA unit, the 11th stands ready to deploy - along with their sister unit, the 35th ADA Bde - within 72 hours notice. The 11th and 35th comprise the 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC). They are a non-divisional unit with the specific mission of rapid deployment.
The unit was initially constituted in 1907 in New York as the 133d Company, Coast Artillery Corps. Like many Army units, it changed designations throughout the years, but has combat streamers from WWI, WWII, and Operation Desert Storm and of course, OEF. They have, in their history, rapidly deployed to Korea and SW Asia as needed.
So count on them seeing more action.
Unit commanders initiate the action and it is passed up the chain of command, receiving endorsements along the way or stopped, until it reaches the Pentagon, where someone, acting on behalf of the CINC approves the awarding of the citation.
I have a Bronze Star for actual combat service in RVN and to mind my did nothing "extraordinary" to receive it. No special act of heroism. I simply did my job as trained. And it took me a long time to get to the point that I accepted it, mentally and emotionally.
I don't think, based upon her own words, Pfc. Lynch believes she earned the Bronze Star, but others did and it was awarded to her. I just hope and pray that it doesn't take her as long to accept the fact that others believed she deserved it and that she can wear it with pride.
You might be advised to understand there is a great difference between a Bronze Star and a Bronze Star with "V" device attached. A great difference. The bar for receiving a Bronze Star is much lower than that for receiving one with "V" device attached.
Perhaps that might clear things up for you a bit.
True.
That's a pretty big stretch. Whether or not she killed nine Iraqis makes no difference, the rescue is what made everyone get to know her. She was our lone rescuee for a ten days. Lone rescuees get famous, like Anderson and O'Grady.
That's basicaly true of almost everyone and every political organization. Conservative, liberal, Good, Bad, or Ugly. Truth has little, if any, place in American politics, and honesty is almost unheard of.
Still ... some person did the story, and that person was given information by some person in authority. Whether the information was missinterpreted or embellished is important in knowing where the false story originated. Judgment should lie on the person or organization actually at fault, not the entire media in general.
That pretty much removes the story from the 'lie' category.
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