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.
This was predictable. In the first Gulf War, the bastards raped 100% of female captives and 0% of male captives. You can extrapolate the women in combat argument from there. Bottom line, US military brass should be ashamed of themselves.
Many people I know use Triflolon (Teflon) spray and have good service with it, because it does not leave oily film deposits. Most gun shops keep it, heck maybe even Wally-world has it I have never look there.
Pointing out your pettiness. lol
My original question, "Why was she given special protection" still stands. What was it to protect her from? The press?? Iraqis?? What?? Who??
Who cares, who cares, who cares? lol
A woman is more likely to admit rape than a man. Word to the wise.
The figure for males was considerably higher than 0%.
So high school.
Their own heads possibly? Heaven knows reports are beneath lying, look at Jason of the New York Times.
Of course I disagree.
Theoretically, more high schoolers would deny being raped...
Let me know when you are ready for rational discourse.
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.But didn't the media source who fabricated the account of her capture come out and say they lied?
I don't recall making any comments that detracted from either Sgt. Walters or Private Lynch. I simply corrected the record and explained how the heroic actions of one were incorrectly attributed to another.
Based on the accounts of those who did survive the battle, Private Lynch's injuries as a result of the crash were grave enough that they believed she was dead. We cannot judge her willingness to engage the enemy, because she was physically incapable of engaging the enemy. This was most certainly not an attempt to claim that she wasn't a "real" soldier.
Which reminds of me two other false stories that circulated about Lynch: that she got them lost (she was not commandeering that group, another was) and that she was driving the vehicle (she was in the back).
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