Because they didn't know all the facts. If they had to go and correct every media mis-statement, it would take all 135,000 people. Do you think in the middle of this they are going to waste precious manpower trying to get the exact story?
Somebody in uniform who seemed to have some connection with her said she fought hard. So what? The fact remains, that she broke her back, and thereafter, with a broken back, by her own testimony, she attempted to fight back. If her weapon hadn't jammed, it's likely she would have been shot to death. So it's not too hard to see that a fellow soldier, imbued with team spirit, wanted to accredit her with some level of heroism ---so what? Why is this a crisis?