11 Bodies Found With Rescued POW

Yahoo News.Com ^ | 4/2/03 | NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Tuesday, April 1, 2003

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OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM
U.S. rescues female POW
Pfc. Jessica Lynch listed as missing after unit ambushed near Nasiriyah

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Posted: April 1, 2003
8:07 p.m. Eastern

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© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

She has two broken legs, a broken arm and at least one gunshot wound, but American POW Pfc. Jessica Lynch couldn't be happier, having been rescued by "very brave coalition forces" from her Iraqi captors yesterday.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch shown in Sept. 2000 family photo

"People are parading through town in their cars beeping horns. It's wonderful," Linda Davies, Lynch's kindergarten teacher in West Virginia told the Charleston Gazette.

Central Command spokesman Jim Wilkinson, tight-lipped so as not to tip the military's hand to possible upcoming rescue operations of other POWs, told Fox News Lynch "was rescued by some very brave coalition forces. … We're ecstatic about this success, but we've got a lot more work to do."

Wilkinson added: "America doesn't leave its heroes behind."

What CENTCOM calls the "daring" and highly secret special operations rescue mission was planned after intelligence was developed that led to the knowledge of where Lynch was being held captive, reportedly a hospital. Army Rangers and Navy SEALs jointly carried out the operation.

NBC News reports a resident of Nasiriyah who spoke English approached correspondent Kerry Sanders yesterday and told him: "There's a woman in the Saddam Hospital who's an American soldier. Please make sure the people in charge know that she's being tortured."

Lynch reportedly has two broken legs and one broken arm, and is also being treated for a number of wounds, including at least one gunshot wound.

Defense officials later announced that other bodies – some believed to be U.S. servicemen – were recovered from the site from which Lynch was rescued.

Capt. Jay La Rossa, spokesman for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said special forces found the bodies of two U.S. soldiers and eight Iraqis.

When CENTCOM first acknowledged the rescue operation, the explanation was short and antiseptic: "Coalition forces have conducted a successful rescue mission of a U.S. Army prisoner of war held captive in Iraq. The soldier has been returned to a coalition-controlled area. More details will be released as soon as possible," said Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks.

Jessica Lynch

Meanwhile, Fox News' Rita Cosby, who had interviewed Lynch's family earlier but held off filing her report until cleared by the military, reported that the rescued 19-year-old's family was "elated" to hear the news. Cosby talked to Lynch's father, Greg Lynch, shortly after he received the call informing him of the rescue.

"You would not believe the joys, cries, bawling, hugging, screaming, carrying on," said Lynch's cousin, Pam Nicolais, according to an Associated Press report about the rescue. "You just have to be here."

The rescue was a miracle, says West Virginian Sen. Jay Rockefeller. "God watched over Jessica and her family," Rockefeller told AP. "All of West Virginia is rejoicing. This is an amazing tribute to the skill and courage of our military."

Lynch, of Palestine, W.Va., was listed as missing after her unit, the 507th Maintenance Co., was ambushed March 23 near Nasiriyah. She is believed to have been driving a five-ton truck as part of the convoy. Eleven other U.S. soldiers from the 507th are missing, including another woman, Lori Piestewa, 22, who has not been heard of since the ambush. The incident occurred after the military unit made a wrong turn during early fighting in the invasion of Iraq. Five other members of her unit were later shown on Iraqi television answering questions from their Iraqi captors.

According to KFOX-TV, Lynch dreams of being an elementary school teacher and saw the military as her way to get an education.

"That smile is all you ever see," the TV station quotes Glenda Nelson, a close family friend, as saying. "No matter what she always had a smile on her face and loved kids."

The Pentagon has listed seven Americans as captured by Iraq since the outbreak of the war.

To date, 15 other Americans are formally listed as missing, including two Army Apache helicopter pilots captured March 24 when their helicopter went down.

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[bucephalus]

"Jay Rockefeller is a joke, and is using this for political hay. Sticking his ugly face in these moments to gain points is not appreciated."

As much as I hate him and his hypocrisy, he did the right thing here.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Army PFC Jessica Lynch is carried by U.S. special forces as she is removed from the Saddam Hospital in An Nasaryia, Iraq. (Photo: AP)

U.S. POW Rescued In Iraq
April 2, 2003


American prisoner of war Jessica Lynch has been rescued from an Iraqi hospital, but 11 bodies were found during the commando raid.

A helicopter-borne team of Navy SEALs and Army Rangers rescued her about midnight local time, the Washington Post reported, after CIA operatives in Iraq located her in a hospital near an Nasariyah.

Navy Capt. Frank Thorp, a U.S. Central Command spokesman, said there was "reason to believe" that some of the victims were American. Forensic tests were to be carried out on the bodies.

Lynch, 19, was seized after her unit, the 507th Maintenance Company, made a wrong turn March 23 and was ambushed in the Euphrates River city of an Nasariyah. A dozen other members of her unit remain unaccounted for, including five listed as prisoners of war.

CBS News Correspondent Bob Fuss reports that Lynch was not one of the POWs shown on television, and had not been officially listed as a prisoner, but as missing in action.

The Marines staged a diversionary attack south of the city, reports Mike Kirsch of CBS station WFOR-TV, while Special Forces went into the Saddam Hospital.

The military said Lynch suffers from multiple broken bones, reports CBS News Correspondent Steve Knight in Kuwait City. She is also reported to have gunshot wounds.

"In the same operation we recovered 11 bodies in and around the facility. We don't yet know the identity of those people," Thorp said. "And forensics will determine that."

After POW rescue failures in Vietnam and Iran, the military now has a special rescue force, said CBS News Analyst Perry Smith, a retired general.

"They know how to get in there with deception with a lot of night activity and grab somebody," he told CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "It's a wonderful story.

"We're getting a lot of intelligence from the natives who are happy to see us," the retired general added. "That is really helpful in finding the enemy and finding these hostages."

The story of saving Lynch cheered a White House consumed with the overall war effort, reports CBS News Correspondent Peter Maer. A senior official said President Bush had a two-word reaction, "that's great," when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld gave him the news during an early evening briefing.

"Everybody here (at the White House) felt very good when they got the news and it is good news," the official said.

The official noted the good news is tempered by the knowledge that there are still other POWs about whom the President cares deeply.

The 507th was attacked during some of the first fighting in an Nasiriyah, where Fedayeen loyalists and other hardcore Iraqi fighters have dressed as civilians and ambushed Americans.

Not long after the ambush, five of Lynch's comrades showed up in a video shown on Iraqi television being asked questions by their Iraqi captors.

The video also showed bodies, apparently of U.S. soldiers, which led Pentagon officials to accuse Iraq of executing some of its prisoners. Officials believe the video was made in the an Nasiriyah area.

Lynch, an aspiring teacher, joined the Army to get an education, her family said. She left a farming community with an unemployment rate of 15 percent, one of the highest in West Virginia.

More than 70 people gathered at Lynch's parents' home in the small farming community after the Pentagon announced the rescue. "She's safe in a hospital, she's in good health," her father, Greg Lynch Sr., told a local television station.

"Everyone was excited and happy to hear the good news," said Lynch's hometown friend Jenny Baileys on the CBS News Early Show. "We were all jumping around partying."

[Warrior Nurse]

Rockefeller is riding the gravy train voer PFC Lynch. Some one should find out how many times did he vote against funding for military programs or how many times did he vote to cut military strength.

Liberals today hate the military (LA and NY Times)in no uncertian term. They think we are a bunch of stormtroopers
They don't call us liberators. Even the Iraqi people are starting to come around and realize that Saddam's days are numbered.
Thanks to everyone out there that are supporting us that are in the military. There are alot of us that wish that we were out there witht those guys.

[judicial meanz]

From one old warrior to another, right on!

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Yes he is riding the gravy train. He is a very leftist individual on in his voting record Who does he think he is suddenly fooling!?

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Ditto that!!!

[Geronimo]

SAVING PRIVATE JESSICA

The woman soldier taken prisoner in Iraq had tearfully begged to go home before she was rescued by US special forces.

American Private Jessica Lynch, 19, kept asking about her boyfriend and family, an Iraqi pharmacist who treated her in hospital said.

"She kept saying she wanted to go home", the pharmacist added.

The teenager and 11 other US soldiers were taken prisoner by Iraqi troops when their convoy was ambushed on March 23.

US media reports said she was found with two broken legs, a broken arm and gunshot wounds when she was rescued in a raid by US special forces on the Saddam Hussein Hospital near Nasiriyah.

Reports from Iraq said 11 bodies were found during the rescue mission. Two were believed to be Americans.

US officials have not confirmed if they were from Private Lynch's unit.

The pharmacist who treated Private Lynch at the hospital told Sky News reporter Ross Appleyard that Private Lynch had often been seen crying.

She asked about her family and kept asking when the war would finish, the pharmacist added.

He said that no soldiers had visited her and she had been treated well.

She was regarded as a patient and not as a prisoner of war, the pharmacist added.

He said Private Lynch was "very healthy" and had been treated for an injury to her leg only.

Private Lynch, of Palestine, West Virginia, was rescued in a night-time raid on the hospital by America's elite units - Delta Force, US Rangers and Navy Seals.

Her relieved father Greg said: "We're proud of you Jessie - keep up the good spirits and you will be home soon. We all love you."

Appleyard saw the decoy mission which signalled the start of the rescue, which he described as "remarkable".

The Ba'ath Party headquarters and the building housing Saddam Hussein's loyal Fedayeen fighters were attacked in a diversionary strike, he said.

While the gunfight raged, special forces troops went in and rescued Private Lynch from a building believed to be called the Saddam Hussein Hospital.

Appleyard said: "Flares lit up the sky and we heard a great deal of gunfire and explosions.

"There was a huge gunfight - but it was all a diversionary tactic so special forces could go in and rescue Private Lynch."

The soldier from the 507th Maintenance Company will now be examined by medics.

Private Lynch's unit was ambushed near Nasiriyah after making a wrong turn during early fighting in the invasion of Iraq.

Five other members of her unit were later shown on Iraqi television answering questions from their Iraqi captors.

The rescue was announced by Brigadier General Vincent Brooks at a news conference in Central Command headquarters in Qatar.

In a brief statement, he said: "Coalition forces have conducted a successful rescue mission of a US Army prisoner of war held captive in Iraq. The soldier has been returned to a coalition-controlled area."

Fifteen other Americans are formally listed as missing. The other POWs include two Army Apache helicopter pilots captured March 24 after their helicopter went down.

Central Command spokesman Jim Wilkinson said: "We also have others, other POWs we are just as worried about. This is good news today but we need a lot more good news.

"America doesn't leave its heroes behind," Wilkinson added. "Never has. Never will."

Sky News...

Last Updated: 15:45 UK, Wednesday April 02, 2003

[Enemy Of The State]

             We are coming

 

          

[Garegaupa]

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Quote:
The pharmacist who treated Private Lynch at the hospital told Sky News reporter Ross Appleyard that Private Lynch had often been seen crying. She asked about her family and kept asking when the war would finish, the pharmacist added.

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But, but, but... According to the feminists, she should be happy that she got to go into combat! Think about the opportunities!

(Yeah, that was irony. Thank God that she got rescued alive. Let's just hope that this will teach the feminists a lesson about their "women in combat"-policies - though I very much doubt it...)

[Servant of the Nine]

But, but, but... According to the feminists, she should be happy that she got to go into combat! Think about the opportunities!

Let me shoot you in one leg and treat you for it, and then break your other leg and both arms and not treat them for ten days. While I am at it I will isolate you from all other POWs so that you are totally alone. Whether you cry out loud or in your head, you will be crying somewhere.

SO9

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

BRAVO ZULU

[Garegaupa]

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Quote:
Let me shoot you in one leg and treat you for it, and then break your other leg and both arms and not treat them for ten days. While I am at it I will isolate you from all other POWs so that you are totally alone. Whether you cry out loud or in your head, you will be crying somewhere.

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I'm not sure what to make of your post.

Did you think I was criticizing the fact that she had been crying a lot? Good heavens, no. She certainly had plenty to cry for.

My point was that the feminists (NOW, DACOWITS and others) have been doing all they can to get women into combat. I'm just not so sure that all military women would be happy for the "right" to be killed in combat alongside the men.

[Enemy Of The State]

most excellent BUMP! Mind if I borrow that from time to time?

[Warrior Nurse]

I have seen personally how the Clintoon administration and radical feminists have attacked the military.

In our society we have been conditioned to disapprove of violence against women. Putting them in harms way throws this argument out the window.

Sure the Navy shot itself in the foot with Tailhook but NOW DACOWITS Patty Schroder and Hildebeast really tried to stick it to the military. A recent study showed that coed boot camp was not efficient that Army agreed but didn't elminate coed boot camp.

There are still Clinton people at DoD and Bush and Rummy need to get rid of them. Rummy did that to the Army Chief of Staff.

I am glad PFC Lynch is ok but that isn't something I would wish on any woman.

[End Times Sentinel]

My point was that the feminists (NOW, DACOWITS and others) have been doing all they can to get women into combat.

 

    I'd have to think  Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa would be apt to agree with your statement.  Here's a woman who joined the Army to learn to cook, but thanks to the pressures applied by Bill, Hill and NOW she was cross trained into a Maintenance unit and was assigned to the front lines. 

    Now, her whereabouts are unknown, but I'm sure the Feminists feel just great about her sacrifice, even if she might not.

Owl_Eagle

”Guns Before Butter.”

[Servant of the Nine]

My point was that the feminists (NOW, DACOWITS and others) have been doing all they can to get women into combat. I'm just not so sure that all military women would be happy for the "right" to be killed in combat alongside the men.

Lots of people, not just feminists have been trying to get women who want to go into combat and can meet the same standards as men to have the right to do so.

Many women in the military don't belong there at all. They would never meet honest, non afirmative action standards. Most women in the military are not suitable for combat, but then neither are most men. Very few men and even fewer women have what it takes to belong at the tip of the spear.

So9