American Woman is a Hero: "She Was Fighting to Death"

NewsPundit.net ^ | 4/3/2003 | Douglas Oliver

[ex-Texan]

American Woman is a Hero: "She Was Fighting to Death"

American Pfc. Jessica Lynch was wounded multiple times as she fought fiercely to defend her company from an Iraqi ambush. She continued to fire her weapon until she ran out of ammunition. "She was fighting to the death," U.S. officials said. "She did not want to be taken alive." Private Lynch sustained several wounds and finally was stabbed by an Iraqi soldier wielding a knife. One official said that initial intelligence reports indicated that she had been stabbed to death.

That was the report late breaking tonight from the Washington Post about the young American woman who was rescued by Special Operations Forces on Tuesday. (April 3, 2003)

I quote briefly from that report:

Lynch, of Palestine, W.Va., arrived yesterday at a U.S. military hospital in Germany. She was in "stable" condition, with broken arms and a broken leg in addition to the gunshot and stab wounds, sources said. Other sources said both legs were broken, and one arm. Victoria Clarke, a Pentagon spokeswoman, gave no specifics of Lynch's condition, telling reporters only that she is "in good spirits and being treated for injuries." * * *

"Talk about spunk!" said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), whom military officials had briefed on the rescue. "She just persevered. It takes that and a tremendous faith that your country is going to come and get you." * * *

I urge every NewsPundit reader to hit the link above and read the full report. It also gives a some descriptive details about the rescue operation was conducted by a special team of Navy SEALs, Army Rangers and Air Force combat controllers.

Every American ought to stand and applaud Pvt. Lynch and our military personnel who are conducting themselves with such outstanding courage.

[Eagle Eye]

I truly believe that this woman behaved in a manner which reflects nothing but credit to the Army, and that most of her female peers would have acted no differently under similar circumstances.

Well said and I agree.

[judicial meanz]

Now that I read your post, I understand its simply a matter of semantics. I guess its ok to agree to disagree. I still respect your stand, and understand your point of view.

People who willingly go in to harms way and perform above what is required in the call of duty have names also. They are the stuff of legends. Not all of them have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, but they are remembered by the ones who know, well after they are gone.

Anyone can be a hero. It takes 15 minutes and doesnt last long. The trouble is living the rest of your life after being declared a hero. Eventually things die down, new people are born, and they are forgotten or relegated to obscurity. The paper and medal fade, and the kids dont even know what it was about or why it happened.

My point in all this is the kids in that beret took a stand at a pivotal point in history that needed them, and put their lives on the line in spite of the outcry of pandering jerks. They made history, instead of just living it. This is their time.

[kidd]

Heroism involves doing something that you don't have to do and that nobody will think less of you if you don't attempt it.

Exactly. Like putting your career, family and relationships on hold for four years to defend your country. Like giving up the possibility of a cushy job for one that is barely above food stamp level to keep people you don't even know safe. Like taking on rigorous physical training to make real changes instead of spending your evenings watching "reality TV".

[Eastbound]

On target! Bump.

[Chemist_Geek]

I truly believe that this woman behaved in a manner which reflects nothing but credit to the Army, and that most of her female peers would have acted no differently under similar circumstances.

I believe it's being written right now...

"Pvt. Lynch's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect great credit upon herself and the U.S. Army."

[Poohbah]

So you don't remember the posts that PFC Lynch was a liar or at least not worthy of being believed in her recount of her experiences?

Eagle Eye seems to have Blix-Chirac Syndrome.

[Poohbah]

I'm STILL against it. Because of the situations it brings up (a la, rape)

Just out of curiousity: do you think men should be banned from combat because of the potential for them to be raped if they are captured?

It's one of the things they don't tell you about unless you're in a SERE class.

[strela]

I've been seeing a lot of bugle oil on this thread about what does or does not constitute a "hero." In my opinion, anyone who willingly puts on the uniform in return for below-industry-standard pay, lousy "benefits" that can be decreased or eliminated at a politician's whim, rations that you wouldn't feed to a dog, and the chance of getting shot or worse perfectly fills the definition of "hero" in my book.

And for you armchair tacticians out there who question the heroism of PFC Lynch and/or the specialists who rescued her, might I suggest that you extract your fat kiesters from behind your computer and go enlist if you truly want to walk the talk. Otherwise, just shut up.

[Mr. Thorne]

Rape is one of the concerns. More than that, though, were all the signs that some areas of training were being messed with to let the armed forces claim diversity. The one I remember was reading that the powers that be had changed a basic shipboard requirement: stretchers went from 2-man carries to 4-person carries. My old man (navy vet) thought that was stupid; four men can't fit through a bulkhead nearly as easily as two.

Another side of it was an article or report I read back in like, 95 or so, that cited a study they'd done on the E & E training (if that's what it's called). Anyway, the study concluded that the guys could basically tough it out, but if they heard their female compatriot in trouble (coming back to the rape), they'd fold.

I can't say if it's true or not, cause this was a hot button political issue, and I'm sure there was exaggeration on either side.

There was also a bit of scandal around our first female F-14 pilot, as I recall. Scores that would have gotten a male pilot removed from carrier ops, yet she was passed. And if I recall, ended up dying in a bad landing.

Should have tagged the post with IMHO, I suppose.

Just old fashioned, but I don't think women ought to be in frontline units. Just shows my old tendency not to want women in harms way.

Could be wrong, could be right.

Regardless, this girl showed tremendous courage. She certainly proved that she's got guts, that's for sure.

Are you in favor of women on the front lines, BTW?

[AmericanInTokyo]

JAPANESE TV is reporting this story big, on most of the network reports I have seen.

They have sent reporters to West Virginia, and also called family members from Tokyo for live remotes.

They really like her (weakness for blondes/blue eyes who keep up the Japanese image of Americans as tough-as-nails fighters you don't want to cross!)

[Mr. Thorne]

They'll probably do an Anime series about her.

And then my stepson will have ONE MORE badly animated cartoon to watch.

Sigh.

Haven't I read somewhere that the Japanese like the (forgive me) big breasted blondes? Something about the homogenous population; large blonde women are really exotic to the Japanese male?

[NMFXSTC]

(Not particularly directed at you, but a convenient place to post some thoughts that adhere to most of yours)

PFC Lynch was a rear echelon support clerk. How she ended up driving a water truck needs to be questioned.

She "got lost" with her small unit (also made up of personnel who are not in an MOS that describes driving trucks or conducting resupply duties).

SDhe was captured (along with a good number of others, who's fate remains uncertain).

Did she grit her teeth, fire from the hip, engage the enemy with a K-bar? (if I recall...the Army no lnger isues bayonets?)...we'll never really know and there are no eye witnesses (which leaves me to question her heroic endeavours, since they are solely based on her accounts...something that would never justify any "hero" decoration).

Has it occured to anyone here that PFC Lynch (and it's time to stop calling her "the little girl, Jessica", and all of that...we wouldn't call Major "X" by anything other than his rank and name!) may well be being used as a propogarnda item by OUR government? (The "wouds" she received seem to vary from accout to account).

Lastly, PFC Lynch was captive for a week. Capt. Michael Scott Speicher has been POW for nearly 12 years, with numerous live sitings (some as recently as this week), yet our leaders have done nothing to rescue him (and my congressman didn't even recognize his name!)

Yes, all of ur folks in uniform deserve respect, but to place PFC Lynch on a pedestal and relate some very questionable circumstances (that clearly identify some personnel shortcomings when we have a heavy reliance upon reserve forces and rear echelon support troops) makes me rather skeptical...she was captured and WIA...the rest is pure pseculation.

[wardaddy]

Agreed. Hero has become quite relative. Relatively speaking then she is a hero I guess. She fought back and was captured and I'm sure endured some very nasty stuff.

I'd say she was brave and lucky.

Many here have lowered the bar since she is a woman. that is only part of the problem.

Why any country would willingly expose young women to this is beyond me...brave or not.

I guess any soldier who fires back is a hero...to a degree I guess. It's a bit vexing. When I grew up (as you), the benchmark for heroism was much much higher and alas heroes were more often killed than not.

[wardaddy]

Histronically speaking dear.

[IGOTMINE]

"PFC Lynch was a rear echelon support clerk. How she ended up driving a water truck needs to be questioned."

Easy answer...they needed someone to drive the damned truck. EVERYBODY gets a drivers license to operate virtually every vehicle in a unit for EXACTLY this circumstance. You must be a union member to think that someone in the military only does one job. They'll do what it takes to GET THE MISSION ACCOMPLSHED!

[JimRed]

Will the president be kissing and hugging the guys, too? :)

I think the guys will be happy to settle for a handshake!

[skeeter]

Has it occured to anyone here that PFC Lynch (and it's time to stop calling her "the little girl, Jessica", and all of that...we wouldn't call Major "X" by anything other than his rank and name!) may well be being used as a propogarnda item by OUR government?

Its reasonable to expect the media intends to use this story in the same manner they used the Linda Bray story back in the 90s.

By embellishing Pvt Lynch's actions, if that is what is happening, the media diminishes her actual sacrifice.

[NMFXSTC]

No, my friend, I am not "union"...I served 27 years, have two Purple Hearts and can assure you that using a file clerk to drive a water truck (an the rest were also folks who's MOS did not include driving trucks as a primary) simply means that our forces are stretched too far!

Not to discredit Lynch, but the media spin and the haphazard accounts by senior military are questionable.

[nightdriver]

"She continued to fire her weapon until she ran out of ammunition. "She was fighting to the death," U.S. officials said."

She done good. No doubt about it.

I'm even more impressed with the operation of the special forces of all the services that pulled off the very involved rescue operation without losing a man. That's REAL professionalism in our military!

[Steel Wolf]

You can define the word hero any way you like. At a minimum, she survived an ambush, gunshot wounds, stabbings, and several days of torture, apparently to include the breaking of bones. The physical evidence alone attests to that, regardless if she made up everything else (personally, I think she's telling the truth.)

Even if she only shot at the Iraqis (as opposed to shooting several) before being captured, I'd have to say that she probably rates at least the tip of the hat. She's a hero in my book, but you're probably Delta or something, and have a little higher standards than mine.