Rescued U.S. soldier put up fierce fight - Wash Post

Reuters | 4/03/03

[kattracks]

Rescued U.S. soldier put up fierce fight - Wash Post

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - Rescued U.S. soldier Jessica Lynch shot several Iraqi soldiers prior to her capture, firing her weapon until she ran out of ammunition, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing U.S. officials.

The 19-year-old Private First Class continued firing at the Iraqis even after she sustained multiple gunshot wounds and watched several other soldiers in her unit die around her, one official told the newspaper.

"She was fighting to the death," the official was quoted as saying. "She did not want to be taken alive."

Lynch arrived in Germany early on Thursday for treatment at an American military hospital. She was held as a prisoner of war by Iraq for more than a week until U.S. special forces freed her on Tuesday.

Lynch, who has two broken legs and one broken arm, was with a U.S. Army maintenance convoy ambushed by Iraqi forces on March 23 in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya.

One official said Lynch was stabbed when Iraqi forces closed in on her position, the newspaper said.

U.S. defense officials said they were aware of the report, but could not immediately confirm the details of Lynch's capture.

Officials told the newspaper that the precise sequence of events was still being determined and further information would emerge as Lynch is debriefed.

The report said the information about Lynch's ordeal was based on battlefield intelligence which officials said came from monitored communications and from Iraqi sources in whose reliability has yet to be assessed.

Lynch, from Palestine, West Virginia, arrived at the U.S. Ramstein air base in southwestern Germany early on Thursday aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane.

The special forces also recovered the bodies of two U.S. soldiers in the raid at the Saddam Hospital north of the Euphrates river which runs through Nassiriya.

Lynch was one of 15 soldiers listed missing, captured or killed when a 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company convoy made a wrong turn and came under attack from Iraqi tanks and fighters.

Five of the captives, but not Lynch, were shown on Iraqi television as well as the bloodied bodies of up to eight men, prompting President George W. Bush to warn that anybody mistreating U.S. prisoners would be punished as "war criminals.

04/03/03 05:57 ET

[rintense]

"She was fighting to the death," the official was quoted as saying. "She did not want to be taken alive."

I am SO proud of this young soldier! All I can say is, YOU GO GIRL.

[metesky]

Two and a half years you've been here and your only two posts are to knock this kid?

Stick it where the sun don't shine, mister.

[bimbo]

Officials told the newspaper that the precise sequence of events was still being determined and further information would emerge as Lynch is debriefed.

Translation: “We are still concocting this story for maximum heroism, and Lynch still doesn’t have it straight.”

[FreedomPoster]

Put a sock in it.

[Glenn]

The others in her unit were either shown on Iraqi TV alive and relatively undamaged or dead

Something is obviously wrong with your brain. Seek help. Soon. You may climb a tower and shoot small children if you don't.

[FreedomPoster]

Bingo! That's why I cc'd the AM's.

[FreedomPoster]

>>Translation: “We are still concocting this story for maximum heroism, and Lynch still doesn’t have it straight.”

Does it occur to your bimbo brain that we don't want to inadvertantly give away operational details of our SpecOps team? That doing so might endanger their lives, and reduce the capacity for doing this sort of thing in the future?

Sheesh.

[gridlock]

I find it interesting that all the bobblehead dolls on TV are talking about when PFC Lynch is going to do after the military, and how she has offers for scholarships from UWV and here and there, and how she's wants to be a Sunday School teacher, etc.

My question: Is PFC Lynch out of the military now? Of course she is injured and may not recover sufficiently to be on active duty, but if she does recover, does she still go straight into civilian life after this? Would she even want to?

[mombonn]

Thanks for the tirade, Glenn.

[bimbo]

No one is questioning her heroism … but skeptics have every expectation that she will be made out to be the next Joan of Arc, including the cononization. Her ordeal is not being minimized, but “no food for 8 days” is probably a stretch – after all, she was in a HOSPITAL, being cared for by a pharmacist.

[Lockbar]

The new Lynch attackers are very interesting. Why do I suspect mostly likly "liberal spys" that can't stand the idea of our sucess, or the courage of a brave military woman.

No doubt the Pentagon welcomes a good public relations situation, but to suspect that PFC Lynch is making this all up is very distasteful.

[William Terrell]

You guys can be awfully gullible. What does that line you posted mean? Read it carefully.

I have no problem with a woman firing guns and killing, nor do I have a problem with a woman going through pain to fight. I've seen it real time. And there's a time and a place for everything.

But there are some truths you seem to be disregarding. One is she is a human being first, woman second. The media are socialists, and one of the socialists causes is women in combat. News sources lie; you know this. I has been proven again and again, but they lie, usually not outright, but by untrue innuendo and misdirection.

Just this is reason enough to be skeptical of such a heroric story. If it was indeed indeed heroric, I salute her even though there are more appropriate ways for a woman to serve her country. I would like hear the battlefield intelligence that came from monitored communications, and a more current assessed of that Iraqi source. Wouldn't you, to be a fair judge?

Remember, this is the Washington Post. Every phoneme out of that source should be treated with cynicism.

[Neets]

Here it is.

[Glenn]

No one is questioning her heroism

It's worse than that. Did you read this?

she isn't stupid.....she is going to suck into this for all its worth

You agree with that nonsense? You think a punk like owo2 has the skinny on this girl? He attacked her personally. That's cheap and it's catty (like a jealous little girl might do).

[VMI70]

Ahhh-perspective and common sense of which there has not been much on this thread. My sentiments are with yours.

Also see #32, below--as is yours, it is very well written.

[Glenn]

Ahhh-perspective and common sense of which there has not been much on this thread.

Thanks for your input. Are you the official blesser of posts or is it just something you've taken on as a public service?

[AppyPappy]

The report said the information about Lynch's ordeal was based on battlefield intelligence which officials said came from monitored communications and from Iraqi sources in whose reliability has yet to be assessed.

Geez people. Read the article.

[wita]

Are you jealous, or do you still think she broke her own legs? What is your real reason for questioning all this when none of it has come from the source?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I said it before, I'll say it again - stack our teenaged girls against the regulars of 90% of the armies of the world, and our teenaged girls do better every time.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

STFU, paleo moron.