Posted on 04/05/2003 6:27:51 AM PST by ATOMIC_PUNK
|
6 minutes ago
|
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar - Frightened and seriously wounded, a 19-year-old supply clerk who was held by Iraq (news - web sites) for more than a week at first hid under a sheet when a team of U.S. military commandos stormed into her hospital room.
"Jessica Lynch," called out an American soldier, approaching her bed. "We are United States soldiers and we're here to protect you and take you home."
Peering from behind the sheet as he removed his helmet, she looked up and said, "I'm an American soldier, too."
In the first details released about the daring rescue of Pfc. Lynch, a Central Command spokesman told a briefing Saturday that a team of Navy Seals, Marine commandos, Air Force pilots and Army Rangers worked with U.S. Special Forces in the rescue Tuesday in Nasiriyah.
While troops engaged the Iraqis in another part of the city, the team persuaded an Iraqi doctor to lead them to Lynch, said Air Force Maj. Gen. Gene Renuart.
Lynch, now recuperating at the military's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, had suffered a head wound and fractures in her right arm, both legs, her right foot and ankle, and an injury to her spine. The rescue team quickly evaluated her medical condition, secured her to a stretcher and carried her to a waiting helicopter, Renault said.
"Jessica held up her hand and grabbed the Ranger doctor's hand, and held onto it for the entire time, and said, 'Please don't let anybody leave me,'" Renault said. "It was clear she knew where she was and didn't want to be left anywhere near the enemy."
Meanwhile, the Iraqi doctor told the team there were remains of other U.S. forces nearby, and they were led to a burial site. Because they had not brought shovels, Renault said, the team dug up the bodies with their hands.
"They wanted to do that very rapidly, so they could race the sun and be off the site before the sun came up," Renault said. "It's a great testament to the will and desire of coalition forces to bring their own home."
Renault did not shed any new light on how Lynch sustained her wounds — whether she was injured in captivity or when the 507th Maintenance Company was ambushed March 23 when they made a wrong turn in Nasiriyah.
Eight of the dead soldiers found during the rescue were members of the ambushed unit, Renuart said. The ninth was a soldier from a forward support group of the Army's Third Infantry Division, he said. All have been transported back to the United States.
Lynch's family in West Virginia said doctors had determined she'd been shot. They found two entry and exit wounds "consistent with low-velocity, small-caliber rounds," said her mother, Deadra Lynch.
She had a back operation Thursday and surgery for other broken bones Friday, said the commander of the hospital, Col. David Rubenstein. A friend is at her bedside and although she's still being fed intravenously, she's drawn up a list of her favorite foods for the hospital: turkey, steamed carrots and applesauce.
"Her emotional state is extremely good. She's jovial. She's talking with staff," Rubenstein said.
Lynch's family was to fly Saturday from from Charleston, W.Va., to Germany to see her.
While the U.S. team was in the hospital, Renault said, they also found a weapons cache and a large-scale sandbox model in the basement that accurately depicted U.S. and Iraqi positions in Nasiriyah
I'm pretty sure I know how she got those injuries. I think I know with a little help from Rush Limbaugh.
Rush had a caller this past Friday, a caller he refers to as a member of the "2 inch club".
And he caller certainly deserves that title as he ranted that Jessica Lynch is no hero, that she did nothing to deserve all the glory, that her rescuers are the real heros.
Rush told the caller that her rescuers are heros but that their names cannot be released because they are special ops forces. To release their identities would be folly. But, Rush asserted, they are regarded as heros by the American public and besides, the rescuers are happy enough to have saved one of their own.
Then Rush asked the caller what the hell was his problem. Jessica Lynch went through hell and why was he so bitter.
After this, Rush did some speculating as to what might have happened to Jessica and that is when my blood went cold. Because his speculation is probably right on the money.
According to Rush, the Iraqi thugs like to hang female prisoners naked, upside-down, by their ankles.
Think about it. How did Jessica get two broken ankles? How did she get an injury to her spine? How did she get a broken collar bone?
Those injuries fit that torture exactly. The ropes likely snapped her ankle bones. Who knows, those heathens might have taken delight in swinging her around on her ropes, banging her body against stuff. This sort of treatment most certainly would cause spinal injuries.
I think a lot of the vaguery about Jessica's injuries are purposeful. First, Jessica deserves her privacy. If it was a horrific experience she shouldn't have to re-live for the whole world. Second, it simply doesn't help morale for the world to hear how badly she was treated.
My own speculation is that the lawyer who went to such great lengths to rescue her wasn't compelled because she was being slapped around. I think he heard her being raped regularly and it was driving him nuts. In fact, when her Iraqi rescuer went into her "room", she greeted him as "Doctor". I think those rapists made her call them Doctors.
My heart has been heavy since this realization sunk in on me but hey, I could be wrong.
But I don't think so. How about that Rush caller who was so angry that Jessica's getting so much hoopla? I'm serious, it's people like this that give conservatives a bad name. He didn't want a mere female to be getting kudos the big, bad military guys rightfully deserve. At least in his head cavity called a mind.
Let HIS little two inch endowed self go through what Jessica went through then we'll talk.
'Please don't let anybody leave me,' "
Speechless ...
No, I think that's the lawyer who told Marines where Lynch was. This refers to a doctor there at the hospital, I think.
In the initial reports of the rescue, I heard that the Iraqi doctor had been evacuated with Jessica and that she "held his hand" during the trip.
Today's General from Centcom reported that she "grabbed the Ranger doctor's hand and held onto it for the entire time."
I hope that the first report was correct and that the Iraqi doctor is also safe, but I am very worried about him.
He is also a hero and in my prayers.
Same here. It did sound as though the doctor and the lawyer were more than acquaintances--it was the doctor who led the lawyer to pfc Lynch in the first place. I hope we hear some good news about the doctor soon.
I'm in Kansas City, and there are "southern" accents all over the place - among native KS & MO!
This caller was probably an admirer of the silly Rachel Corrie who threw herself in front of a bulldozer. To the liberals, the suicide bombers and all Saddam's men are good, our side is bad.
Someone needs to put this forth in the WV legislature!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.