[NewYorker]

God bless Jessica Lynch and her rescuers and may the good Lord continue to help Jessica as she recovers from her terrible ordeal.

[MozartLover]

"Because they had not brought shovels, Renault said, the team dug up the bodies with their hands......"

Speechless. In tears.

[NautiNurse]

This event has all the trappings for a really good movie. When I first saw Men of Honor, didn't know it was a true story until the end. Amazing.

[demkicker]

"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."

Thank God for this brave Iraqi doctor, who also led our soldiers to the burial site. Has anyone heard whether or not this doctor is still alive? If he wasn't evacuated, I doubt the murderous Iraqi savages let him live.

[DED]

No reason to be surprised that the scum we're fighting killed POW's - the big surprise is that they left PFC Lynch alive. It'll be interesting to get some insite as to why.
Also, I wish they'd make up their minds as to whether she was shot or not. Yesterday the news stories were announcing that she was not shot OR stabbed. It's also going to be interesting to find out why they aren't telling how she got the broken bones - the fact that they're offering no info about how she was tortured could be a clue. BTW, I'm from WV and you wouldn't believe how happy everyone is for her and her family. The headlines about her release in papers near her hometown are the biggest I've seen except for old papers heralding the end of WWII!

[_Jim]

"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,' "

Speechless ...

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

The mental picture of U.S. soldiers digging up their comrades' bodies with their bare hands is beyond an ability to place into words.

It's obvious we don't need to search only past wars for true American heroes. They walk among us this very day and are just as heroic and every bit as humble.

[solzhenitsyn]

Peering from behind the sheet as he removed his helmet, she looked up and said, "I'm an American soldier, too."

Amen!

[eddie willers]

"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."

Better than Hamlet's soliloquy.

[ZinGirl]

"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."

oh my God...I have tears in my eyes. I LOVE our military! God Bless 'em all!

[Flyer]

"We are United States soldiers and we're here to protect you and take you home."

[LibKill]

If I'm ever in trouble, these are the guys I would want to come to the rescue.

[dixiechick2000]

This is the first article I read about Jessica's rescue. Notice that it was written by a Marine Corps reporter. It discusses the fact that her captors wanted to amputate her leg. It, also, shows a bit of the relationship between the Doctor and the Lawyer.

I'm sorry, but I've lost the link.

Iraqi Family Risks It All
To Save American POW


By U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Joseph R. Chenelly

MARINE COMBAT HEADQUARTERS, Iraq, April 3, 2003 — New heroes have surfaced in the rescue of U.S. Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch.

Under the watchful eyes of more than 40 murderous gunmen, the 19-year-old supply clerk laid in Saddam Hussein Hospital suffering from at least one gunshot wound and several broken bones.

As her captors discussed amputating her leg, an Iraqi man leaned to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry." Lynch replied with a warm smile.

The man was already working with U.S. Marines to gain the critical information needed to rescue one of the first American prisoners of war in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Just a day earlier, the lawyer from An Nasiryah had walked 10 kilometers to inform American forces he knew where Lynch was being held.

The shocked Marines asked Mohammad to return to the hospital and note certain things. He was tasked with counting the guards and documenting the hospital's layout. Knowing the risk, he agreed to help the young woman he had seen only once.

"I came to the hospital to visit my wife," said the Iraqi man, whose wife is a nurse. "I could see much more security than normal."

The man, who, for his protection, will only be identified as Mohammad, asked one of the doctors about the increased security. "He told me there was a woman American soldier there."

Together, the two went to see her. Peering through the room's window, Mohammad saw a sight he claims will stay with him for a life. An Iraqi colonel slapped the soldier who had been captured after a fierce firefight, March 23. First with his palm, then with his backhand.

"My heart stopped," he said in a soft tone. "I knew then I must help her be saved. I decided I must go to tell the Americans."

Just days earlier, Mohammad saw a woman's body dragged through his neighborhood. He said "the animals" were punishing the woman for waving at a coalition helicopter. The brutal demonstration failed to deter him from going to the Marines.

The same day he first saw Lynch, he located a Marine checkpoint. Worried he'd be mistaken for an attacker in civilian clothes, he approached the Marines with his hands high above his head.

"[A Marine sentry] asked, 'What you want?'" Mohammad said. "I want to help you. I want to tell you important information - about Jessica!"

After talking with the Marines, he returned to the hospital to gather information.

"I went to see the security," he said. "I watched where they stood, where they sat, where they ate and when they slept."

While he observed Saddam's henchmen, the notorious regime death squad paid Mohammad's home an unexpected visit. His wife and 6-year-old daughter fled to nearby family. Many of his personal belongings, including his car, were seized.

"I am not worried for myself," he said. "Security in Iraq [that is still] loyal to Saddam will kill my wife. They will kill my [child]."




The Iraqi family that provided vital information in the rescue of POW Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, rest at Camp Liberty, Iraq, April 3. The family was welcomed by Marines, who greeted them with food, clothing and an American flag.

Meanwhile, Mohammad accompanied his friend into Lynch's tightly guarded room. She was covered up to her chin by a white blanket. Her head was bandaged. A wound on the right leg was in bad condition.

"The doctors wanted to cut her leg off," he said "My friend and I decided we would stop it."

Creating numerous diversions, they managed to delay the surgery long enough. "She would have died if they tried it."

Mohammad walked through battles in the city streets for two straight days to get to back to the hospital. His main mission was to watch the guards, but each morning he attempted to keep Lynch's spirits strong with a "good morning" in English.

He said she was brave throughout the ordeal.

When reporting back to the Marines on March 30, he brought five different maps he and his wife had made. He was able to point to the exact room the captured soldier was being held in. He also handed over the security layout, reaction plan and times that shift changes occurred.

He had counted 41 bad guys, and determined a helicopter could land on the hospital's roof. It was just the information the Marines needed.

American forces conducted a nighttime raid April 1. Lynch was safely rescued. She has since been transported to a medical facility in Germany.

Mohammad and his family are now in a secure location and have been granted refugee status. He doesn't feel safe in An Nasryah, but he hopes things will improve as the war against the regime advances.

"Iraq is not a safe place while Saddam Hussein is in power," Mohammad said. "He kills the Iraqi people whenever he wants. I believe the Americans will bring peace and security to the people of Iraq."

Mohammad's wife said she wants to volunteer to help injured or sick American forces in the future.

"America came here to help us," he said. "The Marines are brave men. They have been gentle with the Iraqi people. They are taking out Saddam Hussein. For that, we're grateful."

Mohammad's family hopes to meet Lynch in the future.

[cake_crumb]

"Because they had not brought shovels, Renault said, the team dug up the bodies with their hands."

That brought tears. God bless our troops.

[snopercod]

I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but did anyone notice that Jessica appeared to be wearing makeup in the photo of her being carried on the stretcher?

No, I'm not trying to prove anything, just curious...

[Gamecock]

We are United States soldiers and we're here to protect you and take you home

Powerful Words! The true studs of the military!

Beng a soldier, the phrase "we're here to protect you" sends chills down my spine!

[Ben Bolt]

Final bump to PFC Lynch .