Its my belief PFC Lynch is well deserving of the meritorious award of the BSM, undoubtedly well deserving of both the PH anf POW awards.
Lets lighten up on this brave young soldier and not belittle her of awards that she is well deserving of.
10 soldiers from the 507th received medals for their actions during and after an ambush on March 23 near Nasiriyah, Iraq. Those soldiers are:
Spc. Shoshana Johnson, who was shot in the ankle when she and six other members of the 507th Maintenance Company were captured by Iraqis, wavered slightly as she balanced on a walking cast. General Ellis steadied her as she received her awards - the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal.
-Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, of Wichita, Kan., received the Silver Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. Miller was in the rear of a convoy that received fire from both sides. He manually fed rounds into the chamber of his weapon to protect two of his comrades. He wrote radio frequencies inside his helmet and told his captors that they were prices for water pumps.
-Sgt. Matthew Rose, 37, of Salem, Ore., received the Bronze Star. He took charge of the wounded, treating people for gunshot wounds using two combat medic bags. While he worked, his position was receiving small-arms fire and mortar rounds.
-Sgt. James Riley, 31, of Pennsauken, N.J., received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. Riley was the highest ranking soldier on the convoy and made the difficult decision to surrender. He was physically and mentally abused by his captors.
-Sgt. Curtis Campbell, 27, of Brooklyn, N.Y., received the Bronze Star. Campbell assisted his team in fighting off the enemy.
-Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, of Alamogordo, N.M., received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. Hudson fought until he exhausted his ammunition and was forced to surrender.
-Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 22, of Mission, received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. Hernandez fought until he ran out of ammunition and was forced to surrender.
-Spc. James Grubb, 21, of Manchester, Ky., received the Bronze Star. Grubb refused to stop fighting despite being injured.
-Cpl. Francis Carista, 21, of Rayway, N.J., received the Purple Heart. Carista was hit with shrapnel in the foot, but returned to duty.
-Cpl. Damien Luten, 24, of Indianapolis, Ind., received the Purple Heart. He was given the award previously by Gen. Eric Shinseki, chief of staff of the Army, for wounds received during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Johnson, 30, of El Paso, greeted soldiers and friends after the ceremony, smiling and joking. However, when family members joked about people asking her to autograph programs, Johnson responded: "I'm a soldier. That's all there is to it. I'm a soldier like so many others."
Her father, Claude, said he thought the awards were appropriate, but added: "I'm not just proud of Shoshana, I'm proud of everybody. Somehow, you feel that it is not fair that everybody's not getting the same thing. They're (soldiers still in Iraq) risking their lives as well."