Lynch Receives Bronze Star Before Homecoming (What for?!!)

KFOXTV.com ^ | 07/22/03 | KFOXTV.com

[Destro]

Lynch Receives Bronze Star Before Homecoming

Pfc. Jessica Lynch is returning home Tuesday, newly decorated for heroism in Iraq.

A member of Ft. Bliss' 507th Maintenance Company, Lynch was captured during the attack on a portion of the unit in Nasiriyah, Iraq on March 23rd. She was rescued from captivity on April 1st.

On Monday, Pfc. Lynch received the Bronze Star for heroism, Purple Heart for being wounded in combat, and P.O.W. Medal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she has been treated for more than three months. KFOX will have a full report on Private Lynch's homecoming Tuesday night on KFOX News at Nine.

[Destro]

Pfc. Lynch received the Bronze Star for heroism, Purple Heart for being wounded in combat, and P.O.W. Medal

Pfc. Lynch receiving the Purple Heart for being wounded in combat and the P.O.W. Medal absolutely and without reservation. But the Bronze Star for heroism??!!! When she was incapacitated at the start of shooting and never fired a shot? What an outrage!

And an Admiral was shamed into committing suicide because he got a colored ribbon wrong on his uniform.

[Destro]

Puts on flame my proof scivies....

[go star go]

and what exactly makes you think you know what happened?

[Destro]

bump

[optimistically_conservative]

Bronze Star Medal

Criteria: a. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the military of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

b. Awards may be made for acts of heroism, performed under circumstances described above, which are of lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star.

c. Awards may be made to recognize single acts of merit or meritorious service. The required achievement or service while of lesser degree than that required for the award of the Legion of Merit must nevertheless have been meritorious and accomplished with distinction.

Lighten up Francis.

[Satadru]

The Medal of Honor is coming soon. She will be a poster child in politics pretty soon. I am not sure how Purple Heart, etc is judged, but there has to be a bigger criteria than getting wounded to get a coveted award.

[Burkeman1]

Not to disparage anyone but I have heard that during Viet Nam medals were handed out like candy to troops for service that would have not merited a medal in previous wars. Has there been a "lowering of the bar" in awarding medals in the military?

[Pern]

Lynch Receives Bronze Star Before Homecoming (What for?!!)

A lot of vets on FR are asking the very same question:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/950377/posts

[journey7873]

Lynch Receives Bronze Star Before Homecoming (What for?!!)

I would say that the service men who rescued her deserve a bronze star. Jessica got one because she is the media's darling.

[CholeraJoe]

Most of the Vietnam POWs came home with Silver stars and Legions of Merit for gallantry while POW. In speaking with them, most of them just got beaten a lot. Jessica allegedly was beaten and probably raped while a POW.

[jwalsh07]

Read the citation and we'll find out why.

[TheGunny]

Who ever said it was heroism was wrong.....

c. Awards may be made to recognize single acts of merit or meritorious service. The required achievement or service while of lesser degree than that required for the award of the Legion of Merit must nevertheless have been meritorious and accomplished with distinction

Get a grip!

[MEG33]

I believe it was for meritorious service.Carry on..as I know you will.

[Drew68]

When she was incapacitated at the start of shooting and never fired a shot?

Wow! You must have been there right along side her and able to verify this! Well done soldier!

It must feel pretty special to be privy to such an event and be able to speak so knowledgably about it because as far as I know, the military has yet to release an official account of what happened and Jessica certainly didn't talk about it today.

What an outrage!

Boo hoo!

[Itzlzha]

The Medal of Honor is coming soon. She will be a poster child in politics pretty soon. I am not sure how Purple Heart, etc is judged, but there has to be a bigger criteria than getting wounded to get a coveted award.

Well, since the majority of her injuries were inflicted by Iraqi soldier's rifle-butts in torture, I think a Purple Heart is warranted.

Now, if you don't feel like a douche-bag now, wait till the whole, Non-BBC/CNN/CBS/NPR story is out. You will feel like the douche-bag of ALL douche-bags then.

Oh, and you will have a LOT of Freeper company it seems in that whole douche-bag thing.

[CholeraJoe]

We also don't know whether her Bronze Star had the "V" device or not. The "V" device indicates combat heroism. Without it, the Bronze Star may be awarded for Meritorious Service in a theater of combat operations. A lot of the REMFs in Vietnam received "slick" Bronze Stars.

Guys at the Pentagon received "slick" Bronze Stars for Desert Storm just for planning it.

[discostu]

Way to wave your ignorance around. To get a Purple Heart you need to be injured in a combat action. And it's not a coveted award, in general it's considered to be a congradulations for not getting killed. The only people that want one are medal hounds hoping to inflate their service record. Smart soldiers respect those who receive Purple Hearts but have no desire to ever get one themselves.

[demlosers]

Honestly, she got it becuase it is good for American PR. I remember two guys who worked in the Pentagon or other HQ got the Bronze Stars because they did the planning for bombing missions in Yugoslavia, that's was certainly not combat.

The requirements today for the Bronze Star are not what it was.

[Consort]