USING Jessica Lynch

Worldnet Daily | Aug. 26.2003 | David Hackworth

[JDoutrider]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Using Jessica Lynch

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: August 26, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2003 David H. Hackworth

Jessica Lynch recently was awarded a Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart and the POW Medal. The BSM citation reads: "For exemplary courage under fire during combat operations to liberate Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Private First Class Lynch's bravery and heart persevered while surviving in the ambush and captivity in An Nasiriya."

A BSM for "bravery" and "surviving in the ambush and captivity"!

The Army's official After-Action Report said she was in a vehicle that crashed while hauling butt trying to escape an enemy ambush. She was knocked unconscious and woke up at a nearby Iraqi hospital receiving special attention from some super-caring Iraqi doctors and nurses.

This was probably the first incident in U.S. military history in which an American soldier was awarded our country's fourth-highest ground-fighting award for being conked out and off the air throughout a fight.

BSMs citing bravery typically read: "Moving his machine gun to a forward vantage point, he covered the advance of the infantry with a heavy volume of effective fire. Repeatedly exposing himself to a devastating small-arms automatic weapons and mortar barrage ..." Or: "He voluntarily acted as point man and ... when the platoon was fired upon ... charged the enemy position ... Through his courage, determination and devotion to duty, he saved his patrol from suffering casualties and captured a prisoner who later provided important information."

It's no big surprise that I've been bombarded by thousands of angry e-mails from vets protesting this assault on our country's sacred award system.

"She wasn't wounded in action, nor did she do anything to deserve a Bronze Star," writes Arch McNeill. "We have hundreds of valiant soldiers here in the 3rd Division who far more deserve more than she received but in many cases didn't receive anything."

"I'm going to send all my awards back to the president and tell him where he can shove them," says a genuine war hero, Jack Speed, a former Army Raider.

Trust me, the troops – past and present – are unhappy.

So I rang the Pentagon and asked Col. Jeff Keane, "Why the bravery bit?" Finally, when the standard Army propaganda drill wasn't going down, Keane told me, " It was for her bravery in the hospital."

But all this flimflam wasn't Jessica's doing. She was used right from the first – a frail prop in the Pentagon's public-relations campaign to sell the war to the American people and to encourage their daughters to join up and be heroes.

To keep the truth under wraps, the Army concocted another whopper: "She suffers from amnesia."

A senior officer from V Corps (the unit that eventually awarded her the BSM), who has asked to remain anonymous, comments that there was "tremendous pressure right from the get-go to award Pvt. Lynch a Silver Star. But the high brass here concluded, 'There was no evidence of heroism on her part,' and told the pushers to back off."

But when the propagandists conned the highly respected Washington Post into reporting on how Lynch was shot and stabbed but continued to kill Iraqis until her last round was spent, heroic stuff that would make Audie Murphy look like a slacker – which the Post then took several months to correct – other media were fast to pick up the fairy tale, and the Army was besieged by proud Americans demanding that Jessica be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Of course, many of us now know that a high-priced flack in Tommy Frank's headquarters came up with this tall tale and then duped the Post.

According to retired Marine Lt. Col. Roger Charles: "There's nothing they won't stoop to spin. The Army needed a female hero to boost female recruiting and PR efforts, so they went and invented one."

And that's the root of the problem. The elevation of Jessica to Joan of Arc status is to recruit more women, even though thousands of female soldiers couldn't deploy with their units to Iraq because of pregnancy, no sitters for single moms' multiple kids and other problems.

And poor Jessica Lynch has become the unwitting poster girl for an Army of One that's fast becoming an Army of Two – since apparently more than half of the women deployed to Iraq are now pregnant.

[NavyCaptain]

I just assumed they gave her that too! An old CO of mine received one for his "Gallantry" in Vietnam. I had joined the ship (a Distroyer) after a 13 month tour on PBRs on the rivers. He had not been closer to the coast than 12 miles. I don't yet know what she actually accomplished nor what the circumstances really were, so I cannot comment on whether the decoration was deserved or not. But, she was there, and in my mind, everyone who serves is a hero and deserves the gratitude of we the protected. Hack should let it go and be glad that the average US citizen loves its Armed Forces again!

[KineticKitty]

Hack has a point.

"And that's the root of the problem. The elevation of Jessica to Joan of Arc status is to recruit more women, even though thousands of female soldiers couldn't deploy with their units to Iraq because of pregnancy, no sitters for single moms' multiple kids and other problems."

But I have to say, in regards to the above statement, he doesn't get any cool points for seemly generalizing female soldiers, and by not mentioning ANY of the hard working women out there who are also busting their asses for this country without any complaints, and who are not concocting reasons to come home early like some other soldiers are doing (and have done) ....and that is to include male soldiers as well.

[TomServo]

Did a search to keep the "already posted" brigade happy.

Ya done good. ;-)

[TomServo]

Ping...

[colorado tanker]

Kinda sounds like an algore stunt!

Or Lyndon Johnson.

[SJSAMPLE]

The "V" device is very hard to get. As you probably know, the "V" stands for Valor, and that's not an easy thing to spin. May guys in GWI got the BSM, but the "V" device was reserved for those very few.

She didn't get it.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Ping.

[Lokibob]

YEP!!!!

O-6 in a FA Battery, Nam, Tay Ninh, stood in a hole a mortor round made, while the BN clerk took his picture, duece n 1/2's burning in background. Automatic Bronze Star with V device. The clerk got the bronze star (no "V") for taking the picture.

The ammo humpers out in the field got not a damn thing.

REMF's are only interested in themselves.

At least Jessica was on the front line and a hell of a lot closer to combat than her C.O.. Bet he (she) got a Bronze Star.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Extreme pettiness, from the Primadonna Brass.

[Servant of the Nine]

There were entire brigades in Gulf War 1 where every single officer got a silver star, just for being in the war.

This is a perenial problem.

There were 56 Medals of Honor awarded for the April 1914 landing at Vera Cruz, Mexico.

There were only 4 Medals of Honor awarded at the vastly larger and bloodier D-day landings in Normandy.

So9

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I believe Shoshana Johnson got the same medals Pfc. Lynch did. She just didn't (to my knowledge) get movie offers, scholarships, book deals, Hawaiian vacations...and no one suggested she receive the Silver Star or the Medal of Honor.

Nor did any of the men get that kind of attention.

Yeah, you definitely have to wonder. (And I have to say this every time I post on the subject, so no one has a coronary - I don't blame Lynch for this. I never have. But I think it sucks.)

[optimistically_conservative]

Lynch received a "slick" Bronze Star, i.e. no V device for valor (in other words merit, not heroism).

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.

The Bronze Star ranks 15th in order of precedence on a list of 31 U.S. military decorations, according to the Army. Since World War II, 1,176,241 Bronze Star medals have been awarded. In Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, 1,224 Bronze Star medals were awarded. Updated totals for Operation Iraqi Freedom have not been calculated.^*

Details of Report Point to Leadership Failures

El Paso Times

Lt. Gen. James B. Peake, the U.S. Army surgeon general, presented the award and spoke briefly to Lynch's family and gathered military personnel.

Peake said the Purple Heart is awarded to a person who has given more to his or her country than just service.

``They have given of themselves by going into harm's way,'' he said. ``The Bronze Star is given for meritorious service in combat and the POW Medal is one that very few people receive.''

Other members of Lynch's unit who were injured and held captive also received medals during a July 4 ceremony at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Borderland    Thursday, July 3, 2003

Fort Bliss awards medals to 13 'heroes'

507th, MPs honoredLaura Cruz
El Paso Times

Mark Lambie / El Paso Times

Gen. Larry R. Ellis pinned the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Prisoner of War medals on Spc. Edgar Hernandez while Spc. Shoshana Johnson waited for the same Wednesday at Fort Bliss. Spc. James R. Grubb, right, also received a Bronze Star.

---

Soldiers honored

The 507th Maintenance Company was traveling toward Baghdad in a convoy on March 23 when the soldiers were ambushed near Nasiriyah. Nine soldiers were killed, six were taken prisoner and four were wounded. These soldiers were honored for their actions in combat:

• Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, of El Paso received 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.

• Sgt. Matthew Rose, 37, of Salem, Ore., received the Bronze Star with Valor Device.

• Sgt. James Riley, 31, of Pennsauken, N.J., received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal.

• Sgt. Curtis Campbell, 27, of Brooklyn, N.Y., received the Bronze Star.

• Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, of Alamogordo received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal.

• Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 22, of Mission, Texas, received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal.

• Spc. James Grubb, 21, of Manchester, Ky., received the Bronze Star.

• Cpl. Francis Carista, 21, of Rahway, N.J., received the Purple Heart.

  June 4, two soldiers from the 76th Military Police Battalion came under fire and received shrapnel wounds while in a Humvee on a routine patrol mission in support of the 4th Infantry Division north of Baghdad.

• Pfc. Candice May, 21, of Winter Haven, Fla., received the Purple Heart.

• Spc. Alan Raymond Hill, 20, of Dunseith, N.D., received the Purple Heart.

  June 5, soldiers from the 76th Military Police Battalion came under fire and two soldiers received shrapnel wounds defending a water plant in Balad, Iraq.

• Pfc. Jeremy Bristol, 21, of McKinney, Texas, received the Purple Heart.

• Spc. Pedro Rodriguez, 22, of El Paso received the Purple Heart.

  ---

The ground rattled and hearts burst with pride Wednesday as 75 mm howitzers thunderously declared Fort Bliss' commemoration of the birth of the United States with a 50-gun salute.

The Army post also honored 13 of its soldiers who distinguished themselves in action in Iraq.

"For 228 years, American soldiers have answered the call to free the oppressed and light the path to freedom," said Gen. Larry R. Ellis, Forces Command's commanding general, before an audience of about 300 at Fort Bliss' annual Fourth of July celebration at Memorial Circle.

"Every generation has its heroes, and this one is no different," Ellis said. "These men and women are soldiers who set aside their personal safety. They risked their lives and suffered much to save Iraqi citizens ... (and) their heroism demands our respect and reminds us of our soldiers who are still overseas."

Under a blazing July sun, the 13 soldiers -- nine members of the 507th Maintenance Company and four members of the 76th Military Police Battalion -- stood at attention as, one by one, they received some of the nation's most prestigious awards for their actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The soldiers who fought to the last bullet and risked their lives to protect comrades were awarded Bronze Stars, Purple Hearts and Prisoner of War medals. Pfc. Patrick Miller, of the 507th, received the Silver Star Medal, the nation's fourth-highest award for bravery.

According to the military, the Silver Star is awarded to a soldier who is "cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force."

The maintenance company, which suffered some of the heaviest losses of any unit in Iraq, was traveling toward Baghdad in a convoy when the soldiers were ambushed March 23 near Nasiriyah. Nine soldiers were killed, six were taken prisoner and four were wounded.

Fort Bliss officials said Miller was in the rear of the convoy and manually fed rounds into the chamber of his weapon to protect two fellow soldiers. When captured, Miller, who had radio frequencies written inside his helmet, told his Iraqi captors that the highly sensitive numbers were the prices for water pumps.

Spc. Shoshana Johnson, who was shot in the ankle, was steadied by Ellis as he presented her awards -- the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. Her father, Claude Johnson, said he was happy to see his daughter recognized.

"I'm not just proud of Shona, I'm proud of everybody," he said. "These guys did tremendous things. Somehow, you feel that it is not fair that everybody's not getting the same thing. There're (soldiers still in Iraq) risking their lives as well."

Spc. Edgar Hernandez, who received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal, proudly presented his awards to his new wife and his family, who arrived Tuesday afternoon from Alton, Texas, for the ceremony.

"I think all of the soldiers deserved the recognition because they made such large sacrifices," said Hernandez's father, Jose, who celebrates his birthday July 4.

"It's not only my day of birth but the birth of the United States," he said. "We thank God for that day because it is a great day for all of the nation."

Laura Cruz may be reached at lcruz@elpasotimes.com

[#3Fan]

To all you whiners complaining of Jessica's medals: This has been going on with Bronze Stars since Vietnam (40 some years), why is it all of a sudden an issue with you? Why have you never complained before about it? You people have another agenda and are using this issue for political purposes.

[optimistically_conservative]

Enjoyed your post script. This dead horse just won't go away. Leave it to gravedigger Hack to resurrect such a petty point.

[#3Fan]

I believe Shoshana Johnson got the same medals Pfc. Lynch did. She just didn't (to my knowledge) get movie offers, scholarships, book deals, Hawaiian vacations...and no one suggested she receive the Silver Star or the Medal of Honor. Nor did any of the men get that kind of attention. Yeah, you definitely have to wonder. (And I have to say this every time I post on the subject, so no one has a coronary - I don't blame Lynch for this. I never have. But I think it sucks.)

So you're angry that she's getting attention from the media. That's pretty damned petty. She's the first POW rescued since WW2 and you just can't stand it that she's gotten attention for it? Still open season on pretty young blondes I see. Get a life.

[thegreatbeast]

"This was probably the first incident in U.S. military history in which an American soldier was awarded our country's fourth-highest ground-fighting award for being conked out and off the air throughout a fight."

It may be true that it is the first time someone received the BSM for unconciousness but it certainly isn't the first time the medal has been given out cavalierly. And Hackworth knows it.
During Vietnam there was a terrible inflation of the bestowing of medals. One example of which, I'm sure, was the French-looking John Kerry.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Learn to read.

[#3Fan]

Learn to read.

You're post is clear. You're unhappy that the first POW rescued since WW2 is getting media attention (showing your whiny pettiness). Where's my mistake?

[Michael121]

Bronze Stars are given out like candy, if a soldier is on the front lines they get a BS.....

Many were given in Viet Nam

DSC, Silver Stars and the Medal of Honor are a lot harder to get.

If you were in a front line position and an enemy bullet came at your unit you could get a Bronze.

Sad maybe, but it is not unusual. Let it go.

If she got a Silver or DSC then I would complain.

[mountaineer]

more than half of the women deployed to Iraq are now pregnant

Does Hack offer any evidence to support this allegation? As for the medals, get over it. My father should have gotten a Purple Heart in WWII, but didn't. I've heard of guys in Vietnam who did nothing more than fall down drunk, and were given PHs. As posters have noted, thus has it ever been.