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Former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, whose capture and rescue in the early days of the Iraq war turned her into a US icon, said in an interview that the US government had used her as an upbeat symbol in the conflict. "I think I provided a way to boost everybody's confidence about the war," Lynch told Time magazine. "I was used as a symbol. They could show the war was going great because 'we rescued this person.' It doesn't bother me anymore. It used to," she said.

A new development in the story of former POW Pfc. Jessica Lynch should give pause to anyone who promotes the assignment of female soldiers in or near direct ground combat units. In the fall of 2003 American doctors who examined Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch after her rescue from Iraq confirmed that she had been brutally sodomized by Iraqi thugs. The abuse reportedly occurred shortly after the violent ambush of the 507th Maintenance Unit on March 23, 2003, during a three to four hour period when Lynch was unconscious. (See “Jessica Lynch Reality Shatters Amazon Myths”) On March 23, 2003, Al...

NEW YORK - Graphic video footage of a badly injured Jessica Lynch and Lori Piestewa, who may have died shortly afterward, was taken by Iraqi state television following the ambush of the soldiers' Army convoy, NBC reported Tuesday night. The video, aired on "NBC Nightly News," shows the two Army privates at the hospital where they were taken following the March 23 ambush of the 507th Maintenance Co. The tape was never aired in Iraq, NBC reported. Piestewa, her face swollen and bruised and her head loosely bandaged, is shown as someone positions her feet, and then her head, for...

By Linda D. Kozaryn American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 22, 2003 – "It's great to be home," Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch told hundreds of well wishers who lined the streets of Elizabeth, W. Va., today to welcome the former POW home. A Blackhawk helicopter carried the former POW to Elizabeth, after her discharge from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Lynch then traveled the last five miles of her journey by motorcade to a private homecoming in her hometown of Palestine. Flags, signs and yellow ribbons awaited the young soldier in Elizabeth. The Wirt County High School marching band was...

Jessica Lynch Awarded Bronze StarLynch Gets Medals Ahead of Homecoming ELIZABETH, W.Va. - Former POW Jessica Lynch was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart in Washington Monday as she prepares for her homecoming. Lynch, who returns to the hills of West Virigina Tuesday, also received Prisoner of War medals at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. The Bronze Star is given for meritorious combat service, a Purple Heart is most often awarded to those wounded in combat, and the POW for being held captive during wartime. "The Purple Heart ... was not necessarily about being wounded or injured...

<p>A commander's map-reading mistake, acute fatigue and a harsh desert environment combined to imperil the 507th Maintenance Company in a fierce Iraqi ambush that killed 11 soldiers and produced the capture of Pfc. Jessica Lynch, the Army says in a report.</p>

Jessica Lynch: Modern myth? by Mona Charen Have you heard of Army Sgt. Casaundra Grant? Probably not, because her story has been largely ignored by the press. She's a 25-year-old single mother who lost both of her legs during the Iraq War when she was accidentally pinned under a tank. Her 2-year-old son "prayed for her legs" the first time he saw her stumps. Sgt. Grant is upbeat and grateful to be alive, reports the San Antonio Express-News, but is this really the way we want to fight our wars, with young mothers coming home in wheelchairs? (By the way,...

Discrepancies in reports of POW's capture, rescue raise questions Posted: May 6, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Diana Lynne © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Hollywood writers could not have imagined a more gripping and rousing story as that of the capture of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch and the dramatic Special Ops rescue caught on videotape and instigated by an Iraqi lawyer who reportedly put his life on the line for hers. But some question whether elements of the saga are more hype than fact, created to spin the POW's experience to serve political purposes. An avalanche of movie and book offers flooded the Lynch...

the saga of Saving Private Lynch. Branded on to our consciousness by media frenzy, the flawless midnight rescue of 19-year-old Private First Class Jessica Lynch hardly bears repeating even a month after the fact. Precision teams of U.S. Army Rangers and Navy Seals, acting on intelligence information and supported by four helicopter gunships, ended Lynch's nine-day Iraqi imprisonment in true Rambo style, raising America's spirits when it needed it most. All Hollywood could ever hope to have in a movie was there in this extraordinary feat of rescue — except, perhaps, the truth. So say three Nasiriya doctors, two nurses,...

WASHINGTON — The Iraqi lawyer who led U.S. forces to former POW Jessica Lynch has accepted a job offer from Washington lobbying firm The Livingston Group days after the United States granted him asylum. The company, founded by former U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston, said details on 33-year-old Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief's new responsibilities were still in the works. A good deal of The Livingston Group's business is international, the company said, and some clients are from Arabic-speaking countries. The company also said al-Rehaief is eager to improve his English, and will take intense language lessons.

America shared his joy at her rescue and, as the days passed, her speedy recovery. Within a week of the daring raid Lynch had undergone surgery to set her broken bones — including fractures in both legs, her right arm, ankle and foot, and damage to her spine — and was once again eating small servings of her favorite foods: turkey, french fries and steamed carrots. Her doctors now say they are certain some of her injuries — which went untreated for her nine days in captivity, leading to infection — were caused by gunshots. "The injuries are open fractures,...

Dr.: Lynch to Be Hospitalized for Weeks By LARRY MARGASAK .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Rescued POW Jessica Lynch will stay at the Army's premier medical facility for at least a few weeks and, like others there who were wounded in Iraq, will have mental and emotional evaluations, the medical center chief said Sunday. ``She seems to be in good spirits,'' said Major Gen. Kevin Kiley, a physician, commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The 19-year-old private first class and some four dozen other wounded soldiers arrived Saturday in the United States after leaving a hospital in...

Part 1 bw: Priwate Fiwrst Cwass Jessica Wange PFCLynch That is Lynch. PFCLynch. bw Priwate Fiwst Cwass Jessica Wynch. What did you fweel when you were captwuered by the Iwakki's? PFCLynch Pain. bw I mean emotionawwly? PFCLynch What? bw Did you fweel betwayed? PFCLynch No. bw Wet's change the subject. Would you object to martinsheenie, timwobbins, or seanpwenn pwaying your wescuers in upcoming fweature pwesentation? PFCLynch What? bw Do you see Jenniwer Anwiston pwaying you? PFCLynch This is silly. bw swasanswandon and wobertbwake playing your gweatgwandparents? PFCLynch Mamme, I have to leave now. bw Wet's go to a commercial.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch will be flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., soon. She has been isolated from media coverage of her rescue and has no idea what awaits her when she regains her health. Private Lynch survived the ambush in Iraq of the Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, but can she survive the ambush of the feminine forces of political correctness that placed her in harm's way. These people want to use her to promote their theory that men and women soldiers are the same. This thesis is, of course, unprovable. While women may be just...

<p>LANDSTUHL, Germany (AP) Rescued U.S. POW Jessica Lynch is steadily improving and spending less time in bed since she was moved out of intensive care at a military hospital, a spokesman said Thursday.</p> <p>Lynch, a 19-year-old Army private first class from Palestine, W. Va., was moved to a regular ward at Germany's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center on Wednesday.</p>

Family Not Pressing U.S. POW on Details By COLLEEN BARRY .c The Associated Press LANDSTUHL, Germany (AP) - The family of rescued POW Jessica Lynch said Tuesday her strong will helped her survive captivity, but that they weren't going to press for details of her ordeal until she's ready. Still stunned by their daughter's capture by Iraqi forces and dramatic rescue nine days later, Pfc. Lynch's parents described their relief at finally laying eyes on Jessica in her hospital bed in southwestern Germany. ``We said, 'Hi, Baby, how are you doing?' and she said, 'Fine,''' Gregory Lynch Sr. told reporters...

Father says Lynch in good spirits after POW ordeal LANDSTUHL, Germany, April 8 (Reuters) - The father of U.S. soldier Jessica Lynch, a prisoner of war rescued by American forces in Iraq, said on Tuesday she was in good spirits and only wanted to go home. "Her spirits was real high and we was real glad to see her. We was kinda figurin' it'd be a lot worse," Greg Lynch said outside the hospital that is treating her. Jessica, 19, spent nine days as a POW in Iraq with back injuries, two broken legs, a broken arm, broken foot and...

POW Father Denies Daughter Shot, Stabbed 2 hours, 47 minutes ago By ALLISON BARKER, Associated Press Writer PALESTINE, W.Va. - The father of rescued POW Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch said Thursday she was in great spirits following her first surgery and said she had not been shot or stabbed during her ordeal. "We have heard and seen reports that she had multiple gunshot wounds and a knife stabbing. The doctor has not seen any of this," Gregory Lynch Sr. said. "There's no entry (wounds) whatsoever." Lynch said his 19-year-old daughter, who is at a military hospital in Germany, had surgery...

Rescued U.S. soldier put up fierce fight - Wash Post WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - Rescued U.S. soldier Jessica Lynch shot several Iraqi soldiers prior to her capture, firing her weapon until she ran out of ammunition, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing U.S. officials. The 19-year-old Private First Class continued firing at the Iraqis even after she sustained multiple gunshot wounds and watched several other soldiers in her unit die around her, one official told the newspaper. "She was fighting to the death," the official was quoted as saying. "She did not want to be taken alive." Lynch...

POW Reportedly Fought Captors With Gun By JOE COLEMAN .c The Associated Press LANDSTUHL, Germany (AP) - Spirited but hungry, rescued prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch arrived in Germany for treatment of two broken legs and bullet wounds reportedly suffered in a fierce gun battle she waged against her Iraqi captors. The Washington Post reported Thursday that the 19-year-old Army supply clerk shot several Iraqi soldiers during the March 23 ambush that resulted in her capture. She kept firing even after she had several gunshot wounds, finally running out of ammunition, the newspaper said, citing unidentified U.S. officials. ``She...