Jessica Lynch Gets Hero’s Welcome
On this day in 2003, U.S. Army Private Jessica Lynch, a
prisoner-of-war who was rescued from an Iraqi hospital, receives a hero’s
welcome when she returns to her hometown of Palestine, West Virginia. The story
of the 19-year-old supply clerk, who was captured by Iraqi forces in March
2003, gripped America; however, it was later revealed that some details of
Lynch’s dramatic capture and rescue might have been exaggerated.
Lynch, who was born April 26, 1983, was part of the 507th
Ordnance Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas. On March 23, 2003, just
days after the U.S. invaded Iraq, Lynch was riding in a supply convoy when her
unit took a wrong turn and was ambushed by Iraqi forces near Nasiriya. Eleven
American soldiers died and four others besides Lynch were captured.
Lynch, who sustained multiple broken bones and other injuries
when her vehicle crashed during the ambush, was taken to an Iraqi hospital. On
April 1, she was rescued by U.S. Special Forces who raided the hospital where
she was being held. They also recovered the bodies of eight of Lynch’s fellow
soldiers. Lynch was taken to a military hospital in Germany for treatment and
then returned to the United States.
Lynch’sstory garnered massive media attention and she became an
overnight celebrity. Various reports emerged about Lynch’s experience, with
some news accounts indicating that even after Lynch was wounded during the
ambush she fought back against her captors. However, Lynch later stated that
she had been knocked unconscious after her vehicle crashed and couldn’t
remember the details of what had happened to her. She also said she had not
been mistreated by the staff at the Iraqi hospital and they put up no
resistance to her rescue. Critics–and Lynch herself–charged the U.S. government
with embellishing her story to boost patriotism and help promote the Iraq war.
In August 2003, Lynch received a medical honorable discharge.
She collaborated on a book about her experience, I Am a Soldier, Too: The
Jessica Lynch Story, which was released later that year. In April 2007,
Lynch testified before Congress that she had falsely been portrayed as a
“little girl Rambo” and the U.S. military had hyped her story for propaganda
reasons. According to Lynch: “I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and
tried to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day
were, in fact, legendary.” She added: “The truth of war is not always easy to
hear but is always more heroic than the hype.”