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 Jessica Lynch on Cover of Newsweek. | |
 Jessica Lynch on Stretcher After Successful Raid. | |
 Nightvision view of Jessica's rescue. |
United Justice Special Report
Jessica Lynch News
· Jessica Lynch Honorably Discharged From Army. Jessica Lynch, the former prisoner of war who became a national hero when special forces rescued her from an Iraqi hospital, has been honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, her lawyer said.
· Ex-POW Lynch to Tell Story in Book. Former prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch will tell her story in a book, a family spokesman said. "The Lynch family has received many offers from people interested in bringing Jessica's story to life," spokesman Randy Coleman said. "Jessica and her family have concluded that the most appropriate and complete telling of this story will be in a book, which they will have more to say about soon."
· Pfc. Lynch withdraws cooperation for movie. Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch has reportedly pulled out of a proposed deal with NBC for a television movie about her ordeal during the war in Iraq.
· NBC: Jessica Lynch Movie to Be an Action-Adventure Story. The film, being made without Lynch's participation, will focus less on her and more on the experience of her Army unit and her rescuers, NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker said.
· Jessica Lynch Due Home After Media Hype on Heroism. Jessica Lynch, the wounded Army private whose ordeal in Iraq was hyped into a media fiction of U.S. heroism, was set for an emotional homecoming on Tuesday in a rural West Virginia community bristling with flags, yellow ribbons and TV news trucks.
· A Hero's Welcome - PFC Jessica Lynch Returns Home. Former POW PFC Jessica Lynch is returning home to Palestine, W. Virginia Tuesday, where she is widely expected to make her first public comments since her capture.
· Former POW Jessica Lynch Set for Return Home. After almost four months of recuperation from multiple broken bones and other injuries and hospital stays in Iraq, Germany and Washington, Lynch is being welcomed back to the rolling green hills of West Virginia's smallest county.
· Pfc. Jessica Lynch receives 3 medals, gets to go home. On Monday, Lynch was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and 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.
· W. Va. County Spruces Up for Lynch's Homecoming. Foodland can't keep its $5 Jessica Lynch T-shirts in stock. Subway is adding an extra sandwich maker for the week. And lines are already forming at this town's only gas station.
· Jessica Lynch to return home. Some welcome news for a change... Former POW Jessica Lynch will return home by the end of this month.
· Army says errors, speed led to disaster for Lynch's unit. Jessica Lynch didn't empty her weapon before being captured in Iraq, as was at first reported, an Army report says.
The report also says the unprecedented speed of the Army's drive to Baghdad contributed to mistakes that ended in the deaths of 11 U.S. troops and the capture of six, including Lynch.
· Private Lynch 'not shot and stabbed.' There was no shooting, no bullet inside her body, no stab wound - only road traffic accident.
· Jessica Lynch mystery: Army report leaves questions unanswered. A US Army report on what happened to Private First Class Jessica Lynch's convoy depicts a scene of blunders, malfunctioning weapons and heroism but is unable to clear up the mystery of what happened to the country's most famous POW during her captivity.
· Crash caused Lynch's 'horrific injuries,' not Iraqi militia. The Army will release a report tomorrow on the ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company in Iraq that will show Pfc. Jessica Lynch and another female soldier suffered extensive injuries in a vehicle accident, but not from Iraqi fighters.
The Army's 15-page report officially will debunk accounts that Pfc. Lynch emptied two revolvers at her attackers and was shot and stabbed before being taken prisoner of war.
"Lynch survived principally because of the medical attention she received from the Iraqis."
· Jessica Lynch rescuer killed in hometown car accident. Josh Speer was a member of the Marine unit that helped rescue Jessica Lynch, the Army private captured by Iraqis near Nasiriyah, said Capt. Shawn Turner, a corps spokesman.
· Family Member Reacts To Report About Jessica Lynch. "I think she did try to fight," Zina Lynch said, "and until we actually can talk to her ... I know she would have because she's got that Lynch blood."
· A Broken Body, a Broken Story, Pieced Together. Lynch has been in the hospital now for 67 days. Her physical condition remains severe. But she also appears to suffer from wounds that cannot be seen -- and the story of her capture and rescue remains only partly told.
· Lynch Interview Race Raises Ethical Questions. Lynch, an American soldier who was rescued by U.S. troops from an Iraqi hospital on April 1 after her convoy was ambushed, has received an array of offers from media bigwigs -- including Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer -- trying to snag the first interview with the young woman.
· CBS lands Jessica Lynch interview. The race to land the most sought-after interview of the Iraq war intensified as soon as Pfc. Jessica Lynch arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in mid-April, following her rescue from an Iraqi hospital.
· Release 'Jessica Lynch' outtakes. The Pentagon refuses to release unedited footage of Jessica Lynch's rescue from an Iraqi hospital. Critics have alleged that the refusal is more proof that the breathtaking video, broadcast just when U.S. morale needed a boost, actually is a hoax.
Pentagon spokeswoman quits. Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke, credited with devising a program this year for embedding more than 500 journalists with U.S. forces during the war in Iraq, resigned yesterday for personal reasons, effective on Friday. · 'Jessica needs to be left alone,' Rockefeller says. Jessica Lynch, West Virginia's own "home state hero," needs to recover without all the attention she's been getting since she returned to the United States, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said.
· Lynch family says Jessica has never had amnesia. The Lynches declined to answer questions about an Army investigation of the ambush, "We’re not supposed to talk about it," Greg Lynch said. "It’s still an ongoing investigation."
He did say that contrary to published reports, his daughter does not have amnesia. "Her memory is as good as it was when she was home," he said. "There really wasn’t no amnesia problems."
· Lynches Say They Can't Discuss POW Rescue. American POW Pfc. Jessica Lynch's parents said they are not permitted to discuss details of their daughter's capture and rescue in Iraq.
· Hospital staff: Forceful rescue of American POW unnecessary. The U.S. commandos refused a key and instead broke down doors and went in with guns drawn. They carried away the prisoner in the dead of night with helicopter and armored vehicle backup — even though there was no Iraqi military presence and the hospital staff didn't resist.
Hospital staff claims to have given blood for Lynch's treatment. "The Americans [Special Ops] were jumping over fences and running around," said Hassan Hamoud, who lives nearby. "They could have walked into the hospital and no one would have stopped them." · Daily Journal Claim: Pentagon covering up Jessica story. Jessica has been locked up in a private Walter Reed hospital room with an around-the-clock security detail normally reserved for high brass to ensure that what happened to her as a prisoner of war remains inside her room.
Almost daily her cover story changes from amnesia to partial amnesia to more recently: "She's blocked just the ambush event."
BBC expose of spin put on Jessica Lynch rescue in Iraq. · Army to probe Lynch capture. The officials said all evidence suggests that Pfc. Lynch's truck crashed in the chaos of the ambush in the central Iraqi town of Nasiriyah.
· FLASHBACK: Spin behind Jessica Lynch story? Discrepancies in reports of POW's capture and dramatic rescue raise questions.
Saving Private Lynch story 'flawed.' The Jessica Lynch story is fast-becoming one of the most stunning pieces of news management ever conceived. · Brother Of Jessica Lynch Calls Her A Hero. The brother of former POW Jessica Lynch is calling his sister a hero. He has returned to work after spending time with his sister, who's hospitalized, recovering from her wounds suffered in Iraq.
Brother of female POW returns to duty at Fort Bragg. Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch still hasn't talked about her experience as a prisoner of war or the battle that led to her capture, her brother said. · POW's Memory Is Casualty Of War. It's unlikely that Pfc. Jessica Lynch will ever remember what happened in Iraq when her Army convoy was ambushed and she was taken as a prisoner of war, her doctor said.
· Former POW Jessica Lynch has Amnesia, can't remember her ordeal. Rescued POW Jessica Lynch says she can't remember anything about her time in captivity in Iraq -- a huge obstacle for military investigators who were hoping the 19-year-old soldier would be the key to revealing Iraqi war crimes.
· Iraqi Lawyer Who Helped Save Jessica Lynch Accepts Job in U.S. 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.
Allied Fire Hit Lawyer Who Aided U.S. POW. The Iraqi lawyer who became an American hero for helping U.S. military forces rescue prisoner of war Jessica Lynch is undergoing treatment for a serious eye injury sustained when he came under allied fire in Iraq. · Jessica Lynch a 'gem' to local man. In support of troops who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, a Rowan County man created his own token of appreciation. In his workshop at Dan Nicholas Park, Alan Fullam intricately cut and shined a small amethyst.
· Lynch family wants to meet Iraqi who saved Jessica. The family of rescued POW Jessica Lynch wants to meet and thank the Iraqi lawyer who risked his life to make her safe return possible. "We are grateful for his role in the rescue of our daughter," Greg and Deadra Lynch said in a statement released Wednesday. "God willing, we look forward to meeting Mr. al-Rehaief, his family and the brave American service members responsible for her safety and return to the United States."
· Aloha Jessica! Jessi going to Hawaii.
Former POW Accepts Invitation For Free Maui Vacation.
Lynch said that when she feels better, she's accepting the invitation extended by the Maui News to visit the Valley Isle. Tuesday, that invitation was expanded to POW Shoshana Johnson and six other American soldiers captured and released during the Iraq War.
· Local company provides Internet access to Pfc. Jessica Lynch's home. The local company assisted Charter Communications by donating labor to construct a 24-mile fiber optic cable extension to former POW Pfc. Jessica Lynch's home outside of Palestine, W.Va.
· Iraqi Lawyer Who Helped Save Jessica Lynch Granted Asylum. The Iraqi lawyer who led U.S. forces to missing soldier Jessica Lynch (search) has been granted asylum by the United States. Mohammed Odeh Al-Rehatef, 33, who helped U.S. special operations teams track down Pfc. Jessica Lynch, is now living in the United States with his wife and 5-year-old child.
· "Pfc. Jessica Lynch Under Assault Again. Feminists This Time." Pfc. Jessica Lynch survived her Iraqi capture, and finds herself under assault by a far more formidable foe, the feminists.
· Community celebrates 20th birthday of Jessica Lynch. Drivers passing through Windy Gap on the Garfield Road see a changed atmosphere once they enter Wirt County. American flags, yellow ribbons and signs expressing thankfulness are everywhere. That’s because Palestine is former prisoner-of-war Jessica Lynch’s hometown. And its Jessica's 20th birthday.
· West Virginians still rejoicing over the rescue of Jessica Lynch. The natural, mountainous landscape in Wirt County, West Virginia during springtime forms a beautiful, peaceful setting for an inspirational true story of faith, courage and patriotism.
· The Ballad Of Jessica Lynch: Former POW's Hometown Friends Talk. Even before her rescue in Iraq, former POW Jessica Lynch was a hero to many of her friends in Palestine, West Virginia.
The petite 19-year-old softball player and former Miss Congeniality grew up in the rural town of 935, harboring dreams of teaching kindergarten, but her ambitions unexpectedly took her way beyond the confines of Palestine and into the hearts and minds of everyone who witnessed her improbable nighttime rescue three weeks ago.
· Pfc. Jessica Lynch undergoes foot surgery. The public affairs office of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., reported that Pfc. Jessica Lynch was in satisfactory condition Friday, a day after surgery to repair a bone in her right foot.
· Enough gifts, says Jessica Lynch. Pfc. Jessica Lynch asked that people stop sending her gifts and instead make donations to military charities. "It has gotten to be overwhelming in the room," said Sgt. Maj. Kiki Bryant, an Army spokesman.
· It didn't take long: Jessica Lynch paintings, coins for sale on eBay. America loves Pfc. Jessica Lynch. And Americans seem to love making money by selling memorabilia of the rescued member of Fort Bliss' 507th Maintenance Company on eBay. The Internet auction site listed at least 10 Jessica Lynch items, ranging from an oil painting with an opening bid of $200 to a $5 "America Loves Jessica Lynch" refrigerator magnet.
· Does Pfc. Jessica Lynch Own the Movie Rights to Her Life? NBC is planning to make a movie about Pfc. Jessica Lynch, the rescued American POW, even if it doesn't get her permission. Can the network do that? Doesn't NBC need to buy the movie rights to her life?
Yes, it can, and, no, it doesn't—so long as NBC sticks the facts.
· Local Soldier Tells Mom He Helped Rescue POW Jessica Lynch. A metro-east military mother got a phone call in the middle of the night, Thursday. But it was not bad news about her son. In fact, It was her son on the phone, and what a story he had to tell.
· Rescued POW is recovering in the US. Jessica Lynch, the soldier rescued in a daring commando raid in Iraq, returned to the United States yesterday to recover from her injuries at the Army's premier medical center. A C-17 military ambulance flew Lynch, 19, from Germany to Andrews Air Force Base near the capital along with her immediate family and about four-dozen wounded soldiers.
· Friends, Well-Wishers Cheer Return of Pfc. Lynch. Greeted by the cheers of dozens of friends and well-wishers, Pfc. Jessica Lynch, the American prisoner of war rescued in a daring commando raid in Iraq, returned to the United States on Saturday evening, about to begin a lengthy rehabilitation at the Army's premier medical center.
· Rescued POW Lynch arrives in U.S.
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, April 12 — Rescued prisoner of war Jessica Lynch returned Saturday to the United States, where she will continue recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, officials said. However, the news of Lynch’s return home comes amid growing concerns that the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime has complicated efforts to rescue other U.S. soldiers captured during the war.
Lynch Family Statement. This statement from the family of 19-year-old Private First Class Jessica Lynch was read by Major Michael Young on Saturday, April 12, 2003:
"Our family has been blessed by the tremendous outpouring of support for our daughter, Jessi. People from across West Virginia, the United States - everywhere in the world - have offered comfort and aid. On behalf of Jessi, our family would like to offer our deepest, most sincere thanks for this show of affection."
"We would especially like to thank the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the West Virginia National Guard, and U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller for their help in uniting us with our daughter. We would also like to thank the residents of Wirt County and West Virginia Governor Bob Wise for their commitment to helping Jessi experience a full and speedy recovery."
"Furthermore, we can't leave Germany without expressing our gratitude to the professionals at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and the Air Force Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. We truly believe Jessi would not have made such great progress in her recovery had it not been for their care and concern. We are forever thankful for the compassion with which they have treated her and the other injured service members."
"The Landstuhl support staff and the Army and Air Force communities have been wonderful. From the moment we arrived, they took care of our most basic needs, allowing us to focus on our daughter's recovery. To those who supported us-the chaplains, the drivers, and the Fisher House management staff and volunteers - we want to thank you one more time. You touched our hearts, and we will never forget you."
About Fisher House. The Fisher House program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need. The program recognizes the special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Department of Defense. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time - during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury. · Lynch Arrives Home for Treatment at Army Medical Center. Jessica Lynch, the soldier rescued in a daring commando raid in Iraq, returned to the United States on Saturday to recover from her head-to-toe injuries at the Army's premier medical center.
· JESSICA ARRIVES IN USA! Rescued prisoner of war Jessica Lynch has arrived back in America. She was flown from Germany, where she had been receiving medical treatment, to a US Air Force base near Washington. She was among 50 wounded US troops taken back to America on a US Air Force plane.
· Jessica on her way home. A plane carrying rescued U.S. POW Jessica Lynch left for the United States Saturday after a week of treatment at a military hospital in western Germany.
· Rescued POW Lynch returning to U.S. today. Lynch, 19, and her family are leaving Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany shortly after 11 a.m. (local time) today. She was expected to land at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and check in to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
· Freed G.I. to Return to U.S. to Undergo Further Treatment. With her strength coming back and her injuries on the mend, Pfc. Jessica D. Lynch will return to the United States on Saturday, officials at an American military hospital in Germany said today.
· Jessica Lynch returning to U.S. for recovery. Rescued POW Jessica Lynch is scheduled to return to the United States on Saturday from the military hospital in Germany where she's been treated. Her doctors say the 19-year-old Army private has made steady progress despite suffering spinal injuries, a head wound, and fractures to her arm and both legs.
· Residents want Iraqi who helped rescue Jessica. First, they have to find him. But when they do, residents of Malden, W.Va. want to thank the Iraqi man who helped save POW Jessica Lynch by bringing him to West Virginia.
Should Iraqi Who Spotted Jessica Lynch Be U.S. Citizen? A former Marine has started an online petition to offer American citizenship to the Iraqi who helped rescue Pfc. Jessica Lynch by leading special forces to her bedside. · NBC Making Rescue of POW Jessica Lynch Film. NBC is fast-tracking development on a two-hour telepic detailing Lynch's jaw-dropping ordeal and the preparations that went into planning her rescue. The network has met with writers and is expected to choose a producer within a few days.
· Doctors say Jessica Lynch out of intensive care. It's been a sweet day for a rescued American P-O-W -- both in the hospital and on her breakfast plate. Doctors at a German military hospital say Jessica Lynch has been moved out of intensive care and into a regular medical ward.
· Gifts for Jessica Lynch. More than a week after Private Jessica Lynch was rescued in Iraq, money, college scholarships and gifts continue to pour in. Everything from trips to Hawaii and Hungary, flowers, new cars and money have been offered to the 19-year-old Army supply clerk.
Former POW Jessica Lynch has an abundance of gifts when she gets home. · Jessica Lynch Just Wants to Go Home. Rescued U.S. POW Jessica Lynch is cheerful, strong-willed and thinking about home, family members reported Tuesday, expressing relief at the pace of her recovery from wounds suffered in Iraq.
· Father Says Lynch in Good Spirits After POW Ordeal. The father of U.S. soldier Jessica Lynch, a prisoner of war rescued by American forces in Iraq, said 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 in Germany.
· Jessica’s Liberation. Moving stealthily through the night, Special Forces execute a bold raid to save a private. The mission—and her story of survival.
She was hiding in her bed just after midnight when the Special Ops team found her, in a room on the first floor of Saddam (naturally) Hospital in An Nasiriya. A soldier called her name, and without answering she peeked out from under the sheets. “Jessica Lynch,” he called, “we’re United States soldiers and we’re here to protect you and take you home.” The American approached the bed and took his helmet off and she looked up at him and replied: “I’m an American soldier, too.”
· More surgery, apple sauce for Jessica Lynch. Rescued POW Jessica Lynch has gotten one of her wishes -- to eat apple sauce. It was one of the foods she asked for after being taken to a U.S. military hospital in Germany for treatment.
· Jessica Lynch leaves behind her best friend. 'It's such a mixed emotion.' During their tour at Fort Bliss, a sprawling military base on the western tip of Texas, Jessica Lynch and Lori Ann Piestewa had little choice but to spend time together. "You never saw one without seeing the other," Sergeant Shirley Atma said yesterday. "They were very outgoing and happy people."
Today, the women's loved ones could not be further apart. Pte. Lynch's parents are sitting by her bedside in a German hospital, rejoicing that their daughter, once a prisoner of war, was miraculously rescued by U.S. Special Forces. Across the globe, in Tuba City, Ariz., friends and relatives are mourning the loss of Pte. Piestewa, who was killed, along with at least 10 others, in the same Iraqi ambush that left Pte. Lynch with two fractured legs, serious spinal-cord injuries and a dead best friend.
· The Man Who Helped Rescue Pfc. Jessica Lynch. "He had counted 41 bad guys and determined a helicopter could land on the hospital's roof. It was just the information the Marines needed." American forces conducted a nighttime raid April 1. Lynch was safely rescued.
· Jessica Lynch welcomes family in Germany. After everything she's been through — an Iraqi ambush, a daring rescue, and several surgeries — Pfc. Jessica Lynch had nothing but smiles for her family during a long-awaited reunion Sunday.
· Details Released of Lynch Rescue. Frightened and seriously wounded, a 19-year-old supply clerk who was held by Iraq for more than a week at first hid under a sheet when a team of U.S. military commandos stormed into her hospital room.
· Iraqi informer angered by treatment of Jessica. The Iraqi man who tipped U.S. Marines to the location of American POW Jessica Lynch said Thursday he did so after he saw her Iraqi captor slap her twice as she lay wounded in a hospital.
Iraqi Man Risked All to Help Free American Soldier. Mohammed, a gregarious 32-year-old Iraqi lawyer, went by the hospital in Nasiriyah one day last week to visit his wife, who worked there as a nurse, when he noticed the ominous presence of security agents. · Jessica's homecoming present: TV networks call. As surely as an echo follows a gunshot, the phone calls have started. "There's been some talk with the networks about their interest in doing this story," Larry Sanitsky, an independent television producer said yesterday. "This story" is the dramatic rescue by commandos of Private Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi hospital, this week.
· Jessica Undergoes Back Surgery. The father of rescued POW Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch said Thursday that she was in great spirits following her first surgery and denied reports she was shot and stabbed during her captivity in Iraq.
· Jessica Calls Home: She's Exhausted, Groggy, Hungry, and Safe. In brief phone calls Wednesday night and Thursday from a U.S. military hospital in Germany, the 19-year-old she hadn't eaten in eight days but she was in good spirits, said her father, Greg Lynch Sr.
· 'She Was Fighting to the Death.' Pfc. Jessica Lynch, rescued Tuesday from an Iraqi hospital, fought fiercely and shot several enemy soldiers after Iraqi forces ambushed the Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, firing her weapon until she ran out of ammunition, U.S. officials said yesterday. "She was fighting to the death," the official said. "She did not want to be taken alive."
· Rescued US POW Jessica Lynch stable. Jessica Lynch, the US private dramatically rescued in a special forces operation in Iraq, is in a stable condition at a US military hospital in Germany.
· Jessica Lynch Arrives at U.S. Base. Lynch, a 19-year-old Army supply clerk, arrived at a U.S. air base in southwestern Germany on a C-17 transport plane late Wednesday for treatment at a U.S. military medical center. Her condition was not disclosed, but U.S. officials in Kuwait said she was believed to have broken legs, a broken arm and at least one gunshot wound.
· Mission to save Private Lynch. SHORTLY before midnight, US forces took out the lighting grid in Nasiriyah, south of Baghdad, then launched an almighty assault on key targets in the city.
· ‘She’s Alive’ POW Jessica Lynch is on her way home. But her rescue raises unanswered questions-and the grim specter of women combat casualties. It sounded like one of those fanciful Hollywood scripts. On Tuesday night, more than 1,000 Navy Seals, Army Rangers, Marines and Air Force pilots joined forces for a mission to get back one American POW: Private First Class Jessica Lynch, a “junior enlisted” soldier with a maintenance division.
· After Pfc. Jessica Lynch was rescued from an Iraqi hospital, the Pentagon provided a somber epilogue early Saturday by announcing the identities of eight of nine dead American soldiers also recovered during the operation.
Members the 507th Maintenance Company who were ambushed March 23 near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Military identifies rescued remains, Among them, the first servicewoman to be killed . 
· Family Celebrates Rescue of US POW. The family of U.S. Army Private Jessica Lynch, who was rescued by American troops after being held prisoner by Iraq forces, is celebrating the release of their daughter but expressing concern for the families of other prisoners.
· Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch's Family Rejoices. More than a week of worry over Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch quickly turned into a gleeful celebration with blaring sirens and fireworks as her family and friends rejoiced over her rescue in Iraq.
· Jessica Lynch Is Safe After Rescue The Pentagon confirmed reports that the rescued soldier is Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, of Palestine, W. Va., who had been listed as missing in action. Lynch was a member of the Army's 507th Maintenance Company, based out of Fort Bliss, Texas, which was ambushed near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah after making a wrong turn March 23.
· Father of Jessica Lynch shares initial doubt and joy of rescue. "I thought at first it was an April Fools joke." Greg Lynch Sr., when he learned April 1 that his daughter, 19-year-old Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, had been rescued after more than a week in captivity in Iraq.
· Lynch's hometown drawn closer to one another, God, pastor says. The capture and rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch has served to bring her hometown closer together and closer to God, a Southern Baptist pastor from the area says.
· American POW Jessica Lynch Leaves Iraq After Being Rescued in Raid on Hospital. An American flag folded across her chest, Pfc. Jessica Lynch left Iraq on a stretcher Wednesday after U.S. commandos, acting on a CIA tip, rescued the prisoner of war. But the operation also brought sad news _ the troops found 11 corpses, some believed to be Americans.
[ANALYSIS OF WOMEN IN THE MILITARY]
· PRO: Jessica Lynch Opens Wider Roles for Women. Women in all of the armed forces are barred from areas of ground combat. But, caught in an ambush, Lynch did what she'd been trained to do. She defended herself, thus putting the lie to the myth that women aren't up to this sort of thing.
· PRO: Women in the Military. Women have made strides to gain equal rights, yet there is still little tolerance. And yet her place is no longer only in the home. Women cannot stay barefoot and pregnant forever. Women feel they are entitled to whatever they choose.
· CON: The next battle for Pfc. Jessica Lynch. No one doubts the bravery of the women of the 507th. Let's just hope that Pfc. Lynch is as brave in confronting the feminists, when it comes time to address these truths, as she was in standing up to the paramilitary in Iraq.
· CON: Rescue of Jessica Lynch Raises Questions About Women in Combat. It's a step more and more women are taking these days.. and new laws are giving them access to more military jobs than ever. But some don't like the idea of women going to war. People with the Washington-based Center for Military Readiness say women distract men and endanger the mission.
· CON: Should women be trained for war? If the father of our country, George Washington, were brought back from the dead, he would denounce the idea of women in combat. He would cry shame at our indecency -- which consists in putting mothers, daughters and sisters into warships and regiments, into bombers and missile silos.
More Jessica Lynch News...
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BETTER TIMES... Jessica Lynch, a pretty 19-year-old country girl posing at her home in West Virginia.
Private Jessica Lynch — known as 'Jessie' — only joined up because she could not find a job in her farming community home town of Palestine, West Virginia.
Jessica Lynch's father feared word of the rescue was an April Fool's joke. more...
The Lynch family, shortly before taking off for Germany, say they realize how fortunate they are.
The private jet of Gov. Bob Wise of West Virginia is in background. - It was their first ride in an airplane.
To help Lynch reach her goal of becoming a kindergarten teacher, West Virginia and Marshall universities and Liberty College in Lynchburg, Va., offered her competing packages Wednesday.
And West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise said the state would finance Lynch's education at a state public college or university of her choosing.
"She wants to become a teacher, and we are going to see that she becomes one," he said after visiting the Lynch family at home.
