THE US: Pte Jessica Lynch, the wounded army private whose ordeal in Iraq was hyped into a story of US heroism under fire, returned home yesterday to the embrace of loved-ones and cheers of flag-waving well-wishers.
"I had no idea so many people knew I was missing," the 20-year-old supply clerk said in a brief prepared statement that represented her first public remarks since she was captured by Iraqi forces on March 23rd near the city of Nassiriya.
Sitting in a wheelchair before a large American flag, a Purple Heart medal dangling from the breast of her Army uniform jacket, Pte Lynch expressed sorrow over the deaths of 11 comrades including another female soldier, Lori Ann Piestewa of Tuba City, Arizona, all killed when their unit fell into an ambush. "She was my best friend," said Pte Lynch, her voice breaking with emotion. "Lori will always remain in my heart."
Pte Lynch later rode a red Mustang convertible on a parade route to her home while hundreds waved flags, donned yellow ribbons and held up posters of the young soldier.
Pte Lynch was in a 507th Maintenance Company convoy when her unit was ambushed. A 90-minute fire-fight ensued.
But she became a national hero after media reports quoted unnamed US officials as saying she fought fiercely before being captured, firing on Iraqi forces despite sustaining multiple gunshot and stab wounds.
In the end, army investigators concluded that Pte Lynch was injured when her Humvee crashed into another vehicle in the convoy after it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
The US military also released video taken during what was portrayed as a daring rescue by US special forces who raided the Iraqi hospital where she was being treated. Iraqi doctors at the hospital said later the US rescuers had faced no resistance and the operation had been over-dramatized.
The Washington Post, the first to report the heroic version of the capture, came under sharp criticism from its own ombudsman for its handling of a story that contained information which was "wrong in its most compelling aspects". The Lynch story also exposed CBS News to criticism after the network offered Lynch a movie deal while trying to persuade her to give an interview about her experiences. - (Reuters)