Town Prepares For Rescued POW's Return

PALESTINE, West Virginia (CNN) --In a phone call home, Pfc. Jessica Lynch wanted to know "if she made the local paper" after the dramatic special forces-led rescue from her Iraqi captors, her brother said Thursday.

That certainly wasn't a question back in West Virginia. Wirt County Tax Assessor Debbie Hennen said there was "no yellow to be found probably within a 25-mile radius" because so many yellow ribbons were on display as residents awaited Jessica's return.

Brother Greg Lynch Jr. said the family had no idea when Jessica would leave Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where she was listed in stable condition Thursday.

Family spokesman Randy Coleman said she was expected to undergo surgery on a fractured spinal disc.

The Army is planning to send a team of counselors to meet with the family, Coleman said.

The Army counselors are part of a routine "repatriation process" for families of rescued prisoners of war, Coleman said. They will meet with the family to discuss her condition and how to deal with her wounds when she returns home.

Lynch said Army officials told the family that his sister had suffered "multiple wounds" and that gunshots had broken both her legs.

But his sister sounded much better Thursday morning than she did in the family's first conversation just a few hours earlier when she called after arriving in Germany for medical treatment, he said.

"Yesterday she was feeling very weak, she was tired and she was hungry as well," Greg Lynch said. "And my mom said this morning when she called she was real high spirited, she was able to talk a little louder, and she was excited."

Greg is a 21-year-old private first class stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He returned West Virginia on emergency leave after the military listed Jessica as missing.

"Mom was telling her how she was a hero and she was making the news, and she asked if she made the local paper," he said. "And my mom said, 'Yeah you made the local paper and a lot more.'

"She has no idea what kind of a stir she's raised right now," he said.

Jessica Lynch and seven other members of her unit, the 507th Maintenance Company, were listed as missing after they made a wrong turn near Nasiriya and drove into an ambush on March 23. Five other members of the unit were seen on Iraqi TV and are listed as prisoners of war, two were killed in action and at least four were wounded.

Acting on information government sources said was obtained by the CIA from more than one Iraqi source, Special Forces led a team of Marines, Army Rangers, Navy SEALs and Air Force pilots and controllers into enemy fire at a hospital in Nasiriya.

The forces fought their way into the hospital where Lynch was being held and whisked her away on a stretcher, fighting their way back out.

Back in Wirt County, a giant banner proclaiming "Jessi's Found!" hung over the courthouse steps.

Plans for a celebration are "under discussion," Hennen, the tax assessor, said, adding that the talk so far centers on the county's football field and 4-H camp.

Judging by the number of people who will turn out to welcome Jessica home, Hennen said, the celebration may extend from the football field to the camp.

"But there will be a parade for the joyous return of Jessica," she said.

Jessica, Undergoing Surgery, Doesn't Know She's a Hero

Thursday, April 03, 2003

PALESTINE, W.Va.  — From her hospital bed in Germany, Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch wanted to know if the story of her capture in Iraq and her dramatic rescue made the local newspaper.

"She doesn't know what kind of uproar she's caused right now," her brother, Greg Lynch Jr., said Thursday morning as the family awaited a military briefing.

"She's definitely a hero," Greg Lynch said. "Whether she realizes it or not — not only to our family, but to the whole nation."

The 19-year-old Army supply clerk was undergoing surgery Thursday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for a fractured disc, two broken legs and a broken arm.

Her brother said the family, which had heard from her twice since her rescue, expected to talk to her again following her surgery.

They also expected to learn details from two members from the Department of Defense's Joint Personnel Recovery Agency who arrived at the family's rural home near Palestine for a briefing expected to last several hours.

The family wants to know why Lynch's 507th Maintenance Company convoy made a wrong turn in southern Iraq on March 23. The group was ambushed, and seven in the group remained missing Thursday, five were listed as prisoners of war and two others were confirmed killed.

Family members also want to know if her back and leg injuries will hamper her Army career.

In brief phone calls Wednesday night and Thursday, Lynch said she hadn't eaten in eight days but she was in good spirits, said her father, Gregory Lynch Sr.

She sounded better Thursday morning than she had on the first call, her mother said.

"She was more concerned about us, wanted to know how everybody was and what was going on. And I just let her know that she was America's hero," Deadra Lynch said on ABC's Good Morning America.

The Washington Post reported that she shot several Iraqi soldiers during the March 23 ambush, and even when she suffered several gunshot wounds she kept firing until she ran out of ammunition.

"She's a fighter. That's exactly what I would expect her to do," her mother told NBC's Today show. But the family members stressed they had not discussed the ordeal with her.

"She never mentioned anything about gunshot wounds," said her brother. "I'm assuming if she does have gunshot wounds, they are where the bones are broken."

Pentagon officials have declined to comment on the report.

The family decided not to fly to Germany since Lynch is expected to be flown to the United States as soon as she is stabilized following surgery.

Members of the medical crew that accompanied Lynch on the flight to Germany from Kuwait said she appeared clear-headed, smiling and alert, but didn't discuss her captivity with them.

"She must be as hard as nails," said Air Force Capt. Shean Galvin.

He wouldn't comment on whether she had been shot, saying only that her injuries were not life-threatening and no vital organs had been hit.

News of her rescue late Tuesday spread quickly through Wirt County, population 5,893. Neighbors and friends cheered and honked car horns and shouted the good news to everyone they could see.

"A neighbor came running over, bursting in the front door crying, saying, 'They found her! They found her! She's safe!'" said Linda Williams, a teacher at Wirt County High School who taught both Jessica's parents and her two siblings.

"It was crazy," Williams said. "My phone was ringing and ringing and ringing."

To help Lynch reach her goal of becoming a kindergarten teacher, three colleges on Wednesday all offered her scholarships, and Gov. Bob Wise said the state would finance her education at a state public university of her choosing.

Lynch joined the Army after graduating in 2001. Her brother enlisted the same day, and their 18-year-old sister, Brandi, will report for duty in August.

"It's the Lynch blood," Brandi said.

Purple Hearts Awarded Aboard USNS Comfort
Story Number: NNS030331-05
3/31/2003

From U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet Public Affairs

BAHRAIN (NNS) -- Nine Marines were awarded the Purple Heart March 30 aboard USNS Comfort (T-AH 20). U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Commander Lt. Gen. Earl B. Hailston came aboard to present the decoration personally to each Marine.

The Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the armed forces who, while serving, has been wounded or killed. The Marines on Comfort were among the first to receive the award in recognition of their actions during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Five Marines are from the 2nd Force Service Support Group (FSSG) 1st Battalion Charlie Company. They are Pvt. Jason Keough from Buffalo, N.Y.; Sgt. Jose Torres of Lorain, Ohio; Cpl. Jacob Hobkins from Columbus, Ind; Cpl. Michael Mead of Newberry, Mich.; and Cpl. Manuel Espinoza of Weslaco, Texas.

Other Marines awarded the Purple Heart include Gunnery Sgt. Robert Hladik, Headquarters, Camp Pendleton, from Hemet, Calif.; Capt. Harry Porter, 2nd Battalion 23rd Marines, of West Chester, Pa.; Pvt. 1st Class Brian Nickes, 1st Marine Division 2nd Battalion, of Camben, N.J.; and Staff Sgt. David Oravecz, Marine Light-Armored Helicopter Squadron 269, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Battalion, from Hubert, Fla.

For more news from around the fleet, visit the Navy NewsStand at www.news.navy.mil.