PFC Lynch. Hero?

[AtheistArchon]

- PFC Lynch, the female that was captured by and then "rescued" from Iraqi forces, returns home soon. The press is calling her a hero.

- Is she a hero? What did she do that was heroic? Is she more heroic than any other soldier?

*headscratch*

[Thomas2003]

She's a female, that's all that is necessary for the press to rave on and on.

[Bill the Cat]

She was doing her job and was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I really don't think she is any more a hero than any other soldier who fought over there. They all deserve the same recognition.

[Salus]

I AM SO SICK OF THIS STORY!!! No offense, fellow female TWebbers. The media has done miraculous things for Ms. Lynch. Jessica Lynch has been turned into a hero and a cult icon for women's lib and NOW is pouncing on this pathetic opportunity. Her ordeal was tragic, no question about that, but what about the other 7 POW's that were rescued? Where is their hero welcome? What about her own convoy? She wouldn't be so famous if the commander of her battalion knew how to read a map and make the proper turns? There are stories floating around that this was "staged" and that the American troops put on this spectacular spectacle to garner support for the war even though in reality there was little resistance at the hospital where Lynch was at. On top of that, I've seen reports from doctors stating that Lynch's injuries were NOT caused by the fighting and torture and heroic stand against the evil Iraqis. Instead, they state that her injuries are more consistent with injuries a person suffers in a car accident. If this is true, Lynch rolled her vehicle while following someone who didn't know how to navigate, got caught in an ambush after the convoy crashed, and then was turned into a false icon, false hero by a gimmick to garner support for a bogged down war.

<sarcasm>GOD BLESS THE LIBERAL MEDIA FOR SPINNING THIS SO WELL!!!</sarcasm>

[johnransom]

Whether she did anything heroic or not, she's not a hero. She would be a heroine. That part of it really ticks me off. And in fact I don't think she was particularly heroic. As Neal Boortz said on his radio show today, if she qualifies as a "hero", that would make anyone who did something extraordinary a superhero.

In fact, the true heroes in this episode are the Iraqi guard who refused to kill her and the Iraqi civilian who informed the US as to her whereabouts. Both those guys put their lives on the line when they didn't have to. THAT is heroism, IMHO.

[FirstSunday33ad]

Correct me if I'm wrong (please) but didn't she put up a fire-fight before being captured even with her comrades dead around her? And she was only captured after running out of ammunition. And she isn't a infantry soldier with combat training, she was in supply.

Unless the details I heard are wrong, she sounded like a hero to me. I haven't been following the story at all, so I'm only going on the first news reports.

[AtheistArchon]

- Heh heh. Liberal media? From my vantage point, it looks pretty conservative to me, especially given this story. Sure, NOW and women's libbers are at the trough, but so is the Bush administration, what with the daring rescue and all.

- I happen to agree with you, btw. As a veteran, I know that I've thought at length about what I would do as a POW, and through that process I've come to one rock-hard conclusion: I do not ever want to be captured in the first place.

- I'm not sure that being captured in combat makes one a hero. Certainly, surviving being a POW is commendable, but I'd prefer it if you never got caught to begin with.

- Now, that being said, we have people like John McCain. HE may be a genuine hero.

[Salus]

Today @ 03:44 PM post located here
FirstSunday33ad:

Correct me if I'm wrong (please) but didn't she put up a fire-fight before being captured even with her comrades dead around her? And she was only captured after running out of ammunition. And she isn't a infantry soldier with combat training, she was in supply.

I don't know, did she? That is also up for debate by experts. If indeed her injuries were caused by a vehicle accident (vehicle overturned or crashed) she wouldn't be able to sit and shoot at people. No one will ever know exactly what happened out there in the desert and Lynch has amnesia and can't remember her story either.

[juliod]

Correct me if I'm wrong (please) but didn't she put up a fire-fight before being captured even with her comrades dead around her?

No. That was a story planted by the Pentagon, which later denied having planted it. No one seems to know where the story came from.

Lynch was not shot or stabbed, nor is there any evidence that she was abused or even interrogated in the hospital.

Her "story" fulfilled it's purpose, to distract the US public from the Iraq war and it's consequences. It's good to see that US conservatives are turning on her because she is a woman in the military.

Lynch was injured in a vehicle crash, apparently as part of an Iraqi ambush. She deserves a Purple Heart for that. But she certainly does not deserve a Bronze Star, and it is debatable whether she was ever a POW. The Iraqi hospital staff say she was given the best care possible, to the exclusion of ordinary Iraqis, and that they tried to return her to the US a few days before her "rescue".

She is a double-victim. She's a victim of the war as an injured soldier, and then a victim again when her story was created and manipulated by the Pentagon.

DanZ

[AtheistArchon]

- Yeah... amnesia... that's the ticket. *groan*

- Why don't they just say "sorry, we can't tell you, it's classified" instead of telling her to fake amnesia??

[Bill the Cat]

Wife just said that Jessica Lynch was just granted the ability to go to any WVa state college free of charge...

[juliod]

WVa state college

West Virginia? That's a punishment, not a reward.

But what is wrong with that? I think it would be a good idea to give free education to the combat-wounded. Better than giving another 50 billion to Halliburton.

DanZ

[Salus]

Today @ 04:44 PM post located here
Bill the Cat:

Wife just said that Jessica Lynch was just granted the ability to go to any WVa state college free of charge...

She mentioned from her hospital bed once that she would like to be a kindergarten teacher. So Eastern Michigan University jumped on the bandwagon and has an open spot, also free of charge, if she chooses to come to Michigan.

I bust my butt working 50 hrs a week and raising 3 kids and I still have to pay for my education. A girl gets in a car accident because none of her peers know how to read navigational devices, becomes a war story, and gets FREE schooling pretty much anywhere! The world is not a fair place.

(Don't forget the free car she got)

[Bill the Cat]

Today @ 04:46 PM post located here
juliod:



West Virginia? That's a punishment, not a reward.

I was thinking the same thing as a VA native...

But what is wrong with that? I think it would be a good idea to give free education to the combat-wounded. Better than giving another 50 billion to Halliburton.

DanZ

I'd love to get a free education for just doing my job. It was a hazzard of the duty, and she knew it going in. I have been in for 16 years and if I were injured in battle, all I would deserve would be a purple heart (as that's what it's for) She is an American Soldier and part of that oath she took was to defend the US and her allies. For her to get rewarded in this manner is an insult to those who got injured, but not rewarded in any other fashion. And what of those killed? Do their children get free educations? Let's be fair in our rewards...

[Salus]

Today @ 04:55 PM post located here
Bill the Cat:

Let's be fair in our rewards...

Awesome, awesome point, Bill!