Private Lynch has been recovering in seclusion at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington from broken limbs and a spinal injury. On Monday, she was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Prisoner of War medals before her release from the hospital.
Now contrast that with this story which says:
Last week, with no fanfare, the US Army released a detailed report into the incident that makes it clear that a lone American fighter did, indeed, hold out against the Iraqis - but that the soldier was not Private Lynch. It says that, following the ambush, Sergeant Walters may have been left behind, hiding beside a disabled tractor-trailer, as Iraqi troops closed in. The report confirms that he died of wounds identical to those first attributed to Private Lynch.
So which story got the most coverage? The one they ran during the war when it said she had fought bravely? Or the one which now corrects that story and attributes those actions to another soldier?
It's a sorry situation when the media run with the sensational, unconfirmed story on the front page but later when the truth is revealed, it winds up buried amongst the other stories of the day. I've noticed it happening more and more recently and it really bugs me. The more "reputable" papers are doing it just as much as the tabloids.
You can read the full story of Jessica Lynch and her 'rescue' at the Washington Post.
Posted by david at July 28, 2003 10:07 PM
I don't think it is fair, to the other POW'S who served with Jessica Lynch, to me she is no different from any other servicemember, so i don't know why she should get treated any different, and have all this media in her life. It seems as if the just brush the other POW's to the side like as if they're nothing, all servicemember signed the dotted line, meaning, that they're expandleable, they're there to protect the lives of there country and other, show is Jessica Lynch any different, the other Pow didn't get books written about them or millons of money, they recieved medals and that was it, What about the other female POW, she had a child a at home, she and the other POW's were still suffering a couple days after Jessica's rescue, was the other female Pow treated different because of her skin color. What about those out there that died, they're families get about $200,000 and that's hit, and they're left there to bury there children, spouses, aunts, unclue's, love ones, why Jessica gets millons of dollars cause she was shot in the legs. There are so many servicemembers who put there lives on the lines everyday overseas, where all the controversey is happening, and all they get is a medal of recogniton. Jessica Lynch was doing the Job that the military taught her to do "Protect and Serve"
Posted by: Shella at November 7, 2003 6:09 AM