Posted on 04/02/2003 4:18:04 AM PST by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
RETRANSMITTED TO CORRECT DATE OF AMBUSH TO MARCH 23, NOT MARCH 24 ** Jessica Lynch, 19, seen in this undated photo, one of several soldiers who went missing after their supply convoy was ambushed in southern Iraq , March 24, 2003 was rescued, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday, April 1, 2003. Lynch, 19, of Palestine, W.Va., worked as a supply clerk with the Army's 507th Maintenance Co. (AP Photo/Family Handout)
CAMP AS SALIYAH, Qatar - Eleven bodies — at least some of them believed to be Americans — were found with prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch when she was rescued in a U.S. commando raid on an Iraqi hospital, a military spokesman said Wednesday.
Lynch, a 19-year-old Army supply clerk, was captured by the Iraqis on March 23 after her maintenance unit made a wrong turn and was ambushed in the Euphrates River city of Nasiriyah. As many as 12 other members of her unit were feared captured; five of them are officially listed as POWs.
Acting on an intelligence tip about Lynch's whereabouts, U.S. special operations forces slipped behind enemy lines and seized Lynch from the hospital under cover of darkness Tuesday.
Navy Capt. Frank Thorp, a U.S. Central Command spokesman, said that during the rescue operation, 11 bodies were recovered in and around the hospital.
"We have reason to believe some of them were Americans," Thorp said.
He said the military has not confirmed whether they were members of Lynch's unit, the 507th Maintenance Company.
"We don't yet know the identity of those people," Thorp said. "And forensics will determine that."
Until Tuesday, Lynch had been listed as missing in action, and her family did not know whether she was dead or alive.
Thorp said Lynch was being treated for her injuries at an American military facility Wednesday. He said he had no details on her condition or the nature of her injuries.
Thorp would not confirm reports that troops used a battlefield diversion to slip into the hospital.
The 507th was attacked during some of the earliest fighting in Nasiriyah, where Fedayeen loyalists and other hardcore Iraqi fighters are said to have dressed as civilians and ambushed Americans.
Not long after the ambush, five of Lynch's comrades showed up in a video shown on Iraqi television being asked questions by their captors.
The video also showed bodies, apparently of U.S. soldiers, which led Pentagon officials to accuse Iraq of executing some of its POWs. Officials believe the video was made in the Nasiriyah area.
Lynch, an aspiring teacher from Palestine, W.Va., joined the Army to get an education, her family said. She left a farming community with an unemployment rate of 15 percent, one of the highest levels in West Virginia.
She was following in the footsteps of her older brother Gregory, a National Guardsman based at Fort Bragg, N.C. Jessica Lynch enlisted through the Army's delayed-entry program before graduating from high school.
"You would not believe the joys, cries, bawling, hugging, screaming, carrying on," Lynch's cousin Pam Nicolais said after the rescue. "You just have to be here."
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., called the rescue a miracle.
"God watched over Jessica and her family," Rockefeller said through a spokesman in Washington. "All of West Virginia is rejoicing. This is an amazing tribute to the skill and courage of our military."
Yes He did; no thanks to you and many thanks to the special forces that accomplished a very risky operation.
One tough trooper!
Almost immediately before the initiation of action in Iraq, a young woman who had been abducted in Utah appeared - again, almost miraculously.
Yesterday, Jessica Lynch was saved after several days captivity by the enemy.
Hallelujah!!!!
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
The following American servicemen and women have either been captured or are missing during Operation Iraqi Freedom as of 7:40 p.m. EST Tuesday:
DUTY STATUS WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN
March 23:
Army Sgt. Edward J. Anguiano, 24, of Brownsville, Texas. Missing after his convoy was ambushed in Iraq. Assigned to the 3rd Combat Support Battalion out of Fort Stewart, Ga.
Army Sgt. George Edward Buggs, 31, of Barnwell, S.C. Missing after his convoy was ambushed in Iraq. Assigned to the 3rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Marine Sgt. Fernando Padilla-Ramirez, 26, of Yuma, Ariz. Last seen while conducting convoy operations in the vicinity of Nasiriyah. Assigned to the Marine Wing Support Squadron-371, Marine Wing Support Group-37, Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz.
Marine Sgt. Brendon Reiss, 23, of Casper, Wyo. Missing; circumstances and details unknown
Marines missing after being engaged in operations in the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq:
Marine Pfc. Tamario D. Burkett, 21, of Buffalo, N.Y. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine Cpl. Kemaphoom A. Chanawongse, 22, of Waterford, Conn. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Cline, Jr., 21, of Washoe, Nev. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine Pvt. Jonathan L. Gifford, 30, of Decatur, Ill. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine Pvt. Nolen R. Hutchings, 19, of Boiling Springs, S.C. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Members of the 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah:
Army Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of Cleveland, 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Spc. James M. Kiehl, 22, of Comfort, Texas, 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, 35, of El Paso, Texas, 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa, 22, of Tuba City, Ariz., 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Pvt. Brandon Ulysses Sloan, 19, of Bedford, Ohio, 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, of El Paso, Texas, 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Sgt. Donald Ralph Walters, 33, of Salem, Ore., 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
PRISONERS OF WAR
March 24:
Apache pilots,captured after helicopter downed during a mission:
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, of Lithia Springs, Ga.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 David S. Williams, 30, of Orlando, Fla.
March 23:
Members of the 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, captured after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy around Nasiriyah:
Army Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21, of Mission, Texas, 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, of Alamogordo, N.M., 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, of Fort Bliss, Texas, 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, of Park City, Kan., 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Army Sgt. James Riley, 31, of Pennsauken, N.J., 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.
There should be a special memorial for those in our miliary killed in Iraq.
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
Fox News/ Associated Press
PALESTINE, W.Va.-Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch's family rejoiced at word of her rescue Tuesday, as well-wishers packed their house in this small farming community and cars and fire trucks paraded past blaring horns in celebration.
"I thought at first it was an April Fools joke," said her father, Greg Lynch Sr. "I thought this was a cruel joke. I can put up with most things, but not that. They assured me, no, it's not a joke.
More than 70 people gathered at Lynch's parents' two-story, wood-frame home in a wooded area of Palestine after the Pentagon announced Tuesday night that the 19-year-old supply clerk had been rescued, more than a week after she and other members of her maintenance unit were captured in Iraq.
"I'm glad it's over," he said, "but I wish the other ones were with her. We need to hear some word about them."
Central Command officials in Qatar, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lynch was rescued from an Iraqi hospital.
"We haven't got any official word since," her father said. "That's what I was hoping for.
"We don't know if she was hurt or not. They said they would call back as soon as they checked her out. And they haven't done that yet. It's another waiting game."
The family is scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday, said Randy Coleman, a spokesman for the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
As news of Lynch's rescue spread through Wirt County, population 5,893, well-wishers in the county seat of Elizabeth put on an impromptu parade.
A friend of Lynch's, Jessica Lowe, said that when she heard the news, "I was shaking I was so happy. I started to cry. They were tears of joy."
"They said it was going to be the biggest party this road had ever seen," another cousin of Lynch, Sherri McFee, said.
Lynch was among the soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company who were ambushed March 23 near Nasiriyah, a major crossing point over the Euphrates northwest of Basra. Five members of the 507th were shown on Iraqi television as prisoners being questioned, but Lynch was not one of those pictured.
"Everybody was really worried, normal concerns and everything like that. But we all remained hopeful and knew she would be home," McFee said.
"It just shows that miracles can happen," said Gov. Bob Wise, who promised "one of the greatest homecomings this state has ever seen."
U.S. troops rescued Lynch near where her unit was ambushed, said Jean Offutt, a spokeswoman for Fort Bliss, Texas, where the 507th is based. Offutt said she did not know whether Lynch had been wounded or when she might return to the United States.
Lynch had been listed as missing in action but was identified by the Pentagon on Tuesday as a prisoner of war. She was not among the seven U.S. soldiers -- including the five from the 507th shown on television -- formally listed as prisoners of war.
Relatives of several other missing and captured members of the 507th said Tuesday night they had received no news, but some said Lynch's rescue renewed their optimism.
"It gives me hope," said Jack Dowdy, father of missing Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of Cleveland. "I'm just sitting here hoping if they find one maybe they will find some more."
"I'm hoping they found some other news too, and that maybe she knows something," said Janie Kiehl, mother of missing Spc. James Kiehl, 22.
Lynch's rescue relieved Palestine, about 70 miles north of Charleston, and the entire state.
"God watched over Jessica and her family. All West Virginians are rejoicing," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. "This is a testament to the amazing skill and courage of our military."
Lynch is known for her smile and her laugh. Friends and family call her Jesse. She's "every mother's dream of a teenager daughter," said Lorene Cumbridge, a cousin of Lynch's.
"She's just a West Virginia country girl. Warm-hearted. Outgoing," said Cumbridge, 62.
Lynch's goal is to be a teacher. But she joined the Army to get an education and because it was one of the few opportunities available in a farming community with an unemployment rate of 15 percent -- one of the highest in West Virginia.
Her older brother, Gregory, is a member of the National Guard based in Fort Bragg, N.C. Jessica enlisted through the Army's delayed-entry program before graduating from Wirt County High School in Elizabeth.
Before she left for the military, family friends Glenda and Don Nelson talked with her about the danger she would face.
"She said 'I've been trained and I'm ready to go,"' Don Nelson said.
"She's everyone's baby," he said. "She loved her country too and was ready to serve it. That is what my country wants, kids like her. She is a true hero in my eyes."
I know this phrase is used at a time like this, but I really don't like it. It is as tho God wasn't watching over others in the same circumstances.
I'm absolutely delighted that this brave girl is alive and coming home, and I have tears of delight for her family, but I wish there was another choice of words to thank God.
God is watching over all. This statement I think is to mean that it was not Jessica's time to die, with God's and mighty Seals and Rangers help, she was rescued.
Some may view this as miraculous. This rescue and who is praised God,Rangers,Seals, destiny- has no bearing on the fate of other POW's.
When it is your time to die, it is your time to die.
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