US Soldier hailed for bravery in Iraq says Pentagon spin doctors made it all up

The American military has been accused of telling lies about two of its most famous soldiers.

Official versions of the rescue of prisoner of war Jessica Lynch and the death of former US football star Pat Tillman turned both into national heroes.

But the propaganda was dismissed as "utter fiction" at a Capitol Hill hearing to expose the false battlefield stories peddled by the Pentagon.

Jessica Lynch, now 23, said she was giving testimony "to set the record straight".

"I'm no hero, the people who served with me who died are the real heroes," she said. "The truth of war is not always easy. The truth is always more heroic than the hype."

The former army private became a celebrity after being taken prisoner as the first wave of U.S. troops invaded Iraq in March 2003.

Military chiefs hailed her a gritty heroine who was only captured after putting up fierce resistance during a gunfight during which she was shot and stabbed.

She was eventually freed in a US raid on a hospital where she was being held captive, the Pentagon said.

But it later emerged that her gun was jammed with sand so she couldn't use it and she was only injured when her vehicle crashed.

There were no Iraqi troops at the Saddam Hussein General Hospital when the Americans carried out their "rescue" and medical staff had unsuccessfully tried to hand over the wounded private to US forces prior to the raid.

Although an authorised book about her ordeal claimed she was raped by enemy soldiers, Iraqi doctors have disputed the allegations and Miss Lynch says she was too traumatised to remember it.

"My parents were hearing the story that I was this little girl Rambo from the hills of West Virginia who went down fighting. But it wasn't true.

"The bottom line is the American people are capable of determining their own ideals of heroes and they don't need to be told elaborate tales.

"Why did they lie when the real heroes were my fellow soldiers who rescued others or fought to the death?"

She told Congress she had a sixinch gash in her head and severe back and leg problems from injuries suffered during the battle that killed 11 US troops.

Her testimony began with a recollection of the March 2003 attack. As she and her fellow soldiers drove through Nassiriya, Iraq, they noticed armed men standing on rooftops. Three soldiers were quickly killed when a rocket-propelled-grenade hit their vehicle.

Another eight died in the ensuing fighting. Miss Lynch said she later woke up in hospital. "When I awoke, I did not know where I was. I could not move. I could not call for help. I could not fight," she said.

"The nurses at the hospital tried to soothe me, and they even tried unsuccessfully at one point to return me to Americans."

On April 1, US troops came for her. "A soldier came into the room. He tore the American flag from his uniform, and he handed it to me in my hand and he told me, 'We're American soldiers, and we're here to take you home'. And I looked at him and I said, 'Yes, I'm an American soldier, too'."

"I had the good fortune to come home and to tell the truth. Many soldiers, like Pat Tillman, did not have that opportunity," she added.

"I'm still confused as to why they chose to lie and try to make me a legend when the real heroes were my fellow soldiers that day."

Pat Tillman, 27, became a national hero after he gave up a lucrative contract with the National Football League's Arizona Cardinals to join the US Army and was killed during an ambush in an Afghan mountain pass three years ago.

Tillman, a member of the army's elite Rangers force, was awarded the Silver Star, the military's thirdhighest combat decoration, after the Pentagon said he was killed leading a counter-attack.

The story was revealed as bogus after pressure from Tillman's family. In reality he died as a result of friendly fire.

His brother Kevin - who also joined up in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and was in a convoy behind his brother - rejected army claims that the confusion arose because of the fog of war.

He said the Pentagon version was "utter fiction" and charged the military with "intentional falsehoods that meet the legal definition for fraud".

"We believe this narrative was intended to deceive the family but more importantly the American public," he added.

The committee's Democrat chairman Henry Waxman said: "The bare minimum we owe our soldiers and their families is the truth. That didn't happen for two of the most famous soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars."

Well, I suppose it’s a slight bit better to know that they may not be crooks, but simply inept and incompetent at knowing, understanding or gathering the facts in the intervening years — which would then cause me to worry about the “war” and their “fact-gathering” capabilities there... It’s not too comforting either way... but thank goodness for Jessica Lynch deciding to set the story straight. I guess it takes an individual citizen to do that.

No offense, but the Pentagon's mission does not revolve around setting the Jessica Lynch story straight. If they spent *any* time at all worrying about this stupid self-absorbed moron, I'd be worried about their priorities. We have North Korea, Iran, al Qaeda, the Taliban, Iraq and Afghanistan to worry about, and China and Russia lurking in the background, and the really important thing for the big shots at the Pentagon to focus on is to make sure every knows Jessica Lynch was a lousy soldier, and somebody else was the real hero? I don't think think so.

Well, that simply doesn’t ring true, because they have press conferences and reporters ask questions. They’re *already* spending the time answering these kinds of questions. And they sure did spend a *lot of time* doing that, during the time that it was *news* — and it continued to be news for a significant amount of time. So, the statement that they’re “too busy” with other things belies what actually happened in all these press conferences and questions by reporters. They *were spending time* doing these things...

OK. Show me one Q&A session in which the Pentagon said that she was indeed a hero after they debriefed her, in response to a reporter's question.

I think I understand what Lynch is doing - she's admitting that she's a lousy soldier, but deflecting attention away from her incompetence by pointing the finger at the Pentagon. That way, she gets to be a heroic whistle-blower instead of a heroic soldier. I see they still make 'em like Gomer Pyle.

You said — “OK. Show me one Q&A session in which the Pentagon said that she was indeed a hero after they debriefed her, in response to a reporter’s question.”

I’m certainly not going to spend my money doing that... You can spend yours, that’s fine...

And then — “I think I understand what Lynch is doing - she’s admitting that she’s a lousy soldier, but deflecting attention away from her incompetence by pointing the finger at the Pentagon. That way, she gets to be a heroic whistle-blower instead of a heroic soldier. I see they still make ‘em like Gomer Pyle.”

If she wanted to be “heroic” — she was already there. She had to do nothing and she would be reaping benefits. The the only “upside” to telling the truth — is simply — telling the truth, and that’s the thing that matters. And I have to commend her for doing so.

Likewise, we should have all the other soldiers doing the same, whenever situations come up. That would keep everyone on the straight and narrow. It would avoid lies from being built up into big stories, misleading the public...

Next time we hear about a so-called hero, then we’ll be waiting for the other shoe to drop...

People at press conferences simply repeat what they've been told by the units they represent. Do commanding generals ask their troops to carry out CSI missions in the mid-battle - something for which most troops aren't even trained? If they did, I'd be worried about their competence.

You said — “People at press conferences simply repeat what they’ve been told by the units they represent. Do commanding generals ask their troops to carry out CSI missions in the mid-battle - something for which most troops aren’t even trained? If they did, I’d be worried about their competence.”

They have plenty of time afterwards to do all that they need to do. As it stands now, they’re simply shown to be fools in the press because they didn’t get it straight, and then continued it until *someone else* has to call them to account. If you’re going to come out with a *false story* in the beginning — then it pays for *that person* to be the one to correct it. If someone else has to correct it, then it makes the original source of the story look like a liar...

You said — “OK. Show me one Q&A session in which the Pentagon said that she was indeed a hero after they debriefed her, in response to a reporter’s question.” I’m certainly not going to spend my money doing that... You can spend yours, that’s fine...

Sounds like you're taking Lynch's word that the Pentagon was lying without any evidence. You're certainly entitled to do so. I'm not convinced.

There's no way she could have portrayed herself as a hero. The heat of battle was over. Iraqi POW's were being debriefed about the opposition they encountered. The only way she could come out a hero was by deflecting attention from her fecklessness and pointing the finger at the Pentagon.

Good points all. Congress wastes taxpayer money investigating something that already has an obvious answer—hyperbole is an embarrassing part of war. Hearings aren’t necessary other than to cast the military in a bad light. Unless there was a sinister motive in Tillman’s friendly fire case, there’s no need to keep harping on it. His family pays no compliment to his sacrifice and theirs by accentuating the errors made instead of his voluntary sacrifice to be there. The Lynch situation was already clarified and doesn’t need reiteration.

Needless to say, we won’t have any hearings on the military’s accomplishments under extraordinary circumstances. Of course, even if Congress did that, the MSM wouldn’t bother to report it.

I guess most of you have bad memories. The story of her heroism was debunked almost as soon as she was rescued. This is not the first time she told what happened, as for me I read the real story a few days after she was recused. As for the people who rescued her, they had no idea what awaited them when they went in, they did a dirty job that had to be done. I bet she is glad she got out when she did. I don't think the penagon lied about her being a hero, they are not the ones who told the story of her fighting to the end, the DBM did, now they are using their mis-reporting to smear the military, one of their primary goals in life. Pat was an accident and they should have told it like it was when it happened but they didn't. I don't think he was murdered, I think he was a victim of friendly fire it happens in combat and in training.

In 1961, in a place called Grafenwoehr in Germany, I watched as an eight inch round, fired by an artilary group that were training, landed on a mess tent with about 100 men lined up for chow. I was 300 yards away and saw it all. This was friendly fire, during training, it happens in peacetime and in war. Too bad his parents can't simply deal with it and too bad the pentagon lied about it.

They're not minders of trivia involving individual soldiers - they're commanders of war efforts. The press can want what they want. But the military's job is not to hunt up information for the media. It is to defeat the enemy.

i think you are exactly right...friendly fire under extreme stress. hindsight is a wonderful thing made when the bullets are not flying...

its so easy to happen in a shooting war. someone gets out of position or gets disorientated, is snatching views of where the attack is coming from, sees movement in that direction. all this in under a second...do u assume its someone out of position or is your foxhole about to be overrun..u assume the latter and unload on the threat...i know i would...mistakes happen in every war in every army. i wish it were not so...but it is...

Though this may not seem on topic, now would be a good time to thank all the true and principled who sat home, voted third party, or worse , directly for the Democrats for teaching all of us a lesson.

Yes sir, by Gawd , you all really showed all of us less than perfect types.

As far as Miss Lynch, anyone here not believe she is up there chattering with Sheets Byrd’s sponsership?

Too bad his parents can't simply deal with it and too bad the pentagon lied about it.

Actually, it's too bad the parents can't accept a simple white lie. Sometimes, the truth will set you free. In white lie situations, the aggravation of finding out the truth will drive you to an early grave.

Why don’t we all take a different view of this story? The question that should be asked of the Democrats is when will they be delivering resolutions asking the Pentagon strip Tillman of his Silver Star, and perhaps demanding Court Martial Lynch for cowardice in the face of battle?

You said — “They’re not minders of trivia involving individual soldiers - they’re commanders of war efforts. The press can want what they want. But the military’s job is not to hunt up information for the media. It is to defeat the enemy.”

They’re very well aware of public perception and news and reporters being there in Iraq. This is *part of* the war effort. You can’t tell me that the “press” is not a *big part* of the war. It’s an essential part, because (and they are *very* aware of this) — it also sets public opinion. And since we have a civilian government running the military institution, they’re aware that they can be *shut down* by civilians...

Thus, that’s why they put so much effort into the press and what is said to the public. So, this is *very much* a part of the war...

You said — “Why don’t we all take a different view of this story? The question that should be asked of the Democrats is when will they be delivering resolutions asking the Pentagon strip Tillman of his Silver Star, and perhaps demanding Court Martial Lynch for cowardice in the face of battle?”

And just think... none of it would even be discussed or even a solution as you’re projecting be even necessary — if only — the truth had been spoken in the first place.

Nothing beats getting the truth out in the beginning...

We wouldn’t even be talking here if it had.

Lynch wrote a book about this. This is just Democrats recycling everything they can to humiliate and demoralize our own troops and population.

Jessica Lynch has maintained all along she wasn't heroic and frankly, I don't remember anything the military said to say that she had been. That doesn't mean that they didn't suggest it, it just means it wasn't memorable. However, Jessica participating in this effort to demoralize the troops is lamentable. These people are being used by people who aren't even interested in attending briefings on our military situation.

There should be complete outrage that these veterans and their families are being manipulated into this situation to harm the country.

You said — “Though this may not seem on topic, now would be a good time to thank all the true and principled who sat home, voted third party, or worse , directly for the Democrats for teaching all of us a lesson.”

I saw a thread where Jim Robinson was saying that no way on earth was he ever going to vote for that scumbag Rudy Giuliani. And the very next comment to Jim Robinson is that his wanted the perfect candidate (and not Giuliani) was going to result in Hillary getting into office. This would guarantee it. Well, Robinson just called him, appropriately, asswipe...

Nothing beats getting the truth out in the beginning...

We wouldn’t even be talking here if it had.

How naive. The people holding this hearing are not interested in the truth. They are only interested in demoralizing the American people and the Military. So, if not this story, then another story. We would still be hearing this crap, just different distortions delivered to demoralize.

This is because the Democrats must defeat the United States at this point and they must do this by destroying the credibility of the Military when they are saying things are going better. That is the story line of this hearing. "You can't trust the Military when its saying things are going better so just declare defeat like we want."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.