Jessica Lynch - Hype or Hero?
Sunday November 9, 2003
As Jessica Lynch accuses the U.S. Military of using her capture and rescue to sway public support for the war in Iraq, others are asking why she, of all people, has been singled out for so much media attention.
According to Time Magazine, Jessica does not call herself a hero, because "the word hurts too much when so many died," but she is definitely a media darling. Tonight NBC broadcasts its unofficial dramatization of her rescue, the movie "Saving Jessica Lynch," just two days before the publication of Private Lynch's own book, "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story." Interviews with ABC's Diane Sawyer on Primetime (November 11) and NBC's Katie Couric on the Today Show (November 12), and visits to the Letterman couch (November 14) and Larry King Live, round out her week. She's also the cover story on this week's issues of Parade and Time Magazine. But are these interviews real "news" stories or just free publicity for her book?
All this star treatment is bound to make some people a bit unhappy. Retired U.S. Army Col. David Hackworth, one of America's most decorated soldiers, has already questioned how Lynch won a Bronze Star without lifting a finger in battle. Shoshana Johnson, who was actually shot during the firefight at Nasiriya, receives one-third the disability benefit of her millionaire comrade. And there is no discounting the heroism of the 394 other American soldiers who gave their life in the war for Iraqi freedom.
Even in her hometown of Palestine, WV, there are those who question the Jessica craze. Just over a week ago, Mohammed al-Rehaief, the doctor who risked his life to tell US soldiers where they could find Miss Lynch, visited Palestine to meet Jessica Lynch, but she claimed she was too busy to see him. "A lot of people thought that was disrespectful," said one Palestine local to reporter Julian Coman. "She should have found the time. Some people think this whole experience might have changed her."
While she is definitely not the only hero from the war in Iraq, there is no getting around the fact that Jessica Lynch survived a harrowing ordeal - the traumatic crash of her Humvee, the deaths of friends and fellow soldiers, capture by the Iraquis, and a possible rape. With pins in both legs and facing months to years of rehabilitation, Jessica still has not regained feeling in her left foot and uses crutches and a wheelchair to get around.
No matter how she is portrayed in the media, the unwitting Army poster girl told ABC that her heroes are the soldiers who rescued her and those who died in the ambush on her unit. "I'm just a survivor," she said.
Related Articles:
Jessica Lynch Goes Home with Bronze Star
Repatriating POWs
Pfc. Lori Piestewa Killed
According to Time Magazine, Jessica does not call herself a hero, because "the word hurts too much when so many died," but she is definitely a media darling. Tonight NBC broadcasts its unofficial dramatization of her rescue, the movie "Saving Jessica Lynch," just two days before the publication of Private Lynch's own book, "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story." Interviews with ABC's Diane Sawyer on Primetime (November 11) and NBC's Katie Couric on the Today Show (November 12), and visits to the Letterman couch (November 14) and Larry King Live, round out her week. She's also the cover story on this week's issues of Parade and Time Magazine. But are these interviews real "news" stories or just free publicity for her book?
All this star treatment is bound to make some people a bit unhappy. Retired U.S. Army Col. David Hackworth, one of America's most decorated soldiers, has already questioned how Lynch won a Bronze Star without lifting a finger in battle. Shoshana Johnson, who was actually shot during the firefight at Nasiriya, receives one-third the disability benefit of her millionaire comrade. And there is no discounting the heroism of the 394 other American soldiers who gave their life in the war for Iraqi freedom.
Even in her hometown of Palestine, WV, there are those who question the Jessica craze. Just over a week ago, Mohammed al-Rehaief, the doctor who risked his life to tell US soldiers where they could find Miss Lynch, visited Palestine to meet Jessica Lynch, but she claimed she was too busy to see him. "A lot of people thought that was disrespectful," said one Palestine local to reporter Julian Coman. "She should have found the time. Some people think this whole experience might have changed her."
While she is definitely not the only hero from the war in Iraq, there is no getting around the fact that Jessica Lynch survived a harrowing ordeal - the traumatic crash of her Humvee, the deaths of friends and fellow soldiers, capture by the Iraquis, and a possible rape. With pins in both legs and facing months to years of rehabilitation, Jessica still has not regained feeling in her left foot and uses crutches and a wheelchair to get around.
No matter how she is portrayed in the media, the unwitting Army poster girl told ABC that her heroes are the soldiers who rescued her and those who died in the ambush on her unit. "I'm just a survivor," she said.
Related Articles:
Jessica Lynch Goes Home with Bronze Star
Repatriating POWs
Pfc. Lori Piestewa Killed
Comments
No comments yet. Leave a Comment