PFC. Jessica Lynch = hero?

[dividebyzero]

Subject header speaks for itself...

I've my own opinions, but I'm interested in those of other military folks and newshounds alike.

To clear up any potential confusion, do you consider Pfc. Jessica Lynch to have been a unique and unlikely hero of OIF? If so or not, why?

 

[Fredster809]

This can certainly be a touchy subject. Brave soldier, absolutely, without question. She's been through a whole hell of a lot more than I have been through. I think she is deserving of whatever good can come from serving her country. Here's how my dictionary defines hero: "A person distinuiished for valor, fortitude, or bold enterprise; anyone regarded as having displayed great courage or exceptionally noble qualities." According to that she probably is. As for my own definition of hero I am not so sure. I don't know what all went on in the desert though, none of us do. I am positive that there have been people in the military who deserve more recognition than her, who have done things obviously more heroic than her. We should probably not complain about her recognition though. Sometimes I might feel underappreciated as a member of the military, therefore it would be hypocritical for me to complain about public appreciation for one of our own. Any appreciation for the military and the sacrifices we make for our country are welcome.

 

[slasher]

I'm just curious why she got the Bronze Star for being TKO'd before the fight began, while members of the 507th who actually fought back got no recognition whatsoever. Not to mention the men that rescued her from the hospital...where's their book deals and tv movie of the week specials?

 

[Borncreole]

the military does not have enough metals for its heros...each and everone that has served its country...if only civilians could see that. If it is not hollywood drama then they dont realy care what we have done and what we are still doing now. I am in california and we had a huge disaster with the fires, long story short 1 fireman died and after a week they a 2 million doolar fund for his family, the same day he died a helicopter was shot down in Iraq with 16 soldiers in it, no fund for thier families was put up...will they get a bronze star I dont know but I dont think it matters to thier famiily as much as the fact that they will never see them again...not enough metals for whwt we do, but thats not why we do it, we do it for a reason that most civilians dont understand, because we love our country, what it stands for and we will bleed so they have the right to burn the flag a say waht they want, yea for thier freedom, thats why we do it, so like fred said I am glad someone in the military is getting a good deal, good for her

 

[04Hopeful]

I agree with all of you, the military is definitely underappreciated, in every sense of the word, but like Borncreole mentioned that isn't why the men and women do it. I just saw a special on the History Channel and although it was a rerun it proves the point, it took the military 50 years to officially recognize the Flying Tigers for what they did in WWII with medals. Personally I think as far as Pfc Jessica Lynch is concerned, I think she went through a heck of a lot, but nothing more then lots of other soldiers. The problem(reason) is the media picked up the story and well Washington(military brass) needed some really good PR to fight the critizism it has been facing, what better way then to pin a medal on someone who has gotten a lot of media attention. Everybody loves a hero. Of course this hasn't been the first time politics played into the war effort...

 

[phrogdriver]

We can always say, "everyone who served is a hero." The statement is so broad as to be meaningless. Obviously some are more heroic tahn others. The problem is that today we pick the wrong heroes, both in general, and in the military. Dale Earnheart is a heroed martyr to the population where I live for dying while competing for a multimillion payoff. Our military heroes are not the Marines at Nasiriyah or the SpecOps in Afghanistan who took the fight to the enemy. They're Shane Osborn and Jessica Lynch, who by a combination of their own and the enemy's action were captured. I don't know whether this is the military's fault, the public's, or the media. I just know that in WWII, everyone knew Audie Murphy, but not too many of those who surrendered.

To clarify, I am not a "John Wayne," believing that capture is always dishonorable. I just think that being captured is not by itself heroic. E.g. ADM Stockdale is a hero, Lynch and Osborn are not.

 

[Fatboy]

Anyone who goes through what she went through to serve her country is a hero. Now granted, she had no idea what was going to happen to her when she signed up. But I think with allot of "heros" they don't sign up for that moment that defines them as a hero (except guys like patton). There might not have been any "Chesty" moves in her actions but she will be haunted by that expierence for the rest of her life like all hero's are. There are a few guys on this board that have the right to judge her herosim ... but most of you can't.

One thing I do know for certain, we don't know the whole story. I'm sure there are things that she remembers that she prefers to keep to herself.

 

[vegita1220]

Perhaps we could simply say that there are various forms of heroism.

One is the typical soldier's hero: the Audie Murphy and Sgt Slaughter type.
Another is the quiet leader: the Eisenhower, the Bradley.
Yet another is the stoic: the pilots shot down over Hanoi who became POWs are an example of that.
Finally, there is the serving your country and not saying #### this and quitting when the going gets rough.

 

[Fly Navy]

Jessica Lynch herself doesn't think she's a hero. I'm not going to state my ideas on her status as a hero, since it's irrelevant. If you think she's not a hero, the media is to blame, largely.

 

[nittany03]

While I have the utmost respect for PFC Lynch after what she was put through, I can't help but be bothered by the way the media jumps on certain people not to tell their stories, but to use them as part of the overall 'spin' that they put on the events of the day.

Would Jessica still be as much of a "hero" to the media had she not been able to be cast as the all-american girl-next-door type? I think not. The situation she was put in was just so damned convenient that the media types and those who leverage them for the cause du jour just couldn't pass it up. The media has to sell advertising to pay for their shows, and to do so they need to get people to watch them. Boring news doesn't do that, BUT, if you can get a photogenic 20-year-old private to go through a "harrowing ordeal", hold the presses, everybody! Instant front page news! The really militant feminists can jump on it to push for full integration of women into ground combat units, and of course the others can just sit back and talk about how "empowering" a story it was, as if something that happened to someone else can actually give YOU more clout in the world. Meanwhile the average liberal soccer mom type (male or female for that matter) can sit back and talk about how awful it is to put a teenaged kid into that situation and we ought to bring the troops home immediately, never mind the fact that the mission isn't accomplished yet and war has been a horrible yet necessary enterprise since the first person hit another over the head with a rock.

*deep breath* Anyhow, I hope my sarcasm in the above paragraph isn't being construed as being misogynistic; that wasn't my intent. But the fact is the media is more concerned with ratings than with facts. PFC Lynch just happened to be a pawn in their quest for sensational headlines. I haven't earned a Combat Action Ribbon so I'm certainly not going to judge anyone who's been there and done that, and at any rate I personally respect PFC Lynch. That said, I'm sick to death of hearing how 0.2% casualties in an operation constitutes a Vietnam-style quagmire. If today's media had been in action during WWII, they'd have collectively tossed their cookies and wanted us to sue for peace after watching the Normandy invasion.

 

[gagirl]

Just my 2 cents, but those of the 507th and the ones that went in to get her not to mention the Iraqi that told us of her are the heroes! Patrick Miller took down 6 or 7 Iraqi's keeping that group of 5 from getting killed and he hasn't had any recognition. That to me is a hero. They have stated that JLynch was in an accident in her humvee and was unconscious. The report that she had fought until the end was a mistake. In the report it was translated as a "she" instead of "he". I can't remember his name, but the guy that did fight was killed and the medals were sent to his family. I'm upset we haven't heard more about them.

Not to take anything away from her. I feel she is very brave and honorable for serving her country. There are others that are the heroes.

My husband is serving for the second time and I want to say to all of you I appreciate what you are all doing and I will always support the military and those around it. You don't make the most money or get the recognition you should, but you make the most difference. There is nothing more honorable than serving your country be it in the military,police, or firemen. It takes a certain person to selflessly serve his/her country and I thank you for your service.

Anne

 

[slasher]

ya, There is a respect for her service, but as some mentioned above she is getting all the attention cause she's "photogenic." What about the Native American female, Piestewa (sp?) who was killed in the same ambush. Why is she getting no recognition? What about the black female soldier who also was there (sorry, Her name escapes me)? She gets no attention either. Aren't they brave enough to merit the same sort of attention? Oh, let me guess, they're not "cute," white, females--so they've been ignored.

As you see, I'm not mysogynistic--just pissed off at the politics and media bias. It's not necessarily Lynch herself--it's all the bull**** that comes along with her.

 

[TNWhiskey]

You mean you didn't believe all that..."fired her service rifle dry before be taken captive, killing a number of enemy combatants." I appreciate her service and what she's been through, but hero??? Not sure there...those who dive on hand grenades, drag wounded buddies off the battlefield under fire, or get tortured for years in a POW camp and don't give in are heroe

What's the Marine montra...don't surrender you or your men while still capable of resisting...

Also, did anyone pick up on the story that Lynch is getting 80% disability compensation while Shoshona Johnson/Jackson (not sure) was only getting 30%. I'm not up on all the military benefits and what not, but I thought that was interesting...perhaps there is an explanation someone may know of.

 

[rare21]

Since this has come up, I cut and paste this from my journal that i wrote a while back:

I'm cut between this. I dont think she did anything deserving of the name hero. A hero to me is someone who risks his or her life for either someone else or something that they believe in strongly. i believe she went through hell (although not as much as the POWs in Vietnam which were there up to 8 YEARS) so i know she deserves something for that. Praise, admiration are all good. now none of this is her fault. everybody else is calling her a hero not herself which i respect very much. i myself would never even want to be called that no matter what i've done. Still the facts are that she got her injuries from the vehicle crash not from combat or bullets. Other POWs were shot during combat situations. i know lynch was allegedly raped and sodomized which she does not remember (i would never let anyone come out with that if it happened to me) and the reason that this is bad is because she is a girl. It was a girl that was hurt and rescued and it made national attention. Still there was another girl (Shoshanna Johnson) that was shot and captured. No one really talks about her. I know Jesse Jackson is either suing someone or trying to get recognition for her in the same effect of Lynch. Seriously i dont think there should be a movie about her rescue. If anything it should show the rescue itself and call the army and navy seals that did the rescue heroes. Who knows its my opinion. Some others have said in this same effect that Shane Osbourn the Navy pilot that brought the P-3 into China should not be called a hero. I dont consider him a hero for landing in China I consider him a hero for saving the lives of his crew. He knew his training and brought that plane which was damaged beyond anything they knew down safely SAVING lives. That right there is enough. In the same breath we can talk about Captain Scott O'Grady who was shot down in Bosnia and survived for a few days from being captured then being saved my the US Marines. I dont consider him a hero. I consider him a brave and resilient American but not a hero as to the meaning that i give it. He saved no lives but his own and was just doing something that was in his job description if the unfortunate time that it happened (as were everyone else). I've read his book and feel his plight and respect him for that as much as I would a hero. I just dont think that hero is the right word for it. In all i dont think being captured and rescued is enough to be called a hero. Here is an example of what a hero is not. There is a story from Mexico called the "Ninos Heroes" its from the Mexican American War. When the US military was capturing Mexico city they were advancing on this military school. While they were advancing some children that were no older than teenagers saw the military coming and decided that they would not be taken alive. They went to the top story of their building wrapped themselves in a Mexican flag and jumped to their death. Now its a famous story of how these kids were heroes. Well not in my eyes sorry.

If you were captured, brought up the morale of your men, led an escape saved lives on the way and made it out then you're a hero. When it comes down to it you're doing your job straight and simple. Now i've heard other talk as to if police and firefighters are heroes and thats a whole different topic that has different opinions.

Just my 2 cents. Real Hero: Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez, USA (retired) He is also deceased.

 

[gagirl]

TNWhiskey,

I saw that too about Shoshana and Lynch's disability. I can't figure out the difference. Both were captured both had injuries fighting the same war. Shoshana was a POW longer too. Maybe Lynch's injuries are more severe is the reason. Doesn't make sense to me, but who am I?
Anne