Jessica was one of the 11 members of the 507th Maintenance Company that was ambushed when they made a wrong turn in Iraq near the city of Nasiriyah.
Five members of the crew were shown on Iraqi TV answering questions from their Iraqi captors.
Jessica who was rescued was found with several gunshot wounds and broken legs and an arm in a hospital, location not disclosed -only details are that it was near where they were ambushed, that had been 'transformed' into a prison. No other POWs were found.
The rescue mission as recovered 11 other bodies, it has not yet been released if there was any Americans among them.
Jessica is from a farming community in Palestine, W.Va and she had joined the army to raise enough money to go off to school, she is planning on being a teacher after her years in the service.
Jessica's brother Gregory is in the National Guards in Fort Bragg, NC. Jessica joined the army as a delayed entrant, meaning she joined before her high school graduation from Wirt County High School in Elizabeth.
resource: ap newswire
update
Jessica has been taken to a German hospital for treatment and has been 'in good spirits'. There had been several reports on her condition ranging from no gunshots or stab wounds - to the latest report was that she does have a gunshot wound. She does have two broken legs, a broken arm which she has had surgery for those fractures and the placed pins in. Jessica also had a spinal injury which she's under went surgery for repair to a fractured disk. Her wounds show that she was shot by a small-caliber gun
Jessica's parents are currently in route to Germany to be by their daughters side.
As updates come available the node will be updated
Update!! July 22, 2003
Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch is "glad to be home" after her long ordeal of being a
POW and then her long road of recovery not only in a Iraqi hospital, German hospital and then finally a US hospital. Jessica is still recovering and needs assistance with a walker for injuries she sustained to her
spine and legs. She is expected to have a full recovery, and then continue her dream to study on to be a school
teacher.
Elizabeth,
WV welcomed the ex-pow home with a parade, and large crowd - Jessica rode thru the parade in a
Ford Mustang with her brother, Army Pfc. Greg Lynch Jr. Townspeople
volunteers renovated the Lynch family home to be wheelchair accessible for when Jessica arrived home, it was successful and she commented on how thankful she was for the volunteers.
Jessica did
speak to the press briefly stating that she is happy to be home, but it was pre-announced that she would not be answering any question from the press.
Welcome home Jessica.