Jessica Lynch

[ice4277]

Maybe I am way off base with this but I am getting very pissed off at the amount of coverage Jessica Lynch is getting in the media. Yes, she was captured by the enemy during the war, and yes, she was rescued in a daring rescue, but, I mean, come on, what did she actually do ? Last I checked, not much. Her experiences during captivity, while no doubt tremendously difficult to go through, were nowhere near as bad as first reported. I just think it is tremendously unfair that one person get the lion's share of the news while there are still Americans fighting and dying in Iraq, not to mention the dozens of other POWs who basically became forgotten people once they were found.

[Anrhydeddu]

A symptom of a celebrity-crazed culture and the machine that feeds it?

[clintl]

Originally posted by ice4277
I just think it is tremendously unfair that one person get the lion's share of the news while there are still Americans fighting and dying in Iraq, not to mention the dozens of other POWs who basically became forgotten people once they were found.

First of all, there were not dozens of other POWs. There were closer to a half dozen. And second, don't you remember the big ceremony televised on all the news channels when they returned? They may have passed from attention by now, but they were not ignored at the time.

[Killebrew]

It's irksome that the real hero of the group of rescued POW's is not being given anywhere near this kind of attention, but I imagine that is because he is less sellable to the product buying voting public. That kind of war ratings mentality is sickening but you see it every day on American and non-American media coverage of the war, and you certainly can't say it is happening a lot more now than it did in WW2, I think the transparency is more obvious now because our demand for news sometimes allows some truth to seep in between the lines of propaganda.

[sabotai]

I still find it amazing that they give you a medal for being caught.

[CAsterling]

Originally posted by sabotai
I still find it amazing that they give you a medal for being caught.

That I agree with - it seems to be a sign of the times.

You get your spy (electronic listening) plane captured by another country, here have a medal.
You were captured because you went the wrong way into a combat zone, here have a medal.

I'm sorry, but the only reason I can see for her to be so widely embraced by the media, is she is quite photogenic, so the concentrate on her, and the army/govt push it further to get some positive coverage.

She is not a hero, just a POW who got rescued, and people from Delta, or Navy Seals who are doing the really dangerous work will be lucky to get any kind of commendation.

[Fritz]

I think Killebrew was talking about the Iraqi man. (if this is so then we agree, which is uncommon)

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A number of people are not fond of the Purple Heart at all. All an injury takes is bad luck, or bad soldiering.

I don't agree with this point of view. If you go do you job as a soldier and you get wounded or captured, the least we can do is pin a scrap of cloth and a chunk of medal on you.

[CAsterling]

I have no problem with the purple heart, in act I like the principle of it, but correct me if I'm wrong, isn't Lynch getting/already received the Bronze star - for what exactly, to me that devalues the people who won the bronze star for bravery.

[Draft Dodger]

I welcome any of you to walk in her shoes before you pass judgement. (you do know you wouldn't actually be able to walk on your own, right?).

[ice4277]

Originally posted by Draft Dodger
I welcome any of you to walk in her shoes before you pass judgement. (you do know you wouldn't actually be able to walk on your own, right?).

I don't think anybody is saying she didn't go through a hard time, but should she be considered a hero for it? Probably not. But by watching the news coverage you would think she accidentally discovered a cure for cancer as well as making the effects of Viagra permanent while she was in captivity.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by ice4277
But by watching the news coverage you would think she accidentally discovered a cure for cancer as well as making the effects of Viagra permanent while she was in captivity.

Really, only an idiot would think that.

[ice4277]

Originally posted by Draft Dodger
Really, only an idiot would think that.

Really, well only an idiot would probably realize I wasn't writing in seriousness and was using sarcasm.

[Anrhydeddu]

Hero. The most overused term in media.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by ice4277
Really, well only an idiot would probably realize I wasn't writing in seriousness and was using sarcasm.

LOL.

D-I-T-T-O

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by Draft Dodger
Really, only an idiot would think that.

So the media has not blown her "accomplishments" out of proportion?

[sabotai]

I'd like her to blow my "accomplishment" out of proportion...*tiger growl*. :D

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
So the media has not blown her "accomplishments" out of proportion?

I'm not saying that at all - the media blows a lot of accomplishments out of proportion. I'd just rather see it be her than someone who is less deserving.

she, like any POW, has been through more than most of here could even imagine. Give her her day.

[JeffNights]

Well I think she deserves what she got as far as medals and accolades....besides,

She's really hot.

[Fritz]

Who’s eligible for the Bronze Star?

A. Authorized by Executive Order 9519, (Bronze Star Medal), Feb. 4, 1944, superseded by Executive Order 11046.

B. Awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States, distinguishes himself after 6 December 1941, by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, under any of the following circumstances:

(1) While engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.

(2) While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an op-posing foreign force.

(3) While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

C. When the Bronze Star is awarded for heroism, a bronze letter "V" (for valor) is worn on the suspension and service ribbon of that medal.

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The bolded part is where people make thier mistake. The Bronze star is not a valor award, though it can be. Since Vietnam they have been relatively easy to get is you are in a combat zone. One of my peers earned one in 91 for supporting his division with "critcal" water management in Kuwait.

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Edit: I agree that neither case should get the Bronze.

[neofied]

Surviving an Iraqi hospital, no matter how they may have treated her, probably is worth a medal.

She did survive and apparently prior to being captured did put up a fight.

Seriously, the thing that sort of inspired so many people is her age and sex. She has this look of young innocence to her. It's inspiring that someone like her came back alive. She's a tough cookie.

Jessica deserves the medals and truly is a hero.

[Killebrew]

Mmmm, tasty sheep food they are serving here these days (slurp). I hope nobody misunderstands my disgust of the way media and Government are using this person. I mean no disrespect to Jessica Lynch, whom I'm sure was and is very brave to live through the tremendous amount of pain she still faces everyday. She has had more than her day in the sun already though. I don't mind mind that she will get even more, but the calulated assumption that the public is so gullible that it will accept her as something she was not is the part that gauls me. The fact there were several other hero's involved in this action that deserve far more attention than Jessica Lynch but will not get it since they are not as photogenic makes this entire episode feel as scripted as a bad reality TV show. Maybe they think the reality TV shows have killed off so many brain cells that they can shovel this stuff at us without fear of complaint.

More about the ambush: Wasn't Jessica Lynch injured during the crash when the vehicle she was in was hit by rockets? Most reliable reports I have read stated that she never was even able to fire a weapon - she was badly injured at the very beginning of the attack. There was another of the group of POW's caught in the ambush who was said to have killed 11 Iraqi attackers and was only caught when his gun jammed, he was one of the shell shocked looking guys who the Iraqi's grilled on camera when he was a prisoner. That is the part that I find most upsetting - there must be many soldiers that know the facts about this ambush that feel dismayed the more deserving hero's are not being given proper attention, and it seems to me that this kind of dishonesty could actually hurt morale.

[NYFAN]

Could anyone here argue that she did not have meritorious service? Anytime you are captured in a war where there are only like 6 or 7 prisoners, I would think that your service was a little worthy of merit in comparison to the vast majority of soldiers. As for as the guys who went in to rescue her, they should be honored for their heroism.

[sabotai]

"Could anyone here argue that she did not have meritorious service?"

I don't think anyone is saying that. I think they are just saying whe's not a hero. "Hero" is a word that's getting thrown around like it means nothing nowadays. In fact, I would argue that calling someone a hero is meaningless considering how many people are labeled one, even for the most minor of things.

[Wolfpack]

I think as others may have noted this is a side-effect of the media coverage of the war. Rather than talk about the heroism of soldiers under fire (which happens every day during a war and thus not unique), they played the heck out of stories where soldiers were wounded, killed, or captured (remember, this incident occurred during the worst day of the war from the American POV). Since being captured was an exceptional and therefore newsworthy event, her story got massive play. It has been, unfortunately, the way of media to focus on these exceptions (witness the POWs from the first Gulf War, the guy shot down in Bosnia, the spy plane, and now the various captures and deaths in this war), so in people's minds extraordinary coverage tends to equate to accomplishment. I agree with others that she acted bravely and did all that she could considering the circumstances, but I'm not sure that her acts rise to the level of "hero" unless her actions during the firefight enabled others to survive in spite of her injuries, which by some accounts was not the case. Purple Heart, yes, Bronze Star, eh, maybe not. Too many other soldiers in this conflict probably did far more and got far less recognition from the press and public.

[NYFAN]

My point was that the requirements for that award said heroic OR meritorious achievement OR service... so if you agree she had meritorious service, you are agreeing with giving her the award.

[sabotai]

But I don't disagree with them giving her any award. I just think it's odd how many awards there are and how easy it is to get them.

[neofied]

If you put your life on the line for your country you are a hero. Same can be said for cops and firefighters who put their lives on the line for their communities.

[Fritz]

Originally posted by NYFAN
My point was that the requirements for that award said heroic OR meritorious achievement OR service... so if you agree she had meritorious service, you are agreeing with giving her the award.

nononono . that is faulty logic. Not everyone that has meritorious service gets the medal. Also, YOUR use of meritorious may not be how the services use it.

As I understand the usage and the events, PFC Lynch was no more or less meritorious than your rank and file soldier. This is not to diminish the soldier, of the duty she performed.

The issuing of medals is a very uneven thing. When you compare who got what when, the same medal can mean many different things. This is especially true of the Bronze Star, and more so since Grenada and Panama.

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Now to really stir this up.

I am steadfastly against women in combat, and I suppose the military in general*. Not because I doubt the ability of some women, but because as a people we do not know how, nor are we willing, to treat all of our soldiers the same. There is little doubt in my mind that the "PFC Lynch Story" was influenced in all phases after her capture by her gender.

[ice4277]

Originally posted by Fritz
n
I am steadfastly against women in combat, and I suppose the military in general*. Not because I doubt the ability of some women, but because as a people we do not know how, nor are we willing, to treat all of our soldiers the same. There is little doubt in my mind that the "PFC Lynch Story" was influenced in all phases after her capture by her gender.

Very good point, I am not against women in combat; I think, as part of equal rights, women should have the right to enter combat, and also to be drafted, if there ever has to be another one. But you are right about her getting the majority of this press because she is a woman.

[Subby]

I cannot believe you are making this an issue. There are a million other things that are more bitch-worthy than this story.

[Killebrew]

Originally posted by Subby
I cannot believe you are making this an issue. There are a million other things that are more bitch-worthy than this story.
Yeah but this issue is far more simple than the more bitch-worthy issues. This is a bad time for me to pull a brain muscle since my used tension bandage smells a lot like my basketball shoes.

[Subby]

This board is good at taking on the simplistic issues.

[Easy Mac]

you mean like text sims?

[Fritz]

Originally posted by Subby
This board is good at taking on the simplistic issues.

would you care to list you own pet bitches so we can cater to you?

[Craptacular]

Originally posted by neofied
If you put your life on the line for your country you are a hero. Same can be said for cops and firefighters who put their lives on the line for their communities.

Best. Post. In. Thread.

[EagleFan]

I think I agree with Subby. Let her have her 15 minutes and we move on. Hell, John Wayne Bobbit became a household name and he didn't do a damn thing. The guy who caught Bonds' record homerun ball ended up with TV appearances. The miners that got trapped had a movie made about them and they were branded with the hero label as well, they did far less than PFC Lynch.