First Woman American Soldier Feared Dead

[St Leo]

AnnC

[Boris Godunov]

The soldier's father is telling the media that the rumors she was shot and stabbed are not true.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Tolls
Good on yer, Ms Lynch...

But I do have a question:
"...and watched several other soldiers in her unit die around her in fighting March 23..."

Does that mean those bodies on the video were in all likelihood not executed? Seems to me there was quite a bit of a firefight...

No, it doesn't mean that. At least five of the dead soldiers on the video had shots to the forehead, although there were two bodies where it couldn't be ascertained if they were KIAs or POWs who were killed subsequent to capture.

There were also two soldiers from her unit who were KIA, and whose bodies were recovered by the Marines who attempted to rescue them from the ambush, losing 17 of their own in the process.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by SpencerH
If her actions can be confirmed by witnesses then I would suggest she is in line for at least a silver star.

"The Washington Post reported today that the 19-year-old Army supply clerk shot several Iraqi soldiers during the March 23 ambush that resulted in her capture. She kept firing even after she had several gunshot wounds, finally running out of ammunition, the newspaper said, citing unidentified U.S. officials."

IMO her reported actions go far beyond what is normally expected of a truck driver from a maintenance company. That comment is not to belittle such soldiers, but in my experience there is a big pyschological difference between soldiers of the line and those behind the lines.

No disrespect intended to PFC Lynch, but this doesn't ring true - in all likelihood she attempted to fight out of the ambush, as did the rest of her unit, but soldiers, any soldiers, are not likely to take the surrender of someone who shoots their comrades and then runs out of ammo. Maybe, if she evaded capture for some time, so the ones who took her prisoner weren't the same bunch that included the ones she shot up, but if the reports of broken legs are correct, then she obviously wasn't real mobile.

In that type of situation, it's hard enough for trained infantry to keep track of what's going on, let alone for a rear area unit who stumbles into an ambush.

She'll get the POW's medal and Purple Heart, and simply attempting to resist effectively against overwhelming odds should rate her a Bronze Star. The story may get fluffed up a bit, or she could have been one of those country kids who got a lot of varmint-plinking practice as a kid and did an exceptional job of keeping her head about her.

The most important thing is she's back alive, and apparently will recover.

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat


No disrespect intended to PFC Lynch, but this doesn't ring true - in all likelihood she attempted to fight out of the ambush, as did the rest of her unit, but soldiers, any soldiers, are not likely to take the surrender of someone who shoots their comrades and then runs out of ammo.

I agree, thats why I said if its confirmed. On the other hand I want to know where the broken bones came from.

The most important thing is she's back alive, and apparently will recover.

Yup

[Tolls]

"At least five of the dead soldiers on the video had shots to the forehead, although there were two bodies where it couldn't be ascertained if they were KIAs or POWs who were killed subsequent to capture."

I just have a problem with the whole execution thing. Doesn't make sense. POWs are worth more as propaganda than dead bodies...executing them for jollies achieves nothing in that respect.

Sorry...I don't mean to thread-jack, but this doesn't really fit.

In addition:
"...but soldiers, any soldiers, are not likely to take the surrender of someone who shoots their comrades and then runs out of ammo..."

Now I know SAS are big on this...surrender if you want, but don't expect to get nice treatment if you've just been shooting us up. So...I think you can see where I'm going with this one. Still not an execution...

[Shi Huangdi]

"but soldiers, any soldiers, are not likely to take the surrender of someone who shoots their comrades and then runs out of ammo."

However this is a someone that is a pretty girl. It doesn't take too much imagination to come up with a reason why the iraqis might still try to capture her.

[ThePlagueRat]

What a pity. To waste such beautiful women in a war... But on the other hand, so does Iraq. They should all stay home watching their babies!

Well, for the Geneva stuff: Was she a medic or a combatant?

[Tolls]

"No disrespect intended to PFC Lynch, but this doesn't ring true..."

...and it seems it's a little...um..embellished. Seems she has no bullet wounds or stab wounds.

[ThePlagueRat]

Ok, I found out she was not a medic... maintainance corps or something.
Well she should not have been in combat! Cute girls who want to participate should stick to medical stuff...

[DaShi]

I heard that she shot a CBeast.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Shi Huangdi
"but soldiers, any soldiers, are not likely to take the surrender of someone who shoots their comrades and then runs out of ammo."

However this is a someone that is a pretty girl. It doesn't take too much imagination to come up with a reason why the iraqis might still try to capture her.

That presumes a leisurely, unemotional thought process. If someone's shooting at you, particularly if they're doing it with effect, reactions fall into pretty much three areas, with really no middle ground. You panic, you detach and just start servicing targets or a field of fire, or you get into an adrenaline rush / angered state and pour it on. You don't think about the specifics of your target, without exceptional discipline, and maybe not then - more basic responses want to take over.

[MichaeltheGreat]

It is now confirmed that PFC Lori Piestewa and the seven other MIAs from that action were killed.

No word on the five confirmed POWs.

[The Mad Monk]

Families Mourn Dead Found in POW Rescue

By LYNN DUCEY
The Associated Press
Saturday, April 5, 2003; 12:47 PM


TUBA CITY, Ariz. - News of the death of the first American woman soldier killed in the Iraq war hit hard in this community on the Navajo Reservation, not far from Hopi land.

The Pentagon identified Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa, one of the few American Indian women in the military, as one of eight soldiers found dead during the rescue of POW Jessica Lynch.

"Our family is proud of her. She is our hero," her brother Wayland said to reporters outside the family's home Saturday. "We are going to hold that in our hearts. She will not be forgotten. It gives us comfort to know that she is at peace right now."

Piestewa, 23, was the mother of a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl and a source of pride in her Hopi community.

Her brother said relatives didn't wish to speak further with reporters for now.

Behind him, family members and friends gathered on the porch of the family's trailer. A low chain-link fence was adorned with yellow ribbons, a red-white-and-blue heart and a sign with a picture of Lori Piestewa, the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center towers.

"The tragedy has rocked the very foundation of the Hopi reservation since many of us have been continually praying with the Piestewa family for Lori's safe return," Hopi Tribal Chairman Wayne Taylor.

Many of Tuba City's 8,200 residents have left yellow balloons and signs with uplifting messages outside her parents' home, and officials from the Navajo and Hopi tribes have attended prayer services in honor of her and other military personnel. Hopi officials said that 56 Hopis are currently serving in the U.S. military, 48 of them in Iraq.

The bodies of Piestewa and the seven other soldiers were found when U.S. troops raided the hospital where Pfc. Jessica Lynch was being held captive, the Pentagon said.

Seven were members of Lynch's unit, the Fort Bliss, Texas-based 507th Maintenance Company, which was ambushed near Nasiriyah on March 23. The other, Sgt. George E. Buggs, 31, of Barnwell, S.C., was a member of the 3rd Division Support Battalion of Fort Stewart, Ga.

"We hate it, but there ain't nothing we can do about it," Buggs' grandfather, George Buggs, 83, said Saturday after learning of his grandson's death. The retired truck driver and his wife had raised the soldier.

The others were identified as Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of Cleveland; Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, of El Paso, Texas; Spc. James M. Kiehl, 22, of Comfort, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, 35, of Amarillo, Texas; Pvt. Brandon U. Sloan, 19, of Cleveland, and Sgt. Donald R. Walters, 33, of Kansas City, Mo.

A chaplain informed Kiehl's parents of their son's death Friday evening.

"We just want everyone to know we support the president and the troops, and we believe in what James went over there for," his mother, Janie Kiehl said in a telephone interview Friday night.

Kiehl's pregnant wife, Jill, in Des Moines, Iowa, has declined to talk to the media.

Walters' younger sister, Kimberly Cieslak, said the family received the news from the Oregon National Guard on Friday. Their father is an Air Force veteran, and Walters had been surrounded by the military while growing up in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"I guess he was following in my footsteps," said his father, Norman Walters. "He was a patriotic guy. He felt it was his duty to serve his country."

The Pentagon announcement reached the Ohio home of the Rev. Tandy Sloan a few hours after 200 worshippers gathered to light candles and pray for his son and for Dowdy, also from Ohio. Sloan's father declined to comment Saturday.

"The entire Fort Bliss community expresses their heartfelt condolences to all the families during their time of sorrow," Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt said in a statement from the base.

© 2003 The Associated Press

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2003Apr5.html

[Kramerman]

[BeBro]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2938589.stm

Well, as glad I am about her rescue - what kind of movie can we expect from NBC about that? I liked "Saving Private Ryan" but then Spielberg was behind it. I don´t believe NBC will hire him for this project ....

[SpencerH]

Given that we seem to be in virtual control of Iraq (or have at least eliminated any significant opposition) the question has to asked, where are our POW's?

[SlowwHand]

Spielberg gets no more of my money.

Steven! Yes, you! Move over there to the left. Waaay over.
That's right, form up in Jane's squad.