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Jessica Lynch: 'It's great to be home'
ELIZABETH, West Virginia (CNN) -- Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch returned home Tuesday to thousands of cheering residents who lined the streets waving flags and holding welcoming signs. "It's great to be home. I would like to say thank you to everyone who hoped and prayed for my safe return," said Lynch, who has undergone four months of painful recuperation after being rescued as a POW in Iraq. Wearing a black beret and a crisply pressed green uniform, the 20-year-old soldier thanked all those who had helped during her ordeal -- her family, the community, the governor, her rescuers and Iraqi citizens who "helped saved my life." Her uniform was decorated with the ribbons of the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and POW medal she received at a Walter Reed Army Medical Center ceremony Monday. "For a long time, I had no idea so many people knew I had been missing, but I read thousands of letters, many of them from children who offered messages of hope and faith," she said. Lynch was hurt March 23 and taken prisoner when her unit, the 507th Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas, was ambushed after taking a wrong turn near Nasiriya on March 23. A military report on the ambush said Lynch was injured when the Humvee in which she was riding was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade and crashed at high speed into the rear of an Army tractor-trailer. Eleven soldiers died in the attack -- including four from Lynch's vehicle. Five others also were taken prisoner. Lynch was taken to a hospital in Nasiriya and treated by Iraqi doctors. Lynch suffered three breaks in her left leg, multiple breaks in her right foot, a fractured disk in her back, a broken right upper arm and lacerations on her head, according to family spokesman Randy Coleman. She spoke from a wheelchair, a reminder she still faces a lengthy rehabilitation. She still does not have enough feeling in her feet to stand on her own and can walk only with a walker, Coleman said. In addition, authorities have said Lynch cannot recall details of her ordeal from the time she was ambushed until an unspecified point during her captivity. 'Proud to be a soldier'"I'm proud to be a soldier in the Army," said Lynch, sitting in front of a large American flag. "I'm proud to have served with the 507th. I'm happy that some of the soldiers I served with made it home alive. And it hurts that some of my company didn't." On April 1, U.S. special operations forces, acting on a tip, led a team of Army Rangers, Marines, Navy SEALs and airmen into the hospital in Nasiriya to rescue her. Lynch said she had read thousands of news reports that quoted her as telling her rescuers, "I am an American soldier too." "Those stories were right. Those were my words. I am an American soldier too," she said. Most of all, Lynch said, she misses Pfc. Lori Piestewa, 23, her best friend who was driving the Humvee at the time of attack. Piestewa was seriously injured in the ambush and died, according to the report. "She fought beside me, and it was an honor to have served with her. Lori will always remain in my heart," Lynch said. At one point during her 2 1/2 minute comments, she turned to her boyfriend, Army Sgt. Ruben Contreras -- a large smile spread across her face -- and said, "You never let me give up." "You're my inspiration, and I love you," she said, running her left hand through her hair, exposing a ring on her engagement finger.
Family members told The Associated Press that the ring is a promise ring, not an engagement ring. Contreras is from Lynch's same Army unit. Lynch also thanked those who donated time and money to remodel her family's home to accommodate her needs. Volunteer workers have built an addition to the family home, financed by local and national businesses. A Walter Reed spokeswoman told the AP Lynch has asked for a medical discharge from the Army. Lynch arrived midafternoon in Elizabeth from Washington by Black Hawk helicopter -- the kind used in her rescue. After speaking to reporters, Lynch sat beside Contreras and her brother, Greg -- also a soldier -- in a red convertible Ford Mustang for a trip by military motorcade to Palestine, her small hometown about three miles away. (Gallery: Jessica Lynch's homecoming) The two waved and smiled as thousands of residents waved American flags and held signs that read, "Welcome home Jessica!" At the main intersection, the Wirt County High School band played Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" as the motorcade passed. "It's the biggest thing that's ever happened to this place," one resident said. "This is what put Elizabeth and Wirt County on the map." Rescue became controversialThere were questions that lingered for a time about her rescue. Staff members have said no Iraqi troops were in the hospital in Nasiriya by the time U.S. forces arrived. They also said they had earlier tried to turn Lynch over to American forces but turned back when their ambulance was fired upon. A British Broadcasting Corp. report cited witnesses as saying the U.S. forces used Hollywood theatrics, including blank ammunition, to make a show of rescuing Lynch. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the BBC story was "void of all facts and absolutely ridiculous." U.S. Central Command said the military never claimed the rescue force came under fire when it burst into the hospital, but U.S. troops supporting the mission did exchange fire in a nearby area. Nasiriya, along the Euphrates River in southern Iraq, was the scene of some of the war's most intense fighting. At the time Lynch was rescued, the city was not yet under full coalition control. CNN Correspondents Bob Franken and Patty Davis contributed to this report. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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