American military, a Marine assigned to the Iraq War. An adorable 19-year-old honey-blonde, Jessica was captured in an Iraqi raid on Nasiriyah. In a Special Ops raid, U/S/ soldiers wearing night goggles brought helicopters into the southern Iraqi city to carry out a daring rescue raid. The petite soldier was held in a second-floor room with fractures in both legs, her right arm, ankle and foot. Intelligent briefings relate that some of her wounds were the results of extensive torture. PFC Lynch came up missing after Iraqi forces ambushed an Army supply convoy near Nasiriyah March 23, 2003, four days before her 20th birthday. The details of her imprisonment and her rescue were subsequently much discussed in the news with reports that the U.S. military exaggerated the rescue. There was also a question about whether she was tortured or whether all her injuries were sustained in the fighting just before her capture.
On July 21, 2003, she received the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Prisoner of War medal. The following day, she was released from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and arrived home in Palestine, West Virginia to the cheers of well-wishers.
In the autumn of 2003, a book written by Rick Bragg with her help, “I’m a Soldier Too,” was released and a TV biopic was produced and televised. The book alleges that she was raped while in captivity and that she does not remember this mistreatment. Iranian doctors dispute that she was raped. As of late 2003, she is undergoing rigorous physical therapy and treatment or her serious injuries and emotional trauma.
On January 19, 2007, she gave birth to a daughter whom she named Dakota Ann in honor of a deceased comrade. The child’s father is Lynch’s boyfriend Wes Robinson.
On April 28, 2007 she appeared before a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. She testified that the tales about her capture in Iraq were not true, that they were embellished to make her seem like a hero. She said, “The bottom line is the American people are capable of determining their own ideals for heroes and they don’t need to be told elaborate tales.” The transcript of her testimony can be found here: http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070424110022.pdf.
Lynch once again made news on December 16, 2011 when she graduated from college with a degree in elementary education.
Link to Wikipedia biography