Despite Media Hype, Lynch a Class Act

Ruben Navarrette Jr.

DALLAS -- Something about the story of Pfc. Jessica Lynch just isn't right.

Of course. It's the arrogance and zeal with which media cynics, Bush critics and even crusty ex-soldiers have -- with 20/20 hindsight -- rushed to diminish the tale of a young woman who has earned more respect than she has, as of late, received.

Many Americans fell in love with this story. And who can blame them? Small town girl joins the Army for a shot at going to college, only to become an Iraqi prisoner of war, and later a national hero and household name.

This week, with the Veterans Day-timed release of her authorized biography, "I Am A Soldier, Too," the 20-year-old native of Palestine, W.Va., takes on a new role: ubiquitous media presence. It started Sunday with a made-for-TV movie based partly on the account of Mohammed Odeh Rehaief, the Iraqi lawyer who helped lead rescuing American forces to the hospital in Nasiriyah where Lynch was held. It continued with a primetime interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer. And she'll make other talk show appearances throughout the week.

All the attention -- not to mention the million-dollar advance for the book (which Lynch split with former New York Times reporter Rick Bragg) -- has probably made many of her fellow soldiers green with envy. But it was the medals that got under the skin of veterans. Lynch was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and POW medal. Ex-soldiers have angrily complained that Lynch is no hero, that she doesn't deserve the medals and that there have been countless others who gave far more in battle and got far less in return.

It's hard to argue with the last part. Nobody said military service was fair. Some soldiers go off to war and lose their lives, while others go on to use their service as a launching pad to run for office, write books or host television shows.

Yet it's not fair to say that Lynch isn't a hero in her own right or that she doesn't deserve the medals, the accolades or the attention.

Forget the Hollywood treatment, and the yarn that was initially -- and perhaps opportunistically -- spun by someone in the Pentagon about how Lynch emptied her weapon firing at Iraqi soldiers. That didn't happen, says Lynch. Her gun jammed and she hit her knees to pray.

Still, what really happened is harrowing enough. Here you have someone injured in combat who suffered multiple broken bones and spinal fractures -- either as a result of the Humvee accident that landed her in Iraqi custody, or at the hands of captors.

Lynch can't remember what happened in the three hours between the ambush and her waking up in an Iraqi hospital.

Medical records mentioned in the book indicate she was sexually assaulted, although Iraqi doctors say otherwise. Lynch does recall fighting off the attempts of those doctors to amputate one of her legs, presumably so she could be more easily transported. She was successful and the surgery never occurred.

Now back in West Virginia, she hobbles on crutches and spends time in physical therapy learning to walk again.

That's a darned good story. But what seems to be of more interest to the media at the moment is what Lynch told ABC's Sawyer about how she thinks it was "wrong" for the military to have filmed her rescue and how she believes she was "used" to symbolize the war effort. Or how the Jessica Lynch story is just glorified propaganda. Case in point: A story by Frank Rich of The New York Times subtly titled: "Pfc. Jessica Lynch Isn't Rambo Anymore."

Some, it seems, just can't resist projecting into this story their overall disapproval of the president's handling of the war in Iraq. They should try harder.

The Jessica Lynch story doesn't have to be enlarged in our imagination beyond what it was in reality. And what it was in reality is more than enough to earn this young woman the respect of her country. Those of us content to stay home and watch the war unfold on television have to know when to applaud, when to question and when to lay off.

For her part, as she makes the press rounds, Lynch is a class act. She's the first to say she's no hero and instead pins the label on the soldiers who rescued her, those still fighting in Iraq, and those -- like her friend, Pvt. Lori Piestewa, who died while in Iraqi custody.

Yep. No doubt about it. I'll still call Lynch what she is: a hero.

Ruben Navarrette's e-mail address is rnavarrette@dallasnews.com.