Jessica Lynch.
Early in the morning on April 2nd, 2003, correspondents in Doha were summoned to Centcom, the military-media war center. The White House’s top figures had stayed up all night, the President and Secretary of Defense had been briefed. It appeared that something as significant as Saddam’s capture had passed in the night.
Instead, the breaking news of the day revolved around Private Jessica Lynch. Lynch, a blonde 19 year-old clerk from West Virginia, was the sole survivor of an ambush near Nassiriya. Iraqi soldiers took Lynch to the local hospital where the purportedly shot, cut, and raped her. She was held in the hospital for eight days before American troops stormed the hospital in a daring rescue.
The Pentagon released a five-minute video of the Lynch rescue, accrediting the courageous Iraqi lawyer, Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief, for risking his life to alert the Americans to Lynch’s location. The rescue team was said to have come under fire, but they made it to Jessica and made their escape by helicopter. The whole episode was captured on night-vision camera and broadcast within hours of its release. Lynch became an overnight cult hero, and Internet auction sites list Jessica Lynch items ranging from oil paintings to “America Loves Jessica Lynch” fridge magnets.
As with Pat Tillman, there are two versions of this story. The doctors who cared for Lynch in Nassiriya say they provided her the best possible treatment. She was assigned the nicest bed in the hospital and had the constant attention of one of the only two nurses. There was not enough blood available so two of the three bottles of blood provided her was from the medical staff. They examined her wounds including a broken arm, thigh, and ankle, but no stab or bullet wounds. Dr Harith al-Houssona, who looked after her throughout her ordeal said "They want to distort the picture. I don't know why they think there is some benefit in saying she has a bullet injury."
Both Lynch and the doctors recall a risky operation in which they attempted to return Lynch to the American camp. When the ambulance bearing Lynch approached the American checkpoint it was fired upon and forced to return to the hospital. Additionally, a waiter at a local restaurant informed American forces the day before the attack that the hospital had been abandoned by the Fedayeen, that there would be no resistance. The hospital staff describe their confusion as the American forces rushed in shooting blanks and yelling to one another, apparently a show for the PR video. When the was shown, General Vincent Brooks declared: "Some brave souls put their lives on the line to make this happen, loyal to a creed that they know that they'll never leave a fallen comrade."
This last quote reveals a likely explanation of the benefit in saying Lynch had bullet injuries. Lynch’s capture and subsequent rescue was billed as an epic affair, a display of American courage and dedication. Jessica Lynch is a young, attractive, blond girl, and the narrative follows that she is rescued by her able male comrades. Although Lynch is a soldier, her body is used as an object that American forces are out to protect.