Defending the Constitution

The Bruce Law Firm will continue to post about important or instructive events in history because history is the foundation of how we arrived at today. History helps us understand ourselves and, since it reflects American society, our justice system.  

On July 22, 2003, American Special Forces freed United States Army Private Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi army hospital. Taken captive during an ambush of the convoy in which she had been riding, Private Lynch suffered numerous broken bones in the process.

Upon returning to her hometown of Palestine, West Virginia, she received a hero’s welcome. Unfortunately, aiming to promote the Iraqi war to skeptical Americans, the Army lied about the incident, embellishing the role Private Lynch played in the event. Instead of being taken captive while fighting back and later mistreated by her captors, she told the media that she had been knocked unconscious on the day of the assault and received first rate medical care throughout her ordeal. According to the soldier, “I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and tried to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were, in fact, legendary.” She added: “The truth of war is not always easy to hear but is always more heroic than the hype.”