American Snippets

Jessica Lynch was just a teenager when she enlisted in the United States Army. It was pre-9/11 when young Jessica signed on that dotted line. She and her family knew war was always a potential possibility, but didn't dwell on it.Then 9/11 came, and everything changed. Nineteen-y-ear-old Private First class Jessica Lynch deployed to Iraq and was captured by enemy forces. Eleven of her friends died as a result of the incident that led to her capture, while others were captured with her. On April 1, 2003, Jessica's dramatic rescue became national news. While Jessica struggled to heal from her significant injuries as well as process her grief and trauma, media outlets ran amuck with their headlines. One false story after another appeared, compounding Jessica's stress. Finally, when she was officially discharged from the military several months later, Jessica was free to tell her story publicly. Today, twenty years later, Jessica still tells her story, along with the story of her own growth and recovery. Her soft