General support thread for those affected by war

[BBOvenGuy]

Jessica will be in Germany within a few minutes, as I type this. Seeing her picture on every TV news channel and news site on the web, I was stunned to realize again just how young so many of the people we've sent to Iraq are. That adds up to a lot of terribly worried parents.



Meanwhile, KDKA is reporting that West Virginia University has already contacted the Lynch family offering a scholarship that would cover any costs above the amount Jessica will be getting from the military.



What's the policy on discharges after being wounded in action? Jessica just re-upped for four more years. If she'd rather go to school, will the Army let her go, or will she still have to finish her tour of duty?



Either way, if she could get through what she's been through, then I'd say she can become anything she wants to be in the future. And I don't think there are too many elementary school teachers who can hang a Purple Heart medal on their classroom wall.

"The first task of anyone, lest you get canceled, is to entertain people, because they ain't there for message." - Dick Wolf

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 4/2/03 2:00:18 pm

[friskylez]

I know this is off topic but i wanted to respond to BBOGs question..I would guess that Jessica could be given a medical discharge if the army chose to do so..There are all kinds of discharges available, hardship discharges, medical discharges etc..



I know with the special circumstances surrounding her capture and all the press, the army could let out of her re-enlistment if they chose to do so..Somehow though, im gonna guess that Jessica will probably serve the rest of her re enlistment..2 broken legs, a broken arm and multiple gunshot wounds, what an ordeal indeed..



Just thought id qualify my comments,in addition to my real job as an air traffic controller, i was the re enlistment NCO for my company, so i processed the paperwork when it came to discharges and re enlistments..Sorry for being off topic Xita..

"Life is what happens while waiting for your ship to come in"

Edited by: friskylez  at: 4/2/03 8:16:38 pm

[BBOvenGuy]

Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if Jessica stayed in the Army, even if they were willing to let her out. I was just curious about her options. Thanks!





Edited to add: 10:00pm PST on Friday, and the Pentagon has just confirmed that the remaining seven members of Private Lynch's unit who were still MIA have now been identified from among the bodies they pulled out of the Iraqi hospital during the rescue mission. One family's happiness is joined by seven families' sadness.



Stay safe out there, everybody...

"The first task of anyone, lest you get canceled, is to entertain people, because they ain't there for message." - Dick Wolf

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 4/4/03 10:07:57 pm

[friskylez]

The loss of lives in this war, both sides, civilian and soldiers, saddens me to no end..I dont know any of the people who have been killed in this war personally, it doesnt matter, they are still my fellow human beings..And i grieve for all of them..



Tonite i found out a young woman from Arizona has now been listed as KIA, she was with the 507th maintenance division...

One of the bodies found in the hospital when PFC Lynch was rescued..She was just into her twenties and the mother of two young children..

"Life is what happens while waiting for your ship to come in"

[pacou]

I'm not affected by the war directly and I have no one who is heading there, well it's clear as I'm not living there and not American or British but I wish that the war is over soon. My thoughts are with all the victims, no matter which nationality, everyday.



My thoughts are also with the Kitten, who have family members over there now or who are living there directly, may all of your people come back healthy soon



I can't help with what I'm saying, I'm not changing anything really but with all our hopes and wishes we change the world at least in that way that people know that we care for them. And that goes beyond nationality or hair colour or whatever... I still feel sorry for everyone who is in that war now...



Take care Kitten



-Viv-

Medicine, law, banking – these are necessary to sustain life. But poetry, romance. love, beauty? These are what we stay alive for!

[friskylez]

I just wanted to respond to BBOG and Sparrows post in this thread and not the war thread, it seemed the more appropriate place..



i was watching the news here in Arizona and saw PFC Piestawas kids and they are absolutely adorable..It so very sad that their mother wont be there to see them grow up...



I hope that something is done for the children and i have no doubt that PFC Lynch would gladly share or give everything she has received to her friends two young children..



I think it is a great idea to rename squaw peak after PFC Piestawa..What a wonderful tribute..

"Life is what happens while waiting for your ship to come in"

[BBOvenGuy]

friskylez I didn't realize you were in Arizona. Does this name-change suggestion really have a chance or is the Arizona Republic just engaging in wishful thinking?



Meanwhile, news broke today (at Yahoo! and other places) that NBC is already at work on a Jessica Lynch movie, with plans to show it sometime toward the end of the year (November Sweeps is my guess). They don't have the rights from Private Lynch or her family yet - they're writing the script based on public domain news reports instead. I'm not sure how far they're going to get with it, though, since Private Lynch is the only person currently in a position to say exactly what happened when the 507th was ambushed, and she hasn't felt like talking yet. That's Hollywood for you.



Also meanwhile, there's news of efforts to thank "Mohammed," the Iraqi lawyer who found Private Lynch and told the US troops where she was. An organization called "The Friends of Mohammed" has been founded in Palestine WV, and they want to bring him there to thank him personally. There's also now an online petition to grant him US citizenship. Unfortunately I've misplaced the URL at the moment...

"The first task of anyone, lest you get canceled, is to entertain people, because they ain't there for message." - Dick Wolf

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 4/10/03 7:44:01 pm

[La]

It happened. My good friend's husband's unit is being deployed in May some time. He's going to be going to Afghanistan ...

~La



What is the difference between a drunk and a stoner?

The drunk will drive through a stop sign while the stoner will wait for it to turn green.

[friskylez]

Hey Bob, Yepper I moved back to AZ recently after a 12 year absence lol.. I think there is alot of public support for renaming squaw peak.. Not to mention there is a huge veterans group in Phoenix, so if they get involved, i have no doubt that it will happen..If they dont i will be sadly disappointed and a bit surprised..



As for the movie, all i can say is WTF, im with you, no one knows for sure what happenepd so how in the hell can you make a movie about it..Sheesh, they are not even giving PFC Lynch time to deal with it before she sees this freakin movie on the screen..



As has been said, she may not talk about it for years and doesnt seem to be the type to want to "capitalize" on the misfortune of others..I hope there is a ground swell of negative feedback to ABC and they put the project on hold for say a couple of years..JM

"Life is what happens while waiting for your ship to come in"

Edited by: friskylez  at: 4/11/03 7:19:56 am

[sparrow]

USS Abraham Lincoln just docked in Coronado, welcome home sailors and marines.

[BBOvenGuy]

I decided to revisit this thread because details about what really happened to PFC's Jessica Lynch and Lori Piestawa, along with the rest of the 507th Maintenance Company, are finally coming to light. At the same time, the TV networks are stooping to new lows in their ongoing battle to "get" the big exclusive interview with PFC Lynch, with CBS winning the gutter award when they basically offered her goodies from the entire Viacom empire, including guest host gigs for her and her friends on MTV. (Reportedly PFC Lynch is more of a country music fan, so not a very good strategy there on CBS's part. )



Anyway, according to the latest reports, PFC Piestawa was at the wheel of the Humvee used by the unit's First Sergeant, Robert Dowdy. At one point they actually drove clear of the ambush zone, where Dowdy conferred with his superiors before going back in to try directing the rest of the convoy to safety. Piestawa was reportedly given the opportunity to be relieved, but she insisted on staying with her First Sergeant and drove him back into the battle. Somewhere along the way, they picked up PFC Lynch, whose vehicle had broken down, and two other soldiers whose wrecker had been disabled. The five of them sped down the road at 50mph, weapons at the ready, while Sergeant Dowdy tried to rally his troops over the radio. At some point during the battle, PFC Lynch's rifle jammed. It's not clear when that happened or if she ever actually fired a shot.



At some point, a flatbed tractor-trailer in front of the Humvee jacknifed. As the Humvee approached, it was hit in the driver's side with a rocket-propelled grenade, which knocked it squarely into the tractor-trailer. Piestawa and Lynch were the only ones pulled from the wreckage alive. Piestawa died a few hours later in an Iraqi hospital, apparently of massive head injuries.



So as it turns out, Jessica Lynch was not "Buffy the Fedayeen Slayer" out in the Iraqi desert. To me, it looks like Lori Piestawa displayed more battlefield heroism, because she had a chance to get out of the fight and stayed with her unit instead. But the story of Jessica Lynch's courage is still ongoing - the courage to face the long and painful recovery process ahead of her. The Washington Post reports that her body is being held together by so many pins and screws at the moment that it can take an hour to move her from her hospital bed into a wheelchair. She recently managed to walk more than 100 steps with the aid of a walker.



Meanwhile, Squaw Peak in Phoenix has now been renamed Piestawa Peak, and the Piestawa family has been invited to be guests of honor at the dedication of the Indian War Memorial this Wednesday at the Little Bighorn in Montana. Also meanwhile, Specialist Shoshana Johnson was honored by the Congressional Black Caucus. You can read about that at MSNBC.



And then there are the quilts that the Rio Grande Valley Quilt Guild made for PFC Lynch and Specialist Johnson. You can see a photo of them here.

"The first task of anyone, lest you get canceled, is to entertain people, because they ain't there for message." - Dick Wolf

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 6/22/03 4:49 pm

[JJtheCool]

It's been awhile since anyone's posted on this thread, but from reading the posts some things couldn't help notice being that I'm from Arizona like friskylez, so I thought I'd throw my 2 bits in just for clarity's sake, assuming this hasn't already been brought up in the War/Politics thread.



BBOvenGuy said:

Quote:

---

Meanwhile, Squaw Peak in Phoenix has now been renamed Piestawa Peak,

---

For now this name change only applies to the state level. Federal policy allows name changes for natural landmarks and roadways after a five-year waiting period, so as far as maps put out by any US Gov't entity will still have the mountain and the State Route 51 freeway as Squaw Peak; and because there's no unanimity in AZ on this issue, the local map makers also won't change their maps either.



How this change came about was rather interesting in itself, but my comments on that should probably be mantioned in the other thread.

JJtheCool

---

*Sigh*