[FIREMAN]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-po...,1,736895.story

Check out the mention she gives of Jessica...I'm glad to read that...I was worried that relations between Jessi and the other 507th POWs might get strained because she is STILL receiving the bulk of the attention, and the potential financial windfall.

[iron-bound]

Actually, I hadn't even heard any of the "7" mention Lynch until now.

Based on the opening paragraph, I would believe that Jessica may face more difficulties with the media and public than I had previously considered. Not good.

[cody evans]

I don't think I like the business about her losing weight eating army food. Somebody should have been watching that. There's not a lot of her to begin with! (although what is there seems to be made of iron! ).

QUOTE

Based on the opening paragraph, I would believe that Jessica may face more difficulties with the media and public than I had previously considered

You mean the mob scene over Shoshanna? Well, the rescues are still pretty recent. And it looks like Pvt. Lynch will be having a slow recouperation with that leg full of pins and rods and screws. By the time she is able to come out in public all the hoopla may die down.

[iron-bound]

QUOTE

You mean the mob scene over Shoshanna? Well, the rescue are still pretty recent. And it looks like                 Pvt. Lynch will be having a slow recouperation with that leg full of pins and rods and screws. By                 the time she is able to come out in public all the hoopla may die down.

Yeah. That's why I said "based on the opening paragraph" and not "I now believe."

I'm surprised she doesn't like the MREs (Well, maybe I'm not). I mean, I eat them all the time and they really aren't that bad. If I recall correctly, the caloric content of each one is enough to sustain a soldier for a full day. But you're right, she should have been eating more.

[david_2000_13206]

Could you please post the text of the article so that we can read it without registering with the LA Times. I don't think they have a need for my e mail, my street address and phone number and annual income. I mean, what else could they ask for? Blood samples? It is not a violation of copyright laws to post an article in a forum, it is "fair use" for purpose of discussion.

[kaslow]

Recently Shoshanna was honored by the Congressional Black Caucus and the ceremony was covered by C-SPAN. As one might expect, the politicians were windy--making many references to Shoshanna being a "shero". A couple referred to there being no news about Shoshanna and the others after the resue of one of the POW's. The implication was that Jessica got all the attention I guess. When Shoshanna spoke at the end, she limited her remarks to saying she was not a hero, asking people to remember and pray for the troops still in Iraq which include her cousin, thanking the marines for bringing her back to her family and---thanking the special ops forces for bringing Jessica back to her family. It was the only time Jessica's name was mentioned.

[iron-bound]

You know milemark, you could do what I did......lie.

In any case, here you go.

Standing-Room-Only Ovation for Soldier
Ex-POW Johnson pays a whirlwind visit to L.A. to say thanks for the support.
By Gayle Pollard-Terry
Times Staff Writer

June 7, 2003

Former prisoner of war Shoshana Johnson stepped into a swarm Friday in front of First United Christian Church in South Los Angeles. Reporters and photographers mobbed her. Men begged for autographs. Women pointed disposable cameras. Children reached out to touch her.

Inside the packed church, the cheering congregation gave Army Spc. Johnson three standing ovations even as she kept motioning for them to sit down.

She was here to say thank you on a whirlwind visit to this church, Crenshaw High School, and the Jackie Robinson American Legion — all in less than 24 hours — at the invitation of U.S. Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles).

She visited this particular church because a cousin who lives nearby had asked the pastor, Rev. Maurice Johnson (no relation), to pray for the Army cook after she was captured in Iraq on March 23. The prayers continued for Johnson, who was shot in both ankles during her ordeal, until she was rescued by U.S. Marines on April 12 and returned home to El Paso.

Although she appreciates the support, which included 17 resolutions from politicians and an invitation from the president of Panama to return to the country of her birth, Johnson admitted it's all a bit much.

She can't fathom why anyone considers her a hero. She says she was just doing her job.

"The heroes are my comrades who gave their lives," she told the church audience, "and there are so many Marines who risked their lives to make sure I came home to my family and my daughter."

She asked the church to "continue to pray for the soldiers who are still over there, including my cousin, Andre Amantine, who is in Baghdad at this moment — especially for him because, unfortunately, he missed the birth of his third daughter in order to serve his country and do his duty."

Amantine is from Los Angeles. His parents, Fernando and Joanne, are part of Johnson's large extended Panamanian American family. They live in Lancaster and were at the church with Johnson.

Johnson, 30, was not permitted to discuss details of her ordeal pending an Army investigation. But the Pentagon has said she was captured with a group of soldiers that included Pfc. Jessica Lynch.

Johnson said she is especially proud of Lynch, who is also a member of the 507th Maintenance Company.

"She was in the convoy with us also," Johnson said between stops on Friday. "After everything went down, we were totally separated. We had no idea she was alive. We didn't know until the Marines rescued us and told us that Lynch was alive," Johnson said. "We were very hap- py."

"Lynch is a little thing," she added. "When we left, she had lost a lot of weight in Kuwait. She didn't like eating [the military's prepackaged meals]. She was barely 100 pounds, maybe 98. She had lost so much weight, and for her to make it through with her injuries, it shows how strong she is."

Because she and Lynch were female POWs, a rarity, Johnson says, they get the most mail.

"A lot of it is from older ladies," she said of the letters and cards that have poured in from around the United States, Australia, England, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Israel "and all over."

Speaking to seniors at Crenshaw High School, she said: "Most of you don't realize exactly how free you are."

"When I went to Iraq, I saw a lot of things that made me appreciate exactly what kind of freedom we have here. Yesterday I went to the store and bought the things I needed.

"You can't do that in those countries, and I am thankful for the people who went before me to ensure my freedom."

During the high school assembly, a freelance photographer made a request she found annoying.

"He wanted me to hold out my cast and point to it," Johnson explained. She refused. "I'm not glorifying getting shot. Getting shot is no fun."

Although this was her first visit to the high school, it was not her first time in Los Angeles. When her father, a former drill sergeant, joined the military, the family moved in with relatives in Southern California.

"We lived in Inglewood when I was younger," she said. "I remember being able to see the Forum and hear the cars and all that. My mom was a Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] fan."

At the American Legion hall, her final stop here, Johnson ate chicken, macaroni and cheese and collard greens as Panamanian dancers whirled in a room filled with elderly veterans on the anniversary of D-day. The celebration ended but Johnson's day did not.

She still had three or four media interviews to do before her evening flight back to Texas.

[cody evans]

QUOTE

It is not a violation of copyright laws to post an article in a forum, it is "fair use" for purpose of discussion.

Are you sure about that? That's the reason I stopped copying articles along with their links. I prefect to copy articles because links expire over time.

[iron-bound]

QUOTE

Are you sure about that? That's the reason I stopped copying articles along with their links. I prefect to copy articles because links expire over time.

Well, I posted it anyway. If the LA Times has a problem with that, they can come talk to me about it.

[brad650wsm]

I just read an article about Lori Piestewa at AZCentral.com (the URL is below) which gives information about Lori and Jessica the night that they were attacked and captured.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/061...tewa-renzi.html

[david_2000_13206]

"You know milemark, you could do what I did......lie." Naughty, naughty Khan Benjamin, but it serves em right, and thanks very much for posting the article. Jessefan, according to Freerepublic.com, which has dozens of news articles posted on its forum every day, fair use for discussion is not a violation of the copyright.
As far as Pfc. Lynch's weight loss, it may have had something to do with fear and worry as well as not liking the food. Some people I know with relatives in the military who were deployed to the Gulf said that they had loss of appetite due to being scared and worried. Makes sense to me, I had lost my appetite myself during the roughest period of the war, and I was not even over there and had no freinds or family there either. I am not questioning the bravery of Pfc. Lynch or anyone else over there. It is natural to be afraid in such a situation no matter how brave you are. Gen. Tommy Franks said himself in an interview from Centcom that it is not a lack of fear, but the ability to continue to do your job despite the fear that shows true courage. That is not an exact quote, because the interview was about 2 months ago and I don't remember it word for word, but that was the point he was making.

QUOTE

"Lynch is a little thing," she added. "When we left, she had lost a lot of weight in Kuwait. She didn't like eating [the military's prepackaged meals]. She was barely 100 pounds, maybe 98. She had lost so much weight, and for her to make it through with her injuries, it shows how strong she is."

You see how 'the military's prepackaged meals' is in brackets, as if it was not in the original quote, but included later. The quote would read 'she didn't like eating' That is what made me think that she may have had anxiety related loss of appetite.
By the way, about Shoshana, how did she get shot in both ankles. That seems like someone shot her in the ankles after she was captured. There was a report after she was found that one bullet passed through both of her ankles, but that always seemed a little farfetched to me.

[FIREMAN]

I think I remember seeing one report that said Shoshana was diving for cover when she was hit. Have seen nothing since then, tho. I'm sure it'll come out in the afrter-action report.

[Patricia]

QUOTE (Soprano84 @ Jun 20 2003, 08:12 AM)

I think I remember seeing one report that said Shoshana was diving for cover when she was hit. Have seen nothing since then, tho. I'm sure it'll come out in the afrter-action report.

I recall the same. It was after the five took cover that she was hit.And let's thank Hank those bullets didn't come from the opposit direction.With the interviews we've seen, I'm sure a differant story would have come out, if that was the case.
As for Jessi still being in the spotlight, and not hearing much of the others....pretty understandable.Everyone knows that she is still going through her ordeal every second of the day. So it's still a huge story. Sadly, her being in such a condition, is keeping her in the spotlight. And it's only gonna get worse when she's home.
Not liking those meals and losing a lot of weight??...I don't know how much weight she really couldv'e lost though. Wasn't she only 105 or 110 to start with? Dropping to 100 or 98 doesn't seem that bad considering where she was and what she was doing.And obviously she was still strong enough to go through her capture "fairly" healthy. I mean, her body still had what it needed to feed off of itself to survive.Thank Hank.
Kahn..Thanks for putting up that article. If the Times has a problem with ya...send them my way. I haven't punched somebody out in days.

[perilousgirl]

I remeber in the Discovery Chanel documentary they did on Jessica, they said the 507th was like a family and they watched out for eachother