Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Family of Jessica Lynch Celebrating Her Rescue

Aired April 02, 2003 - 11:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The family of Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch is celebrating her rescue today from Iraqi hands. CNN's Patty Davis is standing by with the Lynch family in Palestine, West Virginia.
Good morning.

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're absolutely celebrating here. Big, big smiles on all the family members and all the friends who are here at Jessica Lynch's family home. Now her dad held a press conference a little while ago, saying that when he got that call, that she had been rescued yesterday, he got the call about 6:15, he didn't believe it. It was April Fool's day. He thought it was a bad April Fool's joke. He said he asked the caller three or four times, restate the name, making sure that they had the right person. This family says they never gave up hope that Jessica would be found alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG LYNCH, FATHER OF RESCUED POW: That's about all we've got to hold on to, is faith and hope. If we lose faith and hope, and quit praying to the Lord, there's no hope. So you got to keep soaring high.

GREG LYNCH JR., BROTHER OF RESCUED POW: The family's response, just overwhelming. We received the call last night little after 6:00. Of course, mom was ear to ear with dad trying to figure out good or bad news. Of course good news came through and the roof got a little higher and the door got a little looser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIS: Overwhelming gratitude from the family here to those rescue crews who braved them and risked their own lives to rescue their daughter and their sister. They do hope to talk to Jesse -- they call her Jesse -- by phone either tonight or tomorrow sometime. She disappeared March 23rd. She was with the 507th maintenance unit. That made a wrong turn. They were a supply unit. They were ambushed by the Iraqis. And her family says they didn't know she was actually captured. She was listed missing.

It wasn't until this week that the Pentagon listed her as a POW. What do they plan to do when she gets back home? They say a very big shindig. We've heard people talking about they're going to shoot off fireworks. They're very anxious for her to get back home.

As you can see behind me, yellow ribbons on this house. It's not only yellow ribbons on this house, but all over the community. This community has felt this very deeply. She's not just the Lynch's daughter. She's everyone's daughter, everyone's sister, here in Palestine, West Virginia.

HARRIS: I also got a kick out of her brother talk about being jealous that she got to go. He's also an enlisted man. He's just on leave right now.

DAVIS: He is. He's army. He's at Ft. Bragg. He's on an emergency leave. He's due to go back on April 11th, hoping he'll see his sister, hoping she'll come back to the states. But he says he's raring to go. If he goes to Iraq, he's not afraid, he's going to go, despite what happened to his sister.

HARRIS: Quite a day for those folks there.

Thanks, Patty. Patty Davis, reporting live from Palestine, West Virginia.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired April 2, 2003 - 11:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The family of Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch is celebrating her rescue today from Iraqi hands. CNN's Patty Davis is standing by with the Lynch family in Palestine, West Virginia.
Good morning.

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're absolutely celebrating here. Big, big smiles on all the family members and all the friends who are here at Jessica Lynch's family home. Now her dad held a press conference a little while ago, saying that when he got that call, that she had been rescued yesterday, he got the call about 6:15, he didn't believe it. It was April Fool's day. He thought it was a bad April Fool's joke. He said he asked the caller three or four times, restate the name, making sure that they had the right person. This family says they never gave up hope that Jessica would be found alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG LYNCH, FATHER OF RESCUED POW: That's about all we've got to hold on to, is faith and hope. If we lose faith and hope, and quit praying to the Lord, there's no hope. So you got to keep soaring high.

GREG LYNCH JR., BROTHER OF RESCUED POW: The family's response, just overwhelming. We received the call last night little after 6:00. Of course, mom was ear to ear with dad trying to figure out good or bad news. Of course good news came through and the roof got a little higher and the door got a little looser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIS: Overwhelming gratitude from the family here to those rescue crews who braved them and risked their own lives to rescue their daughter and their sister. They do hope to talk to Jesse -- they call her Jesse -- by phone either tonight or tomorrow sometime. She disappeared March 23rd. She was with the 507th maintenance unit. That made a wrong turn. They were a supply unit. They were ambushed by the Iraqis. And her family says they didn't know she was actually captured. She was listed missing.

It wasn't until this week that the Pentagon listed her as a POW. What do they plan to do when she gets back home? They say a very big shindig. We've heard people talking about they're going to shoot off fireworks. They're very anxious for her to get back home.

As you can see behind me, yellow ribbons on this house. It's not only yellow ribbons on this house, but all over the community. This community has felt this very deeply. She's not just the Lynch's daughter. She's everyone's daughter, everyone's sister, here in Palestine, West Virginia.

HARRIS: I also got a kick out of her brother talk about being jealous that she got to go. He's also an enlisted man. He's just on leave right now.

DAVIS: He is. He's army. He's at Ft. Bragg. He's on an emergency leave. He's due to go back on April 11th, hoping he'll see his sister, hoping she'll come back to the states. But he says he's raring to go. If he goes to Iraq, he's not afraid, he's going to go, despite what happened to his sister.

HARRIS: Quite a day for those folks there.

Thanks, Patty. Patty Davis, reporting live from Palestine, West Virginia.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com