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American Morning
Jessica Lynch Interview
Aired November 18, 2003 - 09:16 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the second part of my interview with former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch and Rick Bragg. Bragg is the co-author of "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story." Lynch remembers very little about her captivity in Iraq. But I asked her about an Iraqi man who claims he tipped off U.S. soldiers about her location, and may have saved her life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA LYNCH, FMR. POW: I don't recall him being there. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I am saying I don't recall that, you know? And I'm thankful for what he did do, and I'm thankful for him, grateful to him and his family for making it out of there alive and having a part in, you know, me being here today.
O'BRIEN: U.S. special forces, tipped off by locals that there's a female soldier in the hospital, rush in to rescue Lynch. She hears the commotion, and at first things Iraqi forces are coming to get her.
LYNCH: I felt very frightened, very frightened, even when they ran inside the building, because obviously, when it first started taking place, that there was helicopters. They were shooting outside of the windows.
O'BRIEN: So you knew something was going on?
LYNCH: Yes, I knew something was about to happen. And when they came through the door, I heard them saying my name, and that made me even more nervous, because I didn't know what was about to happen and who it was, or what they were about to do?
And then, once they did finally get in there, and they, you know, told me that they were Americans, they were going to take me home. And it was a relief to me, but I still wasn't for sure if it was really happening.
It was actually on my way to Kuwait that I realized, oh, yes, I'm being taken home, I'm free.
O'BRIEN: It's actually going to happen.
LYNCH: Yes.
O'BRIEN: It's a great story in the book about -- which is the title of the book, where they say, you know, when you're so confused, "We're American soldiers. We are U.S. soldiers." You've talked a little bit about your disappointment with the video taping of the rescue and sort of the positioning of all of that by the military to some degree.
What's your take on it now?
LYNCH: You know, that's kind of in the past now. You know, they did what they felt was right.
RICK BRAGG, CO-AUTHOR, "I AM A SOLDIER, TOO": it was a publicity action. Everyone knows that. That's not in debate. But at the same time, to Jessie, this war isn't political. It's personal.
LYNCH: They rescued me. They're my heroes.
O'BRIEN: That's what's important to you?
LYNCH: Yes, that's what's important. They got me out of there.
O'BRIEN: Back in West Virginia, a joyous homecoming, but extensive rehabilitation lies ahead.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about your injuries today. Are you in terrible pain all the time, or just sort of achy pain every so often?
LYNCH: Through the leg, it's more just like a tingling, like when you woke up. You know, obviously the foot is dead; it's not going to wake up. So it's just more of, like, the tingling is constant, the aching that's there.
O'BRIEN: What did they do in your spine? They put...
LYNCH: Cages.
O'BRIEN: A cage around on the back.
And how about your leg?
LYNCH: There's a rod in my femur, a rod in the tibula, and then in the right foot, there's pins and screws holding the -- and then there's also a rod here at the humerus.
O'BRIEN: You look remarkable. I mean, I got to tell you, you look great, for having lots of rods and pins holding you all together.
LYNCH: I have my days, of course, but for the most part, yes.
O'BRIEN: Every single person so far in all these interviews have asked you for your wedding date. And I'm not sure why.
LYNCH: Because I'm not giving it out, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, not that it makes a difference. Tell me a little bit about your boyfriend, Ruben Contreras.
LYNCH: Contreras, yes. He's a sweetheart. He makes me laugh. He's always been there for me, supportive and caring. And...
LYNCH: We actually met on a briefing. He decided, you know, that was his chance. He was going to try to talk to me. And so. And after that, he did, and I got his number and everything.
Will you be able to walk one day without crutches, do they say, do you think?
LYNCH: Yes, we're hoping. I mean, it's a matter of just time. But hoping that it happens.
O'BRIEN: Did you find the process of writing this book and sort of reliving everything freeing, helpful? Or did you feel that it was reliving a really bad time and maybe not so helpful in some ways?
LYNCH: Kind of both, because yes, I had to relive it so I could tell it to Rick. But at the same time, we wanted to get it out there so that I could show what happened in that vehicle with the other four soldiers that were there along with me. And I think it was good that, you know, to tell it, because Lori and her family need to know what her last thoughts were, how she reacted in that, during the whole ambush.
O'BRIEN: You feel like you have a little bit of a mission to represent everybody, since you're the survivor?
LYNCH: Yes. Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: You can learn more about Jessica's experience in Iraq and her recovery in her book. It's called "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story."
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 November 18, 2003 - 09:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the second part of my interview with former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch and Rick Bragg. Bragg is the co-author of "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story." Lynch remembers very little about her captivity in Iraq. But I asked her about an Iraqi man who claims he tipped off U.S. soldiers about her location, and may have saved her life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA LYNCH, FMR. POW: I don't recall him being there. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I am saying I don't recall that, you know? And I'm thankful for what he did do, and I'm thankful for him, grateful to him and his family for making it out of there alive and having a part in, you know, me being here today.
O'BRIEN: U.S. special forces, tipped off by locals that there's a female soldier in the hospital, rush in to rescue Lynch. She hears the commotion, and at first things Iraqi forces are coming to get her.
LYNCH: I felt very frightened, very frightened, even when they ran inside the building, because obviously, when it first started taking place, that there was helicopters. They were shooting outside of the windows.
O'BRIEN: So you knew something was going on?
LYNCH: Yes, I knew something was about to happen. And when they came through the door, I heard them saying my name, and that made me even more nervous, because I didn't know what was about to happen and who it was, or what they were about to do?
And then, once they did finally get in there, and they, you know, told me that they were Americans, they were going to take me home. And it was a relief to me, but I still wasn't for sure if it was really happening.
It was actually on my way to Kuwait that I realized, oh, yes, I'm being taken home, I'm free.
O'BRIEN: It's actually going to happen.
LYNCH: Yes.
O'BRIEN: It's a great story in the book about -- which is the title of the book, where they say, you know, when you're so confused, "We're American soldiers. We are U.S. soldiers." You've talked a little bit about your disappointment with the video taping of the rescue and sort of the positioning of all of that by the military to some degree.
What's your take on it now?
LYNCH: You know, that's kind of in the past now. You know, they did what they felt was right.
RICK BRAGG, CO-AUTHOR, "I AM A SOLDIER, TOO": it was a publicity action. Everyone knows that. That's not in debate. But at the same time, to Jessie, this war isn't political. It's personal.
LYNCH: They rescued me. They're my heroes.
O'BRIEN: That's what's important to you?
LYNCH: Yes, that's what's important. They got me out of there.
O'BRIEN: Back in West Virginia, a joyous homecoming, but extensive rehabilitation lies ahead.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about your injuries today. Are you in terrible pain all the time, or just sort of achy pain every so often?
LYNCH: Through the leg, it's more just like a tingling, like when you woke up. You know, obviously the foot is dead; it's not going to wake up. So it's just more of, like, the tingling is constant, the aching that's there.
O'BRIEN: What did they do in your spine? They put...
LYNCH: Cages.
O'BRIEN: A cage around on the back.
And how about your leg?
LYNCH: There's a rod in my femur, a rod in the tibula, and then in the right foot, there's pins and screws holding the -- and then there's also a rod here at the humerus.
O'BRIEN: You look remarkable. I mean, I got to tell you, you look great, for having lots of rods and pins holding you all together.
LYNCH: I have my days, of course, but for the most part, yes.
O'BRIEN: Every single person so far in all these interviews have asked you for your wedding date. And I'm not sure why.
LYNCH: Because I'm not giving it out, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, not that it makes a difference. Tell me a little bit about your boyfriend, Ruben Contreras.
LYNCH: Contreras, yes. He's a sweetheart. He makes me laugh. He's always been there for me, supportive and caring. And...
LYNCH: We actually met on a briefing. He decided, you know, that was his chance. He was going to try to talk to me. And so. And after that, he did, and I got his number and everything.
Will you be able to walk one day without crutches, do they say, do you think?
LYNCH: Yes, we're hoping. I mean, it's a matter of just time. But hoping that it happens.
O'BRIEN: Did you find the process of writing this book and sort of reliving everything freeing, helpful? Or did you feel that it was reliving a really bad time and maybe not so helpful in some ways?
LYNCH: Kind of both, because yes, I had to relive it so I could tell it to Rick. But at the same time, we wanted to get it out there so that I could show what happened in that vehicle with the other four soldiers that were there along with me. And I think it was good that, you know, to tell it, because Lori and her family need to know what her last thoughts were, how she reacted in that, during the whole ambush.
O'BRIEN: You feel like you have a little bit of a mission to represent everybody, since you're the survivor?
LYNCH: Yes. Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: You can learn more about Jessica's experience in Iraq and her recovery in her book. It's called "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
