‘Never, never give up’: Former POW Jessica Lynch honored at Aurora Veterans Day ceremony
Twenty-one years after being rescued as a prisoner of war, former Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch said the lesson she learned can apply to anyone facing adversity.
“Honestly, whatever you are going through, just never give up,” she said. “Never, never give up.”
Lynch was the guest speaker at Aurora’s Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, one of many suburban events honoring American men and women who have served.
In Schaumburg, VFW Post 2202 hosted its annual ceremony, with local police and fire honor guards and patriotic music from the Schaumburg Christian Academy choir.
Vietnam War Army veteran Bob Royce of Schaumburg said it’s very important for every village to have a Veterans Day ceremony.
“There are so many veterans that have been forgotten about,” he said. “The young generation doesn’t know a lot about what has happened in the past for our country, what they (the veterans) have given and done, the ones that haven’t come home.”
Elgin’s annual event featured the American Legion Post 57 honor guard, a rifle salute, music from the Elgin High School band and several speakers.
The Aurora Veterans Day ceremony happened after a short parade. It included a military salute, a roll-call of military branches, a presentation of awards to Aurora veterans and remarks from Lynch.
Lynch, who was serving as a unit supply specialist with the 507th Maintenance Company, was held captive by Iraqi soldiers for 21 days after her convoy was ambushed and her Humvee hit by a rocket-propelled grenade near Nasiriyah on March 23, 2003.
The three men inside her Humvee were all shot and killed.
“I was the only survivor,” she said.
The seriously injured Lynch was taken by Iraqi soldiers to one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces where she was tortured.
“They stripped me of all my military gear and then proceeded to break my bones,” she said. “They snapped my right arm … My back was broken at the fourth and fifth lumbar. My left femur was broken. My left tibia was smashed by a metal pipe, and then my right foot was completely crushed.”
Lynch said she was moved several times, never knowing where she was or what would happen next.
On April 1 — 21 days after she was taken — Lynch became the first American soldier prisoner of war to by successfully rescued since World War II.
She recounted the moment a medic found her in the hospital where she was being held.
“He ripped the American flag patch off his uniform, placed it in my right hand … and said we’re American soldiers, and we’re here to take you home,” she said.
She was only 19 years old. When they rescued her, she weighed 80 pounds and needed over a dozen surgeries to repair the damage done to her body.
“No matter what you are going through, keep a positive perseverance attitude … with the resilience that is instilled in every single one of us,” she said.
Mayor Richard Irvin, himself a veteran, gave Lynch an award for meritorious service.
“You truly represent service above self,” Irvin said.