Prisoners of war rarely achieve superstardom.
Most return home quietly to deal with the physical and emotional demons they carry back from service overseas. They eventually tell their stories to spouses, support groups, a friend or two.
Many don't receive medals of honor until decades later. Some never get them.
Within months of returning home from this latest war in Iraq, Jessica Lynch, a 20-year-old former Army supply clerk from Palestine, W.Va., was propelled to celebrity status and awarded several service medals.
Now, she will tell her story in a book co-written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Bragg. A source close to the negotiations told The Associated Press that Lynch and Bragg will split a $1 million advance, with any royalties going to Lynch for "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story."
But some in the military community say the celebrity-hero status and Bronze Star medal bestowed upon Lynch are unwarranted.
"I'm sure she went through a lot of hell, but so did the other guys," said Dale Stitzel of Carlisle, who was in the Army in 1945 and 1946. Stitzel said Lynch's story was "blown out of proportion."
Lynch spent nine days as a prisoner of war in an Iraqi hospital after her vehicle crashed during a March ambush on her maintenance unit near Nasiriyah.
She captured national attention upon returning home after Special Forces rescued her from her Iraqi hospital room. In July, she was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, one of the nation's highest awards for meritorious service.
That recognition lessened the medal's value, said Charles "Chick" Morris, of Harrisburg, a Marine during World War II and the Korean War.
She "merely awoke one morning in an Iraqi hospital and was rescued," he said. "She may be a very dedicated young woman, but I don't think [that] rates the attention of a Bronze Star."
The Bronze Star has three distinct categories, said Henry Gole of Silver Spring Twp. The retired colonel, Special Forces officer and combat veteran of Vietnam and Korea teaches at the Army War College.
Gole said a soldier can get the Bronze Star for meritorious service, usually in combat, or meritorious action, also usually in a combat, or for valor in combat, in which case the "V" device is also awarded.
"If she satisfied the criteria for the award, then God bless her," Gole said.
Former POWs who were asked seemed to agree that any medal for Lynch is fair.
"Anybody who's been a POW has been through hell," said Harry Fritz, a Camp Hill resident who was shot down during a bombing raid during World War II. "She deserves the medal."
As for the book deal, Gole and others say they hope Lynch makes a lot of money from it. Lloyd Dull served in the 35th Infantry Division during World War II and was held by the Germans for 224 days.
"If she can tell the story and make some bucks from it, I wish her well," the Lancaster resident said.
A spokesman for the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, said Lynch's book is due out in mid-November.
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Most return home quietly to deal with the physical and emotional demons they carry back from service overseas. They eventually tell their stories to spouses, support groups, a friend or two.
Many don't receive medals of honor until decades later. Some never get them.
Within months of returning home from this latest war in Iraq, Jessica Lynch, a 20-year-old former Army supply clerk from Palestine, W.Va., was propelled to celebrity status and awarded several service medals.
Now, she will tell her story in a book co-written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Bragg. A source close to the negotiations told The Associated Press that Lynch and Bragg will split a $1 million advance, with any royalties going to Lynch for "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story."
But some in the military community say the celebrity-hero status and Bronze Star medal bestowed upon Lynch are unwarranted.
"I'm sure she went through a lot of hell, but so did the other guys," said Dale Stitzel of Carlisle, who was in the Army in 1945 and 1946. Stitzel said Lynch's story was "blown out of proportion."
Lynch spent nine days as a prisoner of war in an Iraqi hospital after her vehicle crashed during a March ambush on her maintenance unit near Nasiriyah.
She captured national attention upon returning home after Special Forces rescued her from her Iraqi hospital room. In July, she was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, one of the nation's highest awards for meritorious service.
That recognition lessened the medal's value, said Charles "Chick" Morris, of Harrisburg, a Marine during World War II and the Korean War.
She "merely awoke one morning in an Iraqi hospital and was rescued," he said. "She may be a very dedicated young woman, but I don't think [that] rates the attention of a Bronze Star."
The Bronze Star has three distinct categories, said Henry Gole of Silver Spring Twp. The retired colonel, Special Forces officer and combat veteran of Vietnam and Korea teaches at the Army War College.
Gole said a soldier can get the Bronze Star for meritorious service, usually in combat, or meritorious action, also usually in a combat, or for valor in combat, in which case the "V" device is also awarded.
"If she satisfied the criteria for the award, then God bless her," Gole said.
Former POWs who were asked seemed to agree that any medal for Lynch is fair.
"Anybody who's been a POW has been through hell," said Harry Fritz, a Camp Hill resident who was shot down during a bombing raid during World War II. "She deserves the medal."
As for the book deal, Gole and others say they hope Lynch makes a lot of money from it. Lloyd Dull served in the 35th Infantry Division during World War II and was held by the Germans for 224 days.
"If she can tell the story and make some bucks from it, I wish her well," the Lancaster resident said.
A spokesman for the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, said Lynch's book is due out in mid-November.
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