Former prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch waved goodbye July 22 to the medical staff that had treated her for more than three months as she boarded an Army Black Hawk helicopter at Walter Reed's Forest Glen annex.
Lynch, the first of the rescued prisoners of war from Operation Iraqi Freedom, was finally headed home to West Virginia. She arrived in Elizabeth, W.Va., Tuesday afternoon, spoke briefly to the media, and then was taken in a motorcade to her hometown of Palestine.
Monday at Walter Reed, Lt. Gen. James B. Peake, the Army surgeon general, awarded Lynch the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Prisoner of War medal during a ceremony in the hospital.
Peake, the Army's top doctor, spoke briefly to the Lynch family and members of the assembled "families" of Walter Reed, the Army Medical Department and the U.S. Army before presenting the awards to the 20-year-old supply clerk.
"It's important we gather because ceremonies, decorations and awards are an important part of our heritage and an important part of what we stand for as an Army," Peake said.
"One of the awards [Lynch received] is the very first award Gen. George Washington used to recognize soldiers - the Purple Heart. It was not necessarily about being wounded or injured in action initially, but that's what it has come to symbolize. It's a special award and not one you choose to get."
Peake said the Purple Heart is awarded to a person who's given more to their country than just service - "They have given of themselves by going into harm's way."
He said other awards have to do with the quality of one's service.
"The Bronze Star is given for meritorious service in combat, and the POW medal is one that very few people receive," Peake said.
He added that although the actual cash value of the medals "may only be about $1.35, to soldiers they're worth a lot more. They're about service and what it means to be part of this [Army] organization and uniform."
After Peake pinned the awards on her uniform, the soft-spoken Lynch thanked the Walter Reed staff for the care she received at the medical center since arriving here in April.
Peake then recognized the Walter Reed staff for the care they've provided Lynch and other soldiers returning from OIF.
"We're proud of them and they're proud of you," he said.
Walter Reed has treated more than 650 paitents from OIF since the war began, 170 of whom have been battle casualties.
Lynch was injured and captured March 23 after her unit, the 507th Maintenance Company, was ambushed in the Iraq city of Nasiriyah. Eleven of the company's soldiers were killed in combat or died of injuries.
Lynch was among six captured by Iraqi forces, but she was held separately. She was rescued from a hospital in Nasiriyah by U.S. Special Forces several days later, reportedly after a tip from an Iraqi lawyer.
She arrived at Walter Reed April 12 after receiving care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
Other members of Lynch's unit who were injured and held captive following the March 23 ambush were rescued by Marine forces in Iraq April 12. They also received medals during an Independence Day ceremony at Fort Bliss,Texas, where the unit is based.
