Army veteran and former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch speaks to a packed tent of veterans and their families at the Allen County Fair on Friday as part of the fair’s veterans day events.
Charlotte Caldwell | The Lima News
LIMA — Veterans day Friday at the Allen County Fair not only gave veterans free admission but provided them with a program featuring former Army veteran and prisoner of war Jessica Lynch and information about veterans benefits.
Lynch was just 19 years old in Iraq on the third day of the Iraq War when she and others became separated from their unit and their ways of navigating and communication failed. They headed toward lights they thought were friendly, but they actually entered an enemy city and were ambushed. Lynch was then taken prisoner to one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces.
“At that point, they stripped me of all of my military gear and then proceeded to break my toes. They snapped my right arm, my back was broken at the fourth and fifth lumbar, my left tibia, they took a metal pipe object and they smashed my tibia and broke that, and then my right foot was completely crushed,” Lynch said.
”They took me then to the hospital where they proceeded to surgically remove my femur bone out of my body,” she continued. “So they removed my femur, and they replaced it with a 1940s-era rod that was fit for a man. I’m short, I’m only 5’3”, so this rod was too long, but it was unsterilized. So they put it inside, and I instantly caught an infection, but there was nothing that I could do.”
Lynch remembered the moments when American forces came to save her.
“I remember as they approached me in the little room that I was locked in, one of the SEALs ripped the American flag patch off of his uniform and placed it in my hand and said ‘We’re Americans. We’re here to take you home,’” she said.
She weighed 76 pounds when she was rescued and she said it took her a long time to recover. Despite the trauma she experienced, she left the veterans with a positive message.
“No matter what you are going through in life, just keep persevering,” she said. “Never give up, always have that mindset, because, unfortunately, every single one of us goes through something in life, whether it’s a struggle or maybe something larger where it’s an obstacle that’s standing in your way. Just don’t give up, just keep striving, keep being mindful of everything you are wanting, your dreams, your goals, and continue to go for that.”
Ohio Rep. Susan Manchester was also present. While veterans were eating and receiving information about veterans’ benefits from booths, the Hallelujah Saints Band performed patriotic songs.
Organizations in attendance included the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Area Agency on Aging, Disabled American Veterans, Ohio Means Jobs, Blue Star Mothers, Office of Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, the Allen County Auditor’s Office, St. Vincent Veteran Families, Ohio Department of Veterans Services, the Allen County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program.
Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith was present and said, “The Allen County Veterans Service Commission and the support they provide for veterans in terms of housing, employment service, transportation to medical visits is a very important asset in our community. I’m glad this is a tradition where we come out and show our support for the sacrifices they made. When we talk about protecting democracy and freedom in our way of life, we can’t have that conversation without honoring the veterans and the contributions that they make.”
Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.
