Meeting Jessica Lynch

This past weekend, I had the honor to briefly meet Jessica Lynch while attending a special screening of Virtuous. You can read my last post for a review of the movie but while blogging, I had wanted to separate Lynch from the movie because they really are two different subjects.

If her name sounds familiar but you aren’t quite sure where to place it, let me help you out. Jessica Lynch was a P.O.W. during the Iraq War. She was badly wounded during an ambush, taken prisoner, then rescued when one of her Iraqi doctors got word to the Americans where she was. There are a couple good books telling her story and I believe a t.v. movie was done somewhere down the line.

My first impression of her was how energetic she is. She had more energy than the film as it turns out. And she was gracious to people like me who asked for a picture or just to shake her hand. She kept a smile on her face, even though at some point I am sure she wanted to hurry along to the next gig.

And that is what this was, a gig. She has been working with this religious film company for a while. I don’t know how she hooked up with them, why, or future plans, but she starred in one movie with this company and had a bit role in this one. The film company is taking full advantage of her fame and milking it for all the P.R. they can get. She had a bit role in this film and yet her name is on the poster in starring position.

I don’t blame Jessica for selling the name or trying to make a buck. Even war heroes have to feed their families. People were there to see her – not the film – and they did allow her to speak for about 10 minutes in which she capsulized what happened to her during the war and listed all the parts of the body she now has rods and pins inserted. The presenters didn’t allow for Q & A which is a shame because I think everyone there desired to ask questions.

She was lucky to survive the war. She knows it. The audience knows it. Still, my guess is she turned out a pretty decent person. She was cordial and interacted with everyone. You can tell people enjoyed her presence. It was a pleasure to meet her. Hopefully, down the road somewhere, I’ll get a chance to interview her or something and learn more about her life these days. In the meantime, thanks Jessica for the photo!