MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia veteran and former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch made an appearance at West Virginia University to discuss her experience and life back home.
The Wirt County native and WVU alumnus addressed a near full capacity crowd at the Gluck Theatre, where she was joined by retired U.S. Army Major George Davis and representatives from the WVU Center for Veteran, Military, and Family Programs. Lynch, a fellow WVU alumna herself, expressed excitement to be able to speak with current students about her life story and her efforts to help veterans back home as part of the West Virginia Women Veterans Program.
“It’s been great, I went to school here, so it’s been awesome to come back and now be a part of the military veteran organization,” Lynch said.
Lynch discussed her time as a POW, where she was wounded and held captive in Iraq for over a week after her supply convoy was ambushed during the Battle of Nasiriyah. In her over two-hour-long conversation at the Gluck Theatre, she discussed not only her mindset while she was held captive by Iraqi soldiers over 20 years ago but also her memories of being rescued and her life back in the states. Much like in her past speaking events, Lynch also took time after her event to speak with veterans and hear about their experiences, something she considers rewarding.
“Everybody has a story, everybody has experienced something, whether you are a veteran or not,” said Lynch. “So it’s nice to be able to let them talk and see what their life experiences are as well,” she said.
Veteran affairs in the Mountain State were also discussed, particularly what Lynch has done during her time with the West Virginia Women Veterans Program. This includes efforts to guide female veterans to proper benefits and programs while hearing stories from Mountain State residents who served all around the world. While there were conversations about ways to improve benefit access for veterans in West Virginia, Lynch also mentioned that any way to help is explored to address issues that in some cases are over twenty years old.
“There are issues that we are still going to probably be addressing in 10, 15, even 20 years,” said Lynch. “So I’m more on the benefits side, making sure that we’re guiding them in the right direction and see what we can do for them,” she said.
The message that Lynch expressed to students, alumni, and Mountain State veterans in attendance is that the battle to move on from adversity is a day-to-day battle. That’s regardless of whether people are looking to recover from life-changing experiences or simply trying to get through final exams. For the former POW who survived a near-death experience over 20 years ago, Lynch calls for attendees to find that source of happiness in life and keep hold of it.
“Anyone who has been overseas and has seen war knows that life can be taken away from you at any moment,” Lynch said. “So it’s just about getting out there and then enjoying what you have,” she said.