Indian Veterans Honor Jessica Lynch for Valor
An American Indian veterans group awarded a “warriors medal of valor†to former POW Jessica Lynch in a ceremony on the mountain named after her best friend and fallen comrade, Army Spc. Lori Piestewa.
The ceremony on Piestewa Peak outside Phoenix marked the two-year anniversary of the ambush on a convoy in Iraq in which Piestewa was killed and Lynch was taken prisoner.
Piestewa, a Hopi, is believed to have been the first American Indian woman killed while fighting for the U.S. military.
“She was a very strong-minded woman,†said Lynch, who is still recovering from ambush injuries. “Her strength rubbed off on me.â€
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