This is apparently the original story as written by Deanna Wrenn.
?This is
a part of history'
ELIZABETH -- Jessica Lynch looked and sounded great, residents and visitors said after she rode through town on a Mustang convertible.
But many wanted to get a longer glimpse of the 20-year-old Army private they consider a hero.
"She looked absolutely beautiful," said Angie Kinder, who came from Huntington with her two girls, Grace, 4, and Caroline, 1. "I expected her to look worse."
People started lining up along Elizabeth's main street, W.Va. 14, as early as 8 a.m. Tuesday. By the time Lynch rode down the street, swamped by photographers and smiling, people were ready to see her.
They crowded sidewalks and waved flags, screaming "Welcome home Jessi!" and cheering. The Wirt County High School band played, hoping Lynch's motorcade might stop for a minute.
Instead, Lynch was out of sight within seconds.
"That was fast," said Tracy Vanoy, who came from Pennsboro in Ritchie County to see Lynch. "She looked good, though. She looked happy."
Elizabeth resident Juanita Lockhart came out to show her support for Lynch.
"I wish they would have stopped for just a minute," she said.
Even in the brief moment Lynch passed by, many eyes teared up, and people said they were in the presence of a hero.
Barbara Fritz drove from Wellsburg in Brooke County to see Lynch. Although she only caught a glimpse for a moment, Fritz said she was glad she made the trip.
"She's a beautiful girl," Fritz said. "It was well worth it."
After Lynch headed toward her home in Palestine, the crowd dispersed into the street and was gone within an hour.
Residents here are hoping life starts to get back to normal now that Lynch is back.
Paula Burton, who is a second cousin of Lynch, said she won't go see the family until the media and hordes of people leave.
"We'll just wait until things calm down," she said.
http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2003072318/
This is the story that was rewritten by Reuters and was printed under Deanna Wrenn's byline.
By Deanna Wrenn
PALESTINE, W.Va. (Reuters) - Jessica Lynch, the injured Army private whose ordeal in Iraq was hyped into a story of U.S. heroism under fire, returned home on Tuesday to the embrace of loved-ones and cheers from flag-waving well-wishers.
"I had no idea so many people knew I was missing," the 20-year-old supply clerk said a brief prepared statement that represented her first public remarks since she was captured by Iraqi forces on March 23 near the city of Nassiriya and rescued by U.S. commandos on April 1.
Sitting in a wheelchair before a large American flag, dressed in an Army beret and uniform, Lynch expressed sorrow over the deaths of 11 comrades including another female soldier, PFC Lori Ann Piestewa of Tuba City, Arizona, all killed when their unit fell into an ambush.
"She was my best friend," said Lynch. "Lori will always remain in my heart."
Lynch, who has been awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War medals, arrived in this Appalachian community aboard an Army Blackhawk helicopter with her family. She later rode a red Mustang convertible on a five-mile trek to her home while hundreds waved flags, donned yellow ribbons and held up posters of the young soldier.
West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise called it "a homecoming for the world." Edith Kidd, a well-wisher from Buffalo, West Virginia, agreed: "People from all over the country and all over the world are here. It's the second Fourth of July."
Lynch was in a 507th Maintenance Company convoy when her unit was ambushed. A 90-minute firefight ensued.
But she became a national hero after media reports quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying she fought fiercely before being captured.
In the end, Army investigators concluded that Lynch was injured when her Humvee crashed into another vehicle in the convoy after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
The U.S. military also released video taken during what was portrayed as a daring rescue by special forces who raided the Iraqi hospital where she was treated. Iraqi doctors said later the U.S. operation had been over-dramatized.
Lynch has been quoted as saying she can remember nothing of the ambush or the rescue, and her remarks on Tuesday shed no new light on the episode.
"The failure here was that the news media got to thinking the government could be trusted to reflect reality," said Carolyn Marvin, professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication.
"It no longer matters in America whether something is true or false. The population has been conditioned to accept anything: sentimental stories, lies, atomic bomb threats," said John MacArthur, the publisher of Harper's magazine.
A spokesman for U.S. Central Command in Florida had no comment when asked about assertions that the heroism tale was seen by some critics as government propaganda.
The Washington Post, first to report the heroic version of Lynch's story, was criticized by its ombudsman for publishing information that was "wrong in its most compelling aspects."
The Lynch story also exposed CBS News to criticism after the network offered Lynch a movie deal while trying to persuade her to give an interview about her experiences. On Sunday, CBS Chairman and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves acknowledged CBS News probably erred in offering the deal.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=3137668
Off hand this looks like it may be the only line used by Reuters from the original authors piece.
"For a long time, I had no idea so many people know I had been missing,"