Former U.S. Army Private soldier and Operation Iraqi Freedom Prisoner of War Jessica Lynch is planning a visit to Turlock High School on Nov. 7 for a Veteran Dinner and plans to speak to THS students, at no charge to the school.
“This is an awesome opportunity for our student to meet a former POW motivational speaker who overcame adversity,” Lt. Cmdr. (USN-Retired) Carlos Montanez of THS Navy JROTC wrote in an email to THS Principal Marie Peterson.
Montanez wrote that Lynch, 31, is now an elementary school teacher with a Master’s Degree in education.
On March 23, 2003, just three days after the start of the Iraq invasion Lynch, then 19, along with six other soldiers were captured in Nasiriyah, a town near Baghdad. On April 1 Army Rangers rescued her, along with the recovery of the bodies of eight of her fellow soldiers.
According to an NBC News report, Lynch received an honorable discharge from the Army and enrolled at West Virginia University to begin her dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher in 2005.
