A Hero's Homecoming

A banner welcoming home Pfc. Jessica Lynch stretches across a road in Elizabeth, W.Va., July 18, 2003. Using 1,600 yards of donated lawn chair material, town workers have hung hundreds of yellow bows along the five miles Lynch's motorcade will drive on her journey's final leg from Elizabeth to her hometown of Palestine.

Lori Reynolds, 11, and her mother, Linda Reynolds, look at the mass of media representatives who've converged on Elizabeth, W.Va., July 22, 2003, to cover the homecoming of Pfc. Jessica Lynch. Hundreds of out-of-towners, many of them journalists, have brought cash, along with unprecedented traffic, to this county seat of about 1,000.

Charlotte Curfman greets customers at the Exxon station in Elizabeth, W.Va., July 20, 2003. Residents waited with open arms to welcome back hometown sweetheart Pfc. Jessica Lynch.

Earl Gerlagh, right, and Todd Somerville, work on sealing the parking lot at Dick's Market in Elizabeth, W.Va., July 20, 2003.

The Wirt County Courthouse in Elizabeth, W.Va., awaits the homecoming of former Army POW Jessica Lynch, July 15, 2003. A mound of letters, gifts and money sent to the courthouse for Lynch are being stored in a jail cell.

Helen Burns talks about former POW Pfc. Jessica Lynch's homecoming, July 15, 2003, in Elizabeth, W.Va. Burns said Lynch requested that she make her a chocolate pie for her homecoming. "I said I would make it for her and I will take it to her," Burns said. "Everyone is proud of her and they just want to be where she is."

Kevin Merrill, bottom, and Dale Clark hang a welcome home banner for Pfc. Jessica Lynch in her hometown of Palestine, W. Va., July 21, 2003.

Hester "Butch" Starcher and Leroy Carpenter hang a welcome home banner for Pfc. Jessica Lynch in her hometown of Palestine, W.Va., July 21, 2003. Lynch is being welcomed back to the rolling green hills of West Virginia's smallest county.

The home of former POW Jessica Lynch in seen undergoing renovation June 19, 2003, in Palestine, W.Va. The effort began with the idea of adding a handicapped-accessible bedroom and bathroom to the two-bedroom home. But volunteers collected so much donated supplies that they went ahead and remodeled the entire house.

Volunteers carry donated furniture into the remodeled home of Pfc. Jessica Lynch, in Palestine, W.Va., July 21, 2003. With only 5,873 residents, Wirt County had West Virginia's largest unemployment figures in June 2003, at 15.1 percent. But many residents haven't let hard financial times get in the way of their generosity.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch receives the Purple Heart from Lt. Gen. James B. Peake, U.S. Army surgeon general, July 21, 2003, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC. She was also awarded the Bronze Star and Prisoner of War medals. The Bronze Star is given for meritorious combat service, a Purple Heart is usually awarded to combat wounded, and the POW for being held captive during wartime.

Holly Wright, 14, and her grandmother Lori Siers gather to get a good view at Sportsman Park, where Jessica Lynch was scheduled to address the media upon arrival for her homecoming in Elizabeth, W.Va., July 22, 2003.

Spencer Foster, 5, wears a T-shirt that reads, "Thank You Jessica, " as he and his mother Susan Foster arrive from Marietta, W.Va., to see the homecoming parade of Pfc. Jessica Lynch in Elizabeth, W.Va., July 22, 2003. Hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people were expected to line the route of the military motorcade that would take her home after her plane lands in Elizabeth.

Jessica Lynch makes remarks from a wheelchair in the town park, Elizabeth, W. Va., July 22, 2003. "I'd like to say thank you to everyone who helped and prayed for my return," said Lynch.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch is wheeled from the stage by her brother, Spc. Greg Lynch, Jr., after making her first public remarks since her ordeal, July 22, 2003. She is able to walk with the aid of a walker but still having trouble standing.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch is joined by brother, Spc. Greg Lynch, Jr., right, and boyfriend Sgt. Ruben Contreras, lower right, in a motorcade through Elizabeth, W.Va., July 22, 2003. Lynch was wearing a promise ring given to her by Contreras, and in a television interview a cousin said the two planned to marry.

A large yellow ribbon adorns a tree in front of the driveway to former POW Jessica Lynch's home in Palestine, W.Va., Tuesday July 22, 2003.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch is greeted by family members as she arrives home in a parade car flanked by her brother Gregory Jr., back seat left, and Ruben Contreras, back seat right, in Palestine, W.Va., July 22, 2003.

Former POW Jessica Lynch waves from her front porch as she arrives home with her father Gregory Lynch Sr., center, and mother Deadra, right, and grandmother Nima Lynch, left, in Palestine, W.Va., July 22, 2003. Click here for pictures from her rescue.