In March 2003 Jessica Lynch Was Captured by Iraqi Forces and Held as a POW — Where Is She Now?

In the summer of 2001, 18-year-old Jessica Lynch was still living in her hometown of Palestine, W.V., when an Army recruiter from neighboring Parkersburg came to town. She and her two siblings were interested in what he had to tell them, which included promises of traveling to far-off lands and training that would help them during and after their military careers, per Time. While there was also the possibility of war, it hardly seemed likely.

This was a couple of months before the Sept. 11 attacks, so Jessica didn't think twice when it came to signing on the dotted line. "I wanted to improve my life and not just be there in Palestine forever," she told the outlet. "I wanted to get out and do something." Two years later, she was captured by Iraqi forces during an attack and ended up becoming a prisoner of war. Where is Jessica Lynch now? Here's what we know.

Jessica was a POW for nine days, an experience that was made more difficult by the fact that she was injured. After she returned home, the then 20-year-old briefly stayed at the Fisher House, which provides members of the military, veterans, and their families a safe and comforting place to stay while a loved one is recovering. On March 21, 2025, the Fisher House Facebook page honored Jessica and stated that she is an advocate for military and veteran families and is an elementary school teacher.

In an interview with Inside Edition in March 2018, Jessica talked about fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher. "I love being able to be a teacher," said Jessica from her fifth-grade classroom at a school in West Virginia. Other than wanting to go beyond the scope of her hometown, Jessica joined the Army so she could eventually go to college. She would go on to get her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and her master's degree in Communication Studies, per her website.

Jessica left for basic training on Sept. 19, 2001, and ended up in Texas at Fort Bliss, where she made about $1,100 a month as a supply clerk. By January 2002, Jessica was told she would be shipping out. "Of course I had a mother's sick feeling when I heard the word deployment," her mother Dee Lynch told Time. Like anyone, Dee assumed her daughter would be safe because she was only working as a supply clerk.

Jessica quickly learned that the issues in Iraq involved a lack of preparation and not knowing how to deal with the sand. Although the soldiers were told to clean their weapons as often as possible, they never had time to do so. The official Army report said her unit "found itself in a desperate situation due to a navigational error caused by the combined effects of the operational pace, acute fatigue, isolation, and the harsh environmental conditions." They were soon under fire by Iraqi soldiers.

The Army tried to turn Jessica into more of a hero than she was comfortable with. She has said she prefers to be called a survivor so as not to detract from the actual heroic efforts made by other soldiers. She was captured during this attack and held for nine days. Still, what happened to her during those days was horrific. Jessica's back was broken in two places, and her arms and legs were crushed. The Iraqi soldiers brought her to one of Sadam Hussein's palaces and sexually assaulted her, reported CNN.

Despite what she endured, Jessica made her dreams come true and added a couple more. In January 2007, Jessica gave birth to her daughter, Dakota. "I’m someone who went through something tragic and came out on the other side," she told People in June 2015. "My overall goal is just to make Dakota happy in life."