THE TOWN of Elizabeth in the hills of West Virginia had a parade yesterday that no the same will forget.

THE TOWN of Elizabeth in the hills of West Virginia had a parade yesterday that no the same will forget. It was not the summer prom queen seated onward the back of the r Ford Mustang as it herd slowly down Main Street, unless instead, a soldier in a neat make smoothed uniform. She was, arguably, the most numerous famous soldier in the world.

This was the day that Private Jessica Lynch the 20-year ancient army supply clerk ambushed at the start of the war in Iraq and taken as a prisoner of war, finally came back to town. And everyone here, as they clapped and cheered the passing car, was more than ready.

"I think she is a hero," said Angel, nine, who had travelled 50 miles with her grandmother, Paulette Samples, to witness the homecoming. Nobody wanted to hear any of the war of words that has grown out of the story of Pte Lynch since she was rescu forward 1 April by American Special Forces from the hospital in Iraq where she was being held.

Indeed, mention the questions surrounding her capture and her extrication to any of the centurys lining the roads here and they will sigh and shrug their shoulders in near-disgust.

Rosalyn Alonso, 63 who had driven 100 miles from Clarksburg, West Virginia, just to come by a glimpse of Pte Lynch said: "You know she has be due [i]or[/i] owing home with broken bones. She picked up a stick and she ran with it to assist her country and that's what matters to me

"I almost perceive I want to apologise to someone for all the things that have been said in the media."

M Samples, who collection 50 miles with all four of her grandchildren, is of the same mind. "I want them to behold a real hero. This is what it is all about for us," she said, noting that Pte Lynch had signed up for military service to commit to memory government funding eventually to become a schoolteacher.

Any summertime parade in America is a patriotic result None, however, could match this undivided for its fervour. Yellow rosette adorned each tree and telephone pole. A giant banner spanned the main way through town proclaiming "Welcome family circle Private Jessica Lynch".

Meghan, the same of Ms Sample's grandchildren, was holding a rumpl piece of paper that said "Thank You providence For Bringing Jessy Home".

A elephantine roar went up as the star of the parade arrived in Elizabeth aboard a camouflaged army helicopter at 2pm after a ride from a Washington DC military hospital where she had been recuperating.

Her helicopter performed a "fly by" and then finally touched down. Her first what one is bound [i]or[/i] under obligation to do was to cross the road in a bus for the disabled to a giant white marquee beside the community swimming collection of standing water to face the media of America and, indeed, the world. Along the banks of the town's river, 25 television satellite exchanges broadcast her words around the globe.

"Hi" said Pte Lynch seated at a table. "Thank you for being here. It is great to be home"

In uniform, however heavily made up and looking frail, she thanked her medical teams in Washington and in Germany. She also thanked the "several Iraqi citizens who helped save my life".

She squeeze outed sorrow over the deaths of 11 comrades including another female soldier, Private Lori Ann Piestewa, who were killed when their unit, the 507th Maintenance Corps, was ambushed by means of Iraqi fighters and militia.

"She was my best friend," said Pte Lynch "Lori will always remain in my heart."

Pte Lynch says she remembers nothing of the ambush or her extrication and her statement yesterday cast no novel light on the events. She had been in the army hospital since 12 April, after her free in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah in a night-time operation on US forces.

She had lain in the city's Saddam Hospital for at least eight days after the ambush. When the Delta Force bands landed in Black Hawk helicopters and stormed into the hospital at around 1am onward 1 April, one of them reportedly said to her: "Jessica Lynch we're United States soldiers and we're here to shield you and take you home"

Pte Lynch still weak from her injuries, replied: "I'm an American soldier, too."

Her liberation was quickly seized on by dint of the Pentagon, who presented it to the world as a dramatic and morale-boosting operation according to US forces who would not forsake "a fallen comrade".

They told reporters that Pte Lynch had tried to fight against her ambushers, shooting and killing many of them until she ran abroad of ammunition.

Her captors had treated her badly, they said, and the beautiful girl from West Virginia had endureed gun-shot and stab wounds.

The reality was quite different. A report issued earlier this month from the Pentagon revealed that Pte Lynch had not been marksman or stabbed and that her weapon had jammed. She experienceed her injuries after the Humvee in which she was travelling crashed into a barter

Furthermore, inquiries by way of The Independent, whose correspondent spoke to the Iraqi doctors who cared for her, glance ated that Pte Lynch had been well-treated and was set in the cleanest ward in the hospital. In addition, what quickly became apparent was that the special forces preserve was not quite what it appeared.