Dead GI's Father: "Lynch Is 'A Profiteer'"

[matcom]

<snip>

COMFORT, Texas -- The father of a Comfort soldier killed in an ambush in Iraq that former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch survived said that Lynch's million-dollar book deal will taint the memory of the soldiers killed in the ambush.

"Pretty severe, isn't it?" Randy Kiehl (pictured, left), the father of Army Spc. James Kiehl, said in an exclusive interview with KSAT 12 News Wednesday from his home in Comfort. "That she makes money off the death of my son and off the deaths of so many others."

James Kiehl (pictured, below) was among seven members of the 507th Maintenance Company stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso killed in the ambush on March 23 near An Nasiriyah. Lynch survived the attack and was taken prisoner of war. She was later rescued from a hospital and became a national hero.

On Tuesday, a publisher announced that Lynch signed a $1 million deal for a book that will tell the story about her capture and rescue.

"Where's the million-dollar book deal for the other members of the 507th who were killed?" Randy Kiehl said. "How do they tell their story?

"Now, she's a profiteer because what she did was in the line of duty."

http://www.ksat.com/news/2455232/detail.html

[Catherine Vincent]

1. I understand how he feels.

He's still in mourning over the death of his son. You never know, maybe she was planning on splitting some of the profits to the dead solders' family.

[amazona]

5. ha, she's splitting the money with her "co" writer and agent

Lynch will see less than 50 percent of this million even before taxes if she has anything like a traditional agreement with the co-writer (who will likely do ALL the writing and research), the agent, and the lawyer. Pay taxes and take care of her own, and there is damn little leftover for anybody else, especially if she is so injured that she will never be able to work again -- I'm not clear about that. It's too bad all our soldiers and families aren't well taken care of, but they aren't, and I don't blame her for grabbing what cash she can. This is likely her only real chance in life.

(P.S. I have heard of co/ghost writing agreements with celebrities that gave the writer as much as 90 percent of the advance! Seriously! But in a way it is fair as the writer is the one who is writing. I have only ghostwritten one book, and I received 100 percent of the advance/royalties while the other individual got his name on the book, but he was not a celeb.)

[greatauntoftriplets]

25. I read that she will get all royalties from the book's sale.

My solution? Boycott it!

[gratuitous]

2. Boy, if he's this upset about Lynch

Don't tell this guy about Halliburton and Bechtel! A million bucks is peanuts compared to what they're getting, and unlike Lynch's book advance, those billions are coming out of the federal treasury, which is supposed to be taking care of veterans.

[JI7]

4. just what i thought

this is just what i was thinking while reading it. someone needs to send him info on this.

[graham67]

3. How is she going to...

write a book about her capture and rescue when she has "amnesia"? Why doesn't Shoshanna (sp?) Johnson get a $1 million dollar book deal??

[RetroLounge]

7. I think the answer to your question is kind of

black and white...

[tom_paine]

33. I'm afraid I have to completely agree

sad, but true...

[amazona]

8. she isn't, Rick Bragg is going to write it...

If I recall correctly, Rick Bragg will be her co-author, which is a polite way of saying that he will do the actual writing and research on the book. It may be another writer, haven't double-checked my sometimes error-prone memory. But you must be aware that celebrities do not write their own books. The ones who claim that they do, and who do not allow their ghost/co-writer's name on the cover of the book, pay a high price for this privilege.

Lynch is donating a name and a face in exchange for her share of the cash -- not to mention the equivalent of millions of dollars of free publicity connected with her story. Racism/sexism is still alive in the land, and the news media prefers to focus on a skinny-looking blonde woman rather than a healthy-looking black woman, so Johnson cannot bring that kind of pre-publicity to any deal she tried to arrange, assuming she could get a deal at all. That's my take on it anyway.

[xray s]

6. Who is the publisher?

That might tell you quite a bit about the story behind the story.

[amazona]

10. OK here's the deal...

I broke down and goggled. Publisher is Knopf/Random House. Co-author is southern writer Rick Bragg. Lynch and Bragg will "divide" the million dollar advance -- no details about how they will divide it, but usually the actual writer (which would be Bragg) gets the greater part of the money, as he is the one actually doing the work. He will also likely need to hire his own researchers for this project. Since Lynch brings such a great amount of free publicity to the table, it is not unbelievable to me that she could have actually arranged a 50/50 split though. Knopf is being cagey about these specifics. It is open to question whether Lynch actually remembers anything or if she actually had amnesia or when and why she lied.

[KoKo]

16. Wasn't Rick Bragg one of the reporters who was using "stringers" to write

his articles? Oh well.....sorry......I better Google this one before I tarnish him. :-(

[KoKo]

17. Yep! Rick Bragg......NYT's reporter.....Suspended!....Link:

Rick Bragg's Lousy Alibi
The suspended New York Times reporter insists—wrongly—that
everybody does it.
By Jack Shafer
Posted Tuesday, May 27, 2003, at 4:27 PM PT

On Friday, New York Times reporter Rick Bragg insisted to the
Columbia Journalism Review he'd done nothing wrong in claiming 1)
the byline for a story that an unpaid free-lancer had reported for him and
2) the dateline "Apalachicola, Fla.," after visiting the town only briefly.
(See "Rick Bragg's 'Dateline Toe-Touch.' ")

"I wouldn't have done anything different," Bragg tells CJR.

Bragg reiterates that position to the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz
again today—as he pre-announces his resignation from the New York
Times. He tells Kurtz:

I have dictated stories from an airport after writing the story
out in longhand on the plane that I got from phone
interviews and then was applauded by editors for "working
magic." … Those things are common at the paper. Most
national correspondents will tell you they rely on stringers
and researchers and interns and clerks and news assistants.

Bragg continues his defense, saying Times stringers and interns "should
get more credit for what they do," but in "taking feeds" from such
assistants, "I have never even thought of whether or not that is proper.
Maybe there is something missing in me. ..."

http://slate.msn.com/id/2083607/

[amazona]

35. well...actually...bragg is correct

No one writes an indepth feature-length piece of reportage without using the research of others. No one. I am not clear on why Bragg was hung out to dry on this issue, never have been.

Jayson Blair lied and made up stories out of a whole cloth but Bragg was just doing what reporters are supposed to do. It is physically impossible to be everywhere at once. That's why you hire stringers to get local details for you. They should certainly be recognized instead of being fobbed off with $75 for their troubles...but this is not going to change because some people are happy to call themselves writers and reporters even if they're not being paid or recognized for ****.

Writers, not just screenwriters, but all writers, need a damn union.

[Generic Other]

9. That's why soldiers don't talk about their war experiences

Private Lynch has become this war's Audie Murphy. The trouble is, she performed no heroic acts, saved no fellow soldiers, did nothing but drive badly. Apparently, she wasn't even conscious when the others were killed. And she survived when her buddies didn't.

Same with Corporal Chin. He stuck a flag on a statue.

These are soundbite heroes.

Most of the real heroes are dead.

The rest will try not to relive their memories in their sleep for the rest of their lives.

[xray s]

13. She is a product for the WH to market

A distraction, a sideshow, a Rovian puff of smoke to get in your eyes and divert your attention. A feel good mind bath.

I am glad she survived the attack and came home intact, but I really think she should use her 15 minutes of fame to honor her comrades who didn't make it and splitting that cash with their families. And telling the truth.

[liberalnurse]

11. I don't fault Jessica Lynch......

She is a victim two times over. First as a casualty of war and secondly as a pon in the *bush/rumsfield regime propoganda. She did not choose to be exploited. They, the *bush regime, is a powerful cartel of thugs who desperately needed a Hero Story. The amnesia is probably the only way to survive. I imagine the *bush regime also arranged the book deal and have already written it for her.

She has endured a much greater fear right here in the states than she ever could have in Iraq. Tony Soprano is just a simple working man compared to these international rogues.

Lets just not give her any flak....She's not the problem but a repeated victim.

[graham67]

15. OK....

she may not have initially chosen to be the war's "poster child" but it sure sounds like she's on board the propaganda train now. Sounds like at least her Dad is in on it too (Mr. We're-Not-Supposed-To-Talk-About-That). Think she has an agent yet?

[amazona]

36. clearly she has an agent and an entertainment lawyer

She is not trained to broker this kind of deal and find this level of co-author on her own. As far as sharing the money, most of the money will go to the agent (15 percent is standard), the lawyer (10 percent is likely), the co-author (50 percent is likely).

[DealsGapRider]

12. I understand how he feels, too.

To be honest, I've been rather disappointed by a lot of the Jessica Lynch bashing that has taken place here on DU, as I feel like their anger at Bush and Co. was inappropriately placed on her shoulders. Even if her rescue was staged and the whole thing was a propaganda circus, Lynch herself did nothing wrong. Yet she was practically made to look like the villain.

That having been said, I don't think it's right to profit off one's service to the country. Reminds me of that asshole Scott O'Grady who got shot down over Bosnia and has spent the rest of his life capitalizing off of it.

If I were in her position, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I got $1 million for simply getting captured while my comrades got killed.

[Robin Hood]

20. I don't think it's right to profit off one's service to the country.

How about people that profit off of other peoles service to the country? Like a Vampire that feeds off death, Bush feeds off of the heroism and sacrifice of those he kills.

[amazona]

37. she isn't getting one million

Hate to repeat myself but there is no way Lynch is getting anything like $1 million -- the ENTIRE book deal is for one million, divided between Bragg and Lynch. At best, Lynch is getting 50 percent, probably less after the agent and lawyer is paid.

[oldcoot]

41. She could have gotten a lot more

If she was greedy, she could have gotten a better deal. I remember hearing about how the various media giants had offered her lucrative package deals that would have paid her a lot more. I wonder why she settled for a book.

[Robin Hood]

14. What about that African American woman that was an actual POW?

How come she's not getting a book deal? Oh that's right, because she's black. Lynch was in a hospital the whole time. The doctors treated her very well. That black woman was an actual POW and she was injured as well. Where's her damn book deal.

[HalfManHalfBiscuit]

18. So everyone is owed a book deal?

That is not the way it works. Jessica was lucky (in a way) and got the publicity. A good person with a story that people think will sell.

Any of the POWs are free to write a book. If a publisher thinks it will sell, they will get a deal.

[Robin Hood]

19. Not everyone,

Just little apple pie white girls get the book deal. Jessica Lynch did nothing more special than the other woman. Her phony rescue was a Bush commercial to give the impression that the war was turning around when everyone was calling it a bog down. As it turns out, it still is a bog down.

Jessica Lynch was not terrorized by her so called captors(doctors). The other woman was. Furthermore the other woman was held for longer than Lynch was. And how do you know if Lynch is a good person or not? And are you implying that the other woman isn't?

I find it interesting that you took the slant that you did.

[HalfManHalfBiscuit]

29. Easy solution

If the POW you are talking about has a great story, then she should write a book and cash in. No one is stopping her. If the book is good enough, she will get a deal.

Why so bitter about Lynch's book deal?

[Robin Hood]

42. Her story is a pack of lies.

The biggest non-story of the year. She will be cashing in on a pack of lies concocted by Bush's campaign team. They will publish it as god's honest truth, Is that right to you?

[Muddleoftheroad]

38. What sells

If the public wants to buy it, I don't blame or her publisher a bit. That's not racism, it's good marketing.

[bluedog]

23. Shoshana Johnson

JOHNSON, SHOSHANA NYREE
Name: Shoshana Nyree Johnson
Branch/Rank: Army/Spc
Unit: 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, TX
Date of Birth/Age: 30
Home City of Record: El Paso, Texas
Date of Loss: March 23, 2003
Country of Loss: Iraq
Original Status: Prisoner of War
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground


also:::::::

criminals."

Here is information about the POWs captured during the engagement.


Sgt. James Riley, of New Jersey.

Army Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, of El Paso, Texas. Part of the U.S. Army 507th Maintenance, of the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. The 507th is a support unit and not considered a combat unit. Hudson graduated from Alamogordo High School in New Mexico in 1998 and likes weight training, fishing, bowling and card games, his mother said.

Pfc. Patrick Miller, 23, of Park City, Kan. Part of the U.S. Army 507th Maintenance. Miller has a wife, Jessica, and two children, a 4-year-old son and a 7-month-old daughter. He graduated from Valley Center High School in Kansas and was a welder before joining the military last summer to help pay student loans, his brother said.

Army Spc. Shoshawna Johnson, of west Texas.

Army Spc. Edgar Hernandez, 21, of Mission, Texas.
Helicopter Crew Captured
In a separate incident, an Apache helicopter went down over Iraq and the two-man crew was taken prisoner by Iraqi forces.

U.S. military officials have said both men were part of Aviation Battalion, 1/227th Company C, Fort Hood, Texas. Their names are as follows:


Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, born in Georgia.

Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, 30, born in Florida.

[maxsolomon]

26. shoshanna got SHOT in her ANKLES

and walked out!

where's her story?

i guess she ain't purty enough.

[graham67]

21. Question?

Can anyone tell me if all of the 507th POWs and KIAs (and the two helicopter pilots) got a bronze star? Is the bronze star awarded posthumously?

[w4rma]

22. I hope Lynch profits big-time off of this thing. The board members who

never see any combat at all and stay in the shadows out of the media's spotlight are *all* profiting in much larger quantities than Lynch. Her and her dad seem like nice folks so I hope they get this money and buy lots of land, a big house and make great investments. That's exactly what the Betchel and Haliburton board members are doing, except they pushed for this invasion and occupation and were never anywhere close to danger.

I say, good for Lynch. She's the only person that might profit off of this thing who deserves it.

[matcom]

24. exactly how does she "deserve" it

by perpetrating yet another lie?

oh that's right, she can't remember anything! :eyes:

[Serial Mom]

27. This and more

She also was offered a free college education from her state so she could become a teacher - the reason why she entered the army in the first place.

Wonder if this book money now will make her decide not to get that free education since she won't need to work?

Wonder if any other soldier could receive that free education instead?

[DemLikr]

28. Amazing...he's angry at Lynch, but Halliburton is A-OK?

Americans don't like to think, do they?

[matcom]

31. I'd be angry at Lynch too

she allowed the LIE to stand.

Amnesia my ASS!

[DemLikr]

34. I agree with you, Matcom, that she is part of the coverup.

But really, would you expect one in her position to simply refuse the opportunity to mak emore money than she or anyone in her town ever thought they could ever make in their whole life?

[oldcoot]

40. Did she claim to have amnesia?

I thought her family pretty much dismissed that claim when it came out. I am not at all angry at Lynch. We have heard various versions of Lynch's tale from the Pentagon, BBC, the Iraqi lawyer and the Iraqi medical staff. Why shouldn't Lynch get a chance to tell her side of the story? While I am not a fan of her choice in ghost writers, I consider writing a book to be a fairly classy approach.

[Cha]

30. I don't blame him for speaking out!

It's a total disgrace for the bushit to pump up this one Soldier and the rest are left to die in the dust!

[KG]

32. somehow fitting - a ficticious hero for a ficticious war.

:(

[HalfManHalfBiscuit]

39. What? Like the fictictious moon landing?

I'm pretty sure that the IraqII war actually happened. If not, that was, and continues to be, one hell of a hoax.

[Robin Hood]

43. It was not a war! It was an illegal invasion on a sovereign nation.

Let me also add that it was an invasion against an almost defenseless sovereign nation that posed no threat to us or anybody else.

[toddzilla]

44. how aware

do you really think a 19 year old former beauty queen from palestine WV, is of anything other than what is on fox news..

obviously the whole thing stinks of propaganda to high heaven, but don't blame lynch for it.

it's like britney spears.. do you really blame her for doing whatever the marketing people tell her to do so she can be queen of the pop charts?

how much integrity and resolve for doing the "right thing" did any of us have when we were her age, especially, and most probably lacking most of the facts of the true situation and the deeper meaning it has for the country as a whole.



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