Jessica Lynch

THEN: As an Army private ambushed and held captive by Iraqis, she was a victim of the propaganda machine at the Pentagon, which exaggerated her heroics.

NOW: After many operations to repair leg injuries she suffered in the crash of her humvee, she still endures pain and undergoes physical therapy but is "thankful to be alive." Lynch, 27, has a 3-year-old daughter and has nearly completed her studies at West Virginia University to become a teacher. "I'm one of those people that where life takes me, I will follow. You never know what opportunities may come to you."

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