It was a local reporter, WFOR-TV Miami's Mike Kirsch, who was first on the
scene of the rescue by Navy SEALs of captured Army Private First Class Jessica
Lynch from a Nasiriyah, Iraq, hospital.
She was among several soldiers missing since March 23.
Kirsch wasn't there for the rescue, but he was able to gain through interviews
some of the details of Lynch's captivity and rescue at a time when details were
still sparse.
His accounts went out not only to Miami, but across CBS News.
The SEALs went in after launching a major diversion, Kirsch said. They
expected to move in guns blazing, but that turned out to be unnecessary.
Although her immediate area was not heavily guarded, Kirsch said, there was a
command-and-control center at the hospital.
The U.S. commandos also brought back 11 bodies, some believed to be
Americans, a military spokesman said Wednesday.
While not officially embedded, the veteran war correspondent has been
traveling throughout Kuwait and Iraq with cameraman Rudy Marshall.
He said being with a network -- WFOR-TV is owned by CBS -- has helped him to gain
access to military accompaniment.
Plus, he joked, his offers of satellite-phone time and the occasional Cohiba
cigar didn't hurt, either.
