Former prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch plans to visit her fiance’s family this Thanksgiving and to marry Army Sgt. Ruben Contreras in June, the groom-to-be’s mother said.
CONTRERAS’ MOTHER, Lisa Latorre of Widefield, would not disclose the exact date and location of the wedding, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported in Sunday’s editions.
“I want this to be a real wedding for them, not just a bunch of media storming in,” Latorre said.
Lynch, 20, and Contreras met almost two years ago at a Taco Bell near Fort Bliss, Texas, where they were stationed.
In January, Lynch was shipped to Kuwait with the 507th Maintenance Company. She was captured March 23 after her convoy was ambushed in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. She was rescued from an Iraqi hospital April 1 by U.S. forces.
Obligations have kept the couple apart, but Latorre said they talk on the phone “a hundred times a day.”
Contreras is stationed in Texas while Lynch is scheduled for a round of media appearances this month. Her book, “I’m a Soldier, Too,” comes out this month.
The couple eventually could end up in Colorado Springs. Contreras said he hopes to leave the Army next year and become a juvenile probation officer. “It’ll be tough, but I like working with kids,” he said.
He said he is applying to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and wants to settle in town.
“I’m looking forward to them finally being able to be together and happy,” Latorre said. “They deserve that chance. They’ve been through so much.”
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