On Tuesday April 24, the Oversight Committee held a hearing regarding the controversies surrounding the death of Cpl. Pat Tillman and the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch. In Chairman Henry Waxman's opening statement he accused the military of providing false information to the media in order to fabricate "heroes."

“For Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, the government violated its most basic responsibility”

"In working on this hearing, the Committee has learned of many other cases in which the military failed to tell families the truth.”

Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong (USMC, ret.) was deputy commander at United States Central Command from 2001 to 2003 and represented the military regarding the capture and rescue of Pfc. Jessica D. Lynch in Iraq.

Last Friday Gen. DeLong wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in which he described the events that led up to Lynch's capture and rescue and why the military is not at fault and that "overzealous politicians" created this illusion of Lynch as a hero because it would be "good for women in the military." HUMAN EVENTS spoke with Gen. Delong who told us this:

“The article was in response to Henry Waxman’s congressional testimony two days before that started with...all the military is trying to do is use our young men and women and make them heroes even if they are or are not. They used the example of Jessica lynch.

It was one congressman and one senator from West Virgina and their staffers said we think we need to give her a medal.. and one of them said we are going to push for the medal of honor and they did this through congressional liaison...I said whatever she rates the recommendations will go forward -- and we will find out. Subsequently we found out that she didn’t do anything wrong but she didn’t do anything heroic either -- because she couldn’t [due to her injuries]".

So we had a war of words... They said this would be good for the women of America. I agree but something heroic had to have happened.

The only reason I brought the story out was because Waxman went in to the military accusing them of trying to make up heroes. I threw it back at him -- I said you have to be careful when you do something like this -- you have to look inside your own closet first.”

When all is said and done -- after the hearings, opinion columns and major motion pictures -- history will be the judge...not Waxman, not the media, and not the military.