WORLD'S OPINIONS: LAST WEEK OF MAY 2004

BETWEEN SHAME AND GLORY: TWO DIFFERENT AMERICAN SERVICEWOMEN

"Jessica Lynch went from superstardom to being a normal West Virginia girl," Hardy says. "Lynndie is being portrayed as a devil. It may take six or 12 months, but she'll come back to being a normal West Virginia girl."

Photo: One hero a one Villain.

One came home to glory, honored with medals and a nation's warm embrace. One returned a symbol of the dark side - a growing scandal in a far-off war. Ten months ago, Americans celebrated the return of former POW Jessica Lynch, who was feared dead, then rescued by U.S. special forces. This past week, the nation shuddered at photos of Army Reserve Pfc. Lynndie England smiling and gesturing at naked, hooded Iraqi prisoners - deeply troubling images that led to a presidential apology. Two 21-year-old women from tiny towns in the hills of West Virginia joined the Army, determined to see the world and follow their dreams. Lynch inspired the country, her name a synonym for the fortitude and courage of America's troops. England is facing charges under military law, the photos an indelible reminder of the ruthlessness war can breed. "It's just very ironic," says retired Navy Capt. Lory Manning, who tracks military issues for the Women's Research and Education Institute. "These two young women wanted some education and ... to serve their country and they got caught up in the larger world. "They're the ones who were on the pointy edges when all hell broke loose - in two different ways." For many working-class kids in West Virginia, as in small towns across the country, the passage to a wider world and a new life often leads through the military. The road from Lynch's hometown of Palestine (population 300) to England's hometown of Fort Ashby (population 1,300) stretches across 210 miles in this largely rural state where jobs paying more than the minimum wage can be scarce. For both women, the military seemed a good fit. Short, slight and tough, each grew up tramping through the rolling Appalachian countryside. Each was comfortable in a world where guns and hunting were part of everyday life, though both were hesitant about actual killing. Each grew up in a tight-knit family, the middle of three children. Both enjoyed rough-and-tumble play with their brothers and sisters - though Lynch developed a reputation for prissiness, England for feistiness. Both saw serving their country as a stepping stone. Lynch, who entered the Army after high school, loves children and dreams of teaching kindergarten. England, who joined the Army Reserve after her junior year in high school against her parent's wishes, enjoys chasing storms and dreams of becoming a meteorologist. Their experiences in Iraq could not be more different. Part of the U.S. march toward Baghdad in March 2003, Lynch's 507th Maintenance Company convoy was ambushed near the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. Eleven soldiers died. Lynch was taken prisoner and assaulted. She suffered spinal fractures, other broken bones and nerve damage and continues to struggle with her injuries, walking with a cane. Her dramatic rescue from a Nasiriyah hospital on April 1, 2003, captured worldwide headlines and transformed the soft-spoken woman into an instant hero and sought-after media celebrity. Later reports that the dangers of the hospital raid had been embellished did little to tarnish Lynch's luster. Over the last year, she has been the subject of a book, a TV movie and numerous interviews, hobnobbed with Hollywood celebrities such as Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio and spoken at motivational seminars. The world has learned much about the woman it first met in a grainy Pentagon video showing her rescue. But England remains a mystery - a grinning face in a sheaf of grotesque prison photos.

Continues on the following pages.