In honor of the 10 year anniversary of the first POW rescue since the Vietnam War, soldier Jessica Lynch talked about the rescue in Iraq on "Today" Monday.

Lynch was a 19-year-old soldier on March 23, 2003, who was serving as a unit supply specialist with the 507th Maintenance Company when her convoy was ambushed by Iraqi forces during the Battle of Nasiriyah. Lynch was seriously injured and captured.

She was recovered by U.S. Special Operations Forces on April 1, 2003 received considerable media coverage as the first ever U.S. POW rescue of a woman soldier.

"I know that there was a lot of fabricated, misconstrued stories, but I did what I had to do,'' Lynch told "Today". "I came out and tried to tell the world what really happened. I set the record straight as much as I can and what people still want to believe or not believe, that's on them, but I felt it was important to just let the truth be known."

Lynch had to undergo 21 surgeries following her rescue.

She survived, but 11 other members, one of which was her best friend, Lori Piestewa died during the firefight that lead to Lynch's capture.

 "It's so hard to continue every day knowing that Lori didn't make it home with me,'' Lynch told "Today". "The reason that she went over there was to be with me and our other comrades, and sadly she didn't get to come back home, so (I'm) just having to deal with the fact that my best friend didn't get to come back and I did. She had two beautiful kids. It's just really hard to know they're going to have to grow up without their mom."

Now, 29, Lynch is engaged and a mother to a six-year-old girl. She is also working on her master's degree.

 "I'm kind of happy that we're finally to this 10-year mark so that I can finally put Iraq in the past," she said. "I know that it will always be with me. It's nice to make that mark of 'I've made it this far.' It's always going to be with my life, waking up every day and dealing with the injuries. I go on and I strive and I do the best that I can."