In honor of Army Spc. Lori Piestewa

Private Lynch became a hero in her own way. This is one of them.

POW Jessica Lynch names newborn for fallen comrade

PARKERSBURG, West Virginia (AP) -- Former POW Jessica Lynch became a mother on Friday, giving birth to a girl whom she named in honor of a fallen comrade.

Dakota Ann Robinson was delivered by Caesarean section at a local hospital at 5:10 p.m. ET. The infant weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, said Lynch's publicist, Aly Goodwin Gregg.

"She's fabulous and fat," Gregg said. "She's beautiful."

Lynch and her boyfriend, Wes Robinson, named Dakota in honor of Lynch's friend, Army Spc. Lori Piestewa of Tuba City, Arizona, who was the first woman to be killed in combat in Iraq. The baby and Piestewa share the middle name of Ann, and the name Dakota means friendship or ally, Gregg said.

Lynch and Piestewa served together in the 507th Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas. They were roommates there and tentmates in Iraq. Piestewa died and Lynch was captured when their unit was ambushed on March 23, 2003, near Nasiriyah.

Piestewa is also "the first aboriginal American woman to die in combat while serving with the U.S. military," according to Wiki.