Lynch, who was rescued from an Iraqi hospital where she was treated after her convoy was ambushed, was to be released from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and helicoptered to Elizabeth, West Virginia where she will give a brief statement but not take questions.

A motorcade will then escort the former prisoner of war to her home in tiny Palestine, where yellow ribbons and US flags line the streets.

West Virginia Governor Bob Wise told NBC that preparations for the event rivaled those for when President George W. Bush visited the state last year.

But, Wise said, once Lynch reaches her home, she will be kept out of the spotlight.

"Once she gets home, she's going to be protected, it will be private as much as possible," he said.

Greg Argyros, one of the doctors who has been caring for Lynch in Washington, said the former prisoner did not remember what happened during the ambush in which she was injured.

"Jessica remembers nothing between ambush and waking up in Iraqi hospital," Argyros told NBC news. "She remembers the day she was rescued, but the days before that she has no memory."

Original reports of the ambush suggested that Lynch fiercely fought Iraqi soldiers after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds when her convoy of supply trucks was ambushed March 23 after taking a wrong turn, killing 11 of the 33 soldiers.

But an official report released earlier this month revealed Lynch was injured when the speeding Humvee she was traveling in crashed into the back of a five-tonne Army truck.

Argyros said Lynch, who sustained fractures all over her body in the crash, was still unable to walk unassisted, but said he was hopeful she would regain full use of her legs.

"She uses the wheelchair for long distances and uses her walker for shorter distances, primarily getting around the house," he said. "With the progress that she's made over the last three months leads us to believe she will continue to make a full recovery."

Lynch was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Prisoner of War medals during a ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the hospital said in a statement.

WAR.WIRE