Black POW Shoshana Johnson Forced to Fight Military to Receive Benefits
/- Originally published by the National Public Radio (NPR) March 23, 2005 Copyright 2005 National Public Radio (R)
I'm Ed Gordon, and this is NEWS & NOTES.
Two years ago today, US Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson became the first black woman to be taken as a US prisoner of war. It was during the first week of the Iraqi invasion, and Johnson's maintenance company was ambushed. She was shot in both feet and held captive for three weeks before US Marines freed her and the other surviving members of her company. Now back in the United States, Johnson has retired from the Army and has been on a national speaking tour. Although she's now thousands of miles away from Baghdad, Johnson says she's reminded almost daily of her capture.
Army Specialist SHOSHANA JOHNSON (Retired, US Army): I still have the scars on my legs that I wake up with every morning as a constant reminder of the conflict. And, you know, things come up on TV all the time that are reminders. It's hard to see some of the graphic things going on because it just replays the situation in my head.
GORDON: What do you think has been most underserved--and obviously you've been home for a while, but what issue do you think we should better understand, that the news coverage and news accounts don't tell us?
Ms. JOHNSON: It's kind of frustrating being a soldier, ex-soldier, to know that you go out and you fight for your country, and you come home and you have to fight your country for your benefits. I think that was the hardest thing to deal with. And I think a lot of soldiers are going through the same thing.
GORDON: Were you shocked, the fact that here you were being touted as a hero and, when it came to disability payments, that you had to fight for what you believed was the right amount?
Ms. JOHNSON: I wasn't shocked that you fight for you rights. My dad was in the military--uncles, cousins and everything. I've seen them do the fight. I didn't think I would have to fight as hard because of all the publicity. But they showed me. They made sure I fought just has hard as every other soldier.
GORDON: Was that disappointing to you?
Ms. JOHNSON: It was. It very much was. I'm still continuing to fight the Army for my benefits right this moment. I have a lot of people that stepped forward to help me out. And not every soldier has that. I hope that after my battle is done that they'll make some changes.
GORDON: You have said that you don't see yourself a hero, you see yourself as a survivor. Were you uncomfortable from the beginning with the hero tag?
Ms. JOHNSON: Yes. After you see friends give their lives for an ideal, it's hard to walk home and someone give you the title of hero when the fact remains there's so many who gave so much more that deserve that title.
GORDON: I know this is something that you've dealt with over the course of your return to this day, and that is the comparison between Jessica Lynch and yourself, and who received more credit for being a hero, who received more press attention, who received book endorsements or book contracts and endorsements and movie contracts and the like. And that, of course, was Jessica Lynch. And there was an ongoing debate, particularly in the African-American community, that it was simply because she was white. Were you uncomfortable with all of that?
Ms. JOHNSON: Yes, I was because I don't think it's a color issue, but yes, there is something wrong with the way things are played up. There were six men also captured with us, and you hardly hear anything about them.
GORDON: How do you feel now about the military?
Ms. JOHNSON: I have no regrets about joining the military. But, you know, the military is just like any other corporation or business or things like that. You have some good people out there doing wonderful things, and then you have a couple of idiots. And we have to jump in and correct it. I just hope that we do a better job of correcting it.
GORDON: When you look back now, how critical can you be with where we sit today and not look to be unpatriotic? I read that you had said at one point that you wished the United States had gone in with a better plan.
Ms. JOHNSON: Yes. And I--definitely. We lost entirely too many people in this conflict. We have the most technologically advanced Army in the world. Why did we lose so many? Unless they admit the mistakes that we made during this conflict, it will never be fixed for the next conflict.
GORDON: Talk to us a bit, Shoshana, about what you've been doing since you've been home. I know you've been on the speaking circuit. I know you helped drop the ball New Year's Eve.
Ms. JOHNSON: Yeah.
GORDON: But what else have you been doing?
Ms. JOHNSON: I've spent a lot of time with my daughter, my nieces, you know. I had a niece that was born after I came home. So it really hits home that I could have not met this little girl. I try to talk to young people, especially when I go to keynote speaking at colleges, universities, so they can understand exactly what they have. I think we forget all the opportunities that are open to us. We forget how privileged we are. You know, in this country, I have to admit, the struggle's a little easier than in Africa, in the Middle East and South America and these poorer countries.
GORDON: Let me ask you before we let you go, if you knew all that you know today, not only what you went through personally, but what others that you grew close to obviously went through, that those that are still there are going through, and the idea that we are in the same place with no exit strategy, no pullout date, etc.--if you knew all of this, would you do it all over again?
Ms. JOHNSON: I would join the military, definitely. I would try to avoid getting caught this time around. But all the experiences of the past make you who you are today. And I think I'm a pretty good person.
GORDON: Shoshana Johnson, thank you so much for joining us.
Ms. JOHNSON: Oh, thank you for having me.
GORDON: Pleasure talking to you.
Ms. JOHNSON: Thank you.
GORDON: Retired US Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson, who became the first black woman to be taken as a prisoner of war when she was captured two years ago today near Baghdad.
