News-Info-Alerts

Re: Recognitin For Johnson

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: September 22, 2003

"Jackson seeks recognition for former Iraq war POW

BY CATHLEEN FALSANI Staff Reporter

Do you know who Shoshana Johnson is?

If you don't recognize her name, you may know her face from Iraqi television earlier this year, her eyes, terrified, darting from side to side while Iraqi captors tormented her and the six other American prisoners of war.

Johnson, a 30-year-old Army cook and single mother from El Paso, Texas, became the first female American prisoner of war taken in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the only African-American female POW in U.S. history when her 507th Maintenance Company convoy was ambushed on March 23 near the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. She was shot in both legs in the ambush.

Along with four of her comrades from the 507th and two Marine Apache helicopter pilots who had been shot down a day after the ambush, Johnson was held captive for 22 days before being rescued by U.S. forces on April 13.

Jessica Lynch, a 19-year-old Army private from West Virginia, also was injured and taken captive when the 507th convoy was ambushed. She was held separately. When American commandos raided an Iraqi hospital in the middle of the night to rescue her on April 2, Lynch became an instant hero and celebrity.

Lynch, who received a medical discharge from the Army last month, has signed a $1 million deal to write a book about her POW experience, and NBC is making a TV movie about her.

While Johnson received a hero's welcome upon her return to Texas, the kind of notoriety that has enveloped Lynch so far has eluded her, partly because she has largely eschewed media attention.

Johnson's supporters, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who celebrated her heroism at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition here Saturday morning, say her story deserves more attention.

"Here are two gallant young women, both of whom came from humble backgrounds, both of whom volunteered, both of whom put their lives in harm's way, and both were injured and could have been killed, and they have survived to tell their story," said Jackson, standing behind Johnson who was seated in a wheelchair, a folded American flag in her lap.

"We should at least hear the story of Jessica Lynch, but the book of Shoshana Johnson, the TV movie of Shoshana Johnson has a place in the annals of American history, too, and should likewise be told."

Johnson, who has given few interviews and reportedly turned down offers to tell her story to Oprah and the "Today" show's Katie Couric, did not complain publicly about receiving less recognition than her comrade, Lynch. Instead, she thanked Operation PUSH members for their prayers and urged them to continue to pray for the safety of all American troops.

"Toward the end of our captivity I made the comment, 'Where is Reverend Jackson?' The guys were like, 'Yeah. Where is that guy?' " Johnson said as Jackson, who helped negotiate the release of American POWs in Syria and Yugoslavia, laughed beside her. Johnson could say little about her ordeal because of military restrictions.

Despite surgery and months of physical therapy to repair a shattered left ankle and torn Achilles tendon in her right leg, Johnson wears a cast and walks with great difficulty. Johnson enlisted in the Army in 1998 and expects to receive a medical discharge soon, she said, ending her dream of a long military career.

"I hope that the book companies and the TV companies will take an interest in her career," Jackson said. "Her 20-year career has been cut short now, and she should have a professional life beyond this. And we want all that is due her to come her way."

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