shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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 Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 2:08 pm Post subject: Former POW Tells How Life Has Been Changed |
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I admire Ms. Johnson. She turned down a book deal and the 'nosy' press.
Now speaks as an advocate for disabled soldiers.
She is a lady with CHARACTER.
http://tampatrib.com/MGB1JR15J5E.html
| Quote: | Former POW Tells How Life Has Been Changed
By CHRIS ECHEGARAY cechegaray@tampatrib.com
Published: Feb 23, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG - She often asks herself why her life was spared.
Surviving 22 days as a prisoner of war in Iraq has been a burden to her soul, the impetus to live an honorable life as she raises a child.
Shoshana Johnson, the United States' first black female prisoner of war, spoke boldly Tuesday of her capture after an ambush to her convoy in Nasiriyah on March 23, 2003. Johnson, a cook, was shot in the ankle as she scrambled for cover underneath a truck.
The infamous ambush received national attention, producing two protagonists: Johnson and Jessica Lynch, a 19-year-old soldier who became the nation's most famous POW and a media darling who netted $1 million in a book deal.
Johnson, 31, addressed an audience of more than 100 people in Fox Hall at Eckerd College, part of the college's Black History Month observance.
Johnson said she turned down a book deal and does not like the news media, which are ``nosy,'' and that she is just grateful that she has life and limbs.
She tried to dispel rumors that she's in a feud with Lynch, who was in the same ambushed convoy.
``We are cool,'' she said. ``We talk and keep in touch. None of us begrudge her. None of us asked for this. It would have been stupid not to take $1 million at 19. She has serious injuries. She will never be the same.''
Johnson's family emigrated from Panama in 1978 because her parents ``wanted what was best for three young black girls. That wasn't going to be possible in Panama.''
Johnson joined the Army in 1998 to pay her way through culinary school.
Her first assignment was in Fort Carson, Colo. There, she became pregnant with her daughter, Janelle. She decided she would stay in the military despite her new responsibilities as a single mother.
By May 2002, Johnson realized she was heading to Kuwait and made arrangements for Janelle to stay with relatives.
``No one made me sign up,'' Johnson said. ``I volunteered. I knew anything could happen.''
Something did happen. Johnson's convoy, the 507th Maintenance Company, 552 Battalion, 11th Brigade, was ambushed. The ``pop-pop'' of the bullets sounded like rocks hitting windshields. A dump truck ran them off the road.
Two 18-year-old privates were shot and killed. Another private, Patrick Miller, saved lives when he shot at enemy forces setting mortars.
``Before they could drop it in, he would shoot them,'' she said. ``He ran all that way and he had not one scratch. I go into a low crawl and I still get shot.''
With little firepower, Johnson said, the sergeant decided it was best to surrender. Iraqi soldiers took the blindfolded POWs to several locations, including a hospital where they received medical care. Marines rescued them April 13.
Johnson now tours the country as a speaker and advocate for disabled soldiers. |
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