Shoshana Johnson

SPC Shoshana Nyree Johnson
Shoshana Johnson being interviewed by Al Jazeera
Born	January 18, 1973 (1973-01-18) Pedro Miguel, Panama
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1998-2003
Rank	Specialist
Unit	5th Battalion 52d Air Defense Artillery
Battles/wars	Iraq war Operation Iraqi Freedom
Awards	Bronze Star   Purple Heart   Army Commendation Medal   Prisoner of War Medal   Army Good Conduct Medal   National Defense Service Medal   Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal   Army Service Ribbon

Shoshana Nyree Johnson (born January 18, 1973) is a Panamanian-born former United States soldier, and was the first black female prisoner of war in the military history of the United States. Johnson was a Specialist of the U.S. Army 507th Maintenance Company, 5/52 ADA BN, 11th ADA Brigade. During a gun fight that led to her capture she suffered bullet wounds to both of her ankles. She was freed in a rescue mission conducted by United States Marine Corps units on April 13, 2003. She was held prisoner in Iraq for 22 days along with five other members of her unit including:

• SPC Edgar Hernandez
• SPC Joseph Hudson
• PFC Patrick Miller
• SGT James Riley - 31-year-old from Pennsauken, N.J. As the senior soldier present, he ordered the surrender.
• PFC Jessica Lynch - Part of same 507 unit but held in a different location

Life and career

Johnson, a second-generation U.S. Army veteran, is a native of Panama, and moved to the United States with her family when she was a child. She is the eldest child of retired Army Sergeant First Class Claude Johnson and wife Eunice. In 1991, Johnson was in the JROTC program at Andress High School, although she did not plan a career in the military. She joined the U.S. Army in September 1998 after dropping out of University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).

In February 2003, while serving her second military assignment at Fort Bliss, Texas, Johnson received orders to deploy to Iraq as a Quartermaster Corps Food Service Specialist (MOS 92G) with the 507th Maintenance Company, 5/52 ADA BN, 11th ADA Brigade. Shoshana enlisted with the duty of preparing meals. She says that she had no intention of going into combat. Her company's duty was to supply mechanics to repair the Patriot missile trucks housed at the post.

On March 23, 2003, one month after her arrival to serve as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Johnson was in a convoy that was ambushed and taken captive in the city of Nasiriyah. Iraqi troops ambushed her supply convoy when it took a wrong turn. There had been bitter fighting around Nasiriyah, a vital crossing point of the River Euphrates. Johnson was among a dozen soldiers in the convoy who were captured. She received a bullet wound to her ankle, causing injuries to both legs.

Shoshana Johnson, at the end of her rescue.

On April 13, 2003, after subsequent house raids conducted by United States Marines of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division in the city of Samarra, Johnson was rescued along with six other prisoners of war. They were welcomed as heroes in the United States on April 16 with a cheering crowd of over 3,000 people. The U.S. Army recognized them for courage, valor, and service with several awards.

On December 12, 2003, Johnson left the U.S. Army on a Temporary Disability Honorable Discharge. Johnson was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal for her service in Iraq and has received numerous awards and recognition for her courage, valor, and service to the United States. She has presented talks throughout the nation about her experience as a prisoner of war, and has been recognized with standing ovations from small groups to over 65,000 people at select events hosted by public and private organizations.

Controversy

Critics have accused the military and media of racism in that they focused attention on Jessica Lynch, a white woman, rather than Johnson, a black woman. CNN reported that "Lynch got a million-dollar book deal and more in disability payments from the military than Johnson. Some said it was a long standing and well documented issue of race in the military. Shoshana Johnson says reports that she and Lynch were at odds aren't true."

Book deal

Johnson signed a book deal with Dafina Books to write her story with Paul T. Brown, titled One Wrong Turn, which was to tell her side of the story and more about her fallen comrades.

In 2007 Dafina Books and Johnson parted ways. Johnson signed a deal with Simon & Schuster in 2008. I'm Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen—My Journey Home was released on February 2, 2010.

See also

Battle of Nasiriyah

External links

• "POW planned on cooking, not fighting". CNN. March 26, 2003. http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/03/25/sprj.irq.pow.johnson/index.html.