Shoshana Johnson

Infobox Military Person
name= Spc. Shoshana Nyree JohnsonUnited States Army
born= birth date and age|1973|1|18
died=
placeofbirth=Panama
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|United States United States of America
branch=United States Army
serviceyears= 1998-2003
rank= Specialist
commands=
unit= 5th Battalion 52d Air Defense Artillery
battles= Iraq war Operation Iraqi Freedom
awards= Bronze Star Purple Heart Prisoner of War Medal
laterwork=

Shoshana Nyree Johnson (born 1971) was the first Black American 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 lead to her capture she suffered bullet wounds to both of her ankles. She was freed in a rescue mission conducted by United States Army Special Operations Forces on April 13, 2003. She was held prisoner in Iraq for 22 days along with four other members of her unit including:

*Spc. Edgar Hernandez
*Spc. Joseph Hudson
*Private First Class Patrick Miller
*Sgt. James Riley - 31-year-old bachelor from Pennsauken, N.J. As the senior soldier present it was he who ordered the surrender.
*Jessica Lynch - Part of same 507 unit but held separately in a different location

Biography

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. Johnson was in the ROTC at Andress High School, although she did not plan a career in the military. She was a JROTC cadet in 1991 and joined the U.S. Army in September 1998 while attending classes at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She has two sisters, Nikki Johnson and Erika Johnson.

In February 2003, while serving her second military assignment at Fort Bliss, Texas, Johnson received orders to deploy to Iraq and carry through her duties 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 was captured. She received a bullet wound to her ankle, causing injuries to both legs.

Janelle, Shoshana's two-year old daughter was taken care of by her grandparents while Shoshana was on duty in Iraq. Claude learned of his daughter's fate while flipping through the channels, to find a cartoon for his granddaughter. Telemundo was broadcasting Al Jazeera footage of the POWs being interviewed by an off camera reporter for the Middle Eastern network. This capture was later confirmed, when the couple was summoned to Fort Bliss.

In April 13, 2003, after subsequent house raids conducted by U.S. 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.

In 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.

Johnson currently resides in El Paso, Texas with her daughter Janelle.

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."cite news|accessdate=2005-06-19
url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/23/cnn25.tan.johnson/
title=Then & Now: Shoshana Johnson
date=May 26, 2005
publisher= CNN]

Book deal

Johnson signed a book deal with Dafina Books to write her story with Paul T. Brown, titled "One Wrong Turn", which will tell her side of the story and tell more about some of her fallen comrades.cite news|accessdate=
url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2006-08-10-johnson-book-deal_x.htm
title=Former Iraq POW Johnson signs book deal
date=August 10, 2006
work=USA Today]

Military awards and decorations

*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

ee also

References

External links

*cite news|accessdate=
url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/03/25/sprj.irq.pow.johnson/index.html
title=POW planned on cooking, not fighting
date=March 26, 2003
publisher=CNN