Shoshanna Johnson

[Bunny]

Has Ms. Johnson spoken publicly about her ordeal? We've heard so much about what allegedly happened to Ms. Lynch during her captivity, and I was wondering if Ms. Johnson has ever discussed what happened to her.

Was she physically abused, or was she treated (relatively) well? Was she isolated from her fellow POW's, or was she kept with them? Did she receive adequate food and water?

Is she still on active duty, or has she been discharged like Ms. Lynch has? And if she is still on active status, does the Army permit her to discuss her ordeal?

I am curious about her, and wish her well. If she wrote a book, I'd buy it.

[hlthe2b]

1. Not in detail, I don't think... She was on 60 minutes discussing

Private Miller as the real hero.

[Shrek]

2. Here's a Newsweek link

She's mentioned briefly.

[Cocoa]

3. I've heard they were treated well

they were beaten by civilians when they first surrendered, but then when they were being held captive they were treated well. Their wounds were treated and the got food twice a day.

The original account of their rescue made it sound like they were all held together, maybe not even bound. The marines came into the room telling all the Americans to stand up is what I read.

[readmylips]

4. Just heard of Public Radio, Shoshanna set to be kicked...

out of the Army...I mean dismissed. She's well enough to go on her own and get a job, pay for medical care. At the same time, Jessica is being protected (I mean considered) as receiving worse wounds than Shoshanna and she's not been kicked out. Shoshanna will receive 30% disability and Jessica 80%. Black Senate Caucause is looking into the mess.

[TAH6988]

5. Saw Shoshana on 60 Mins last night

she was walking around just fine...Jessica is still on crutches. Perhaps that accounts for somoe of the difference in their disability levels. Do you know the extent of Shoshana's injuries? Maybe something untowards IS going on here, but don't you think we ought to look at facts?

[Bunny]

6. Well, Ms. Lynch was honorably discharged.

I don't know if that's what you mean when you say kicked out. Is Ms. Johnson being discharged? As for the disability benefits ratio, it appears that Ms. Lynch's wounds may have been more severe than Ms. Johnson's.

IIRC, Ms. Johnson was shot in one or both feet or ankles. Ms. Lynch had several broken limbs, a fractured pelvis(I think) and severe head injuries. At least that's what we've been told.

Now I don't know how the military decides disability percentages, but is it within the realm of possibility that if Ms. Lynch received more severe injuries, she just may be entitled to a greater percentage of disability benefits? Must it be tied to race?

I hope the Black Caucus looks into this completely, and if Ms. Johnson is entitled to more, I hope she gets it. I hope they all get as much as they can from their ordeal.

[TAH6988]

7. I understand that both have been

honorably dischagred. Neither was "kicked" out.

[hlthe2b]

11. both would have been medically discharged...

Having suffered sufficient injuries to render them unsuitable for future service. I hope Shoshana is treated fairly and her ankle injuries may inded cause severe future disability. I will say that Lynch's continued urinary and fecal incontinence is pretty devastating, especially for a young woman, like that. While her nerves are intact, the lack incontinence remains and it is not clear she'll regain control. That can set her up for long term health problems, including infections, etc.

[kosmos]

8. Message about Shoshana from BET.com Staff Writer

Here's a forward I've received about Shoshana Johnson:


>>By Christine Phillip, BET.com Staff Writer
>>
>>
>>Posted October 24, 2003 -- Army Spec. Shoshana Johnson, the African
>>American woman who was held prisoner of war in the U.S. invasion of
>>Iraq, was looking forward to a quiet discharge from the Army in a few
>>days.
>>
>>
>>Battle scarred and weary, she has said not a word as her fellow POW
>>comrade in arms Jessica Lynch cashes in with book and movie deals and a
>>celebrity status in the media.
>>
>>
>>But it is the Army that is forcing Johnson to break her peace.
>>
>>
>>A few days ago, military brass informed her that she would receive a 30
>>percent disability benefit for her injuries. Lynch, who is White, was
>>discharged in August and will receive an 80 percent disability benefit.
>>
>>
>>The difference amounts to $600 or $700 a month in payments, and that is
>>causing Johnson and her family to speak out. They are so troubled by
>>what they see as a "double standard," that they have enlisted Rev. Jesse
>>Jackson to help make their case to the news media.
>>
>>
>>Jackson, who plans to plead Johnson's cause with the White House, the
>>Pentagon and members of Congress, says the payment smacks a double
>>standard and racism.
>>
>>
>>"Here's a case of two women, same , same war; everything about
>>their service commitment and their risk is equal. . . . Yet there's an
>>enormous contrast between how the military has handled these two cases,"
>>Jackson told The Washington Post.
>>
>>
>>Johnson's father, Claude Johnson, himself an Army veteran, says that
>>while neither he nor his family begrudge Lynch her celebrity or
>>disability payments, he believes that his daughter should get her due,
>>and it is more than a 30 percent disability benefit.
>>
>>
>>For its part, the Army, in denying charges of double standard, said
>>Friday that claims are awarded to soldiers according to their injuries.
>>
>>
>>Johnson, 30, the mother of a 3-year-old daughter, was held captive for
>>22 days, when her unit stumbled into an ambush in southern Iraq last
>>March. Eleven soldiers were killed, and six, including Lynch and
>>Johnson, were taken prisoners.
>>
>>
>>Johnson was shot in both legs and is still traumatized by her war
>>experience. In addition to walking with a limp, she suffers from bouts
>>of depression.
>>
>>
>>So I ask that you forward this email on to all and inform others of this
>>latest racial attack. Forget about the destroying of stamps, forget
>>about Kobe, forget about Micheal Jordan getting fired and fight for the
>>rights of this strong Black Woman!!!

----- End forwarded message -----

[KG]

9. let there be no doubt - racism is alive and well in the US.

[TAH6988]

13. Where

is your evidence of this "racism?"

[leetrisck]

12. I don't think Jackson is involved in this case

anymore. Ms. Johnson's sister is also a Captain in the military. I also believe that Ms. Johnson & Ms. Lynch will both receive $1,000 per month for life for the fact that they were POW's. All POW's receive this and it was just increased to $1,000 per month. The warrant officer who was a prisoner also tried to look out for Johnson indirectly as he was afraid she would be abused but he never said she was or wasn't. He spoke to a group in Mississipi a few days ago. He also got out of the service.

[TAH6988]

16. I have never

heard where POWs get a monthy stipend for life. Can you show me a link to that? $1,000/month is more than MoH receipents receive!

[leetrisck]

23. I'll have to google and see if I can find it

I didn't know until recently that POW's got extra money, but they do and the increase was in the last money passed. Got it from all the veteran's news I receive. Will try to find it. Don't know if it makes any difference how long you were a POW or not - don't think it does but could be wrong.

[leetrisck]

24. Finally found the MoH and it is now

$1,000 per month. Googled POW benefits - have not come up with the POW $1,000 per month. Will look thru my records and hope I can find it. Hope I didn't misspeak here but am sure I've seen it more than once on my recent VA info

[Bandit]

10. From what I gather Ms. Lynch was not shot at all

Her injuries occured from a vehicle accident while
Ms. Johnson was shot in both legs by enemy soldiers in combat. No double standard here at all. :shrug: Ms. Johnson will be traumatised for the rest of her life but does the Bush* administration care? If you are black no need to apply.

[TAH6988]

14. Disability

doesn't depend on HOW you got your injuries; just how SEVERE your injuries are. Let's not jump up and down and scream racism where there is no proof any exists.

[Isome]

18. Yeah okay...

If we took that advice, we'd still be sitting at the back of the bus and believing that the experiments at Tuskegee were to help the men.

[Bandit]

22. After a while you have to accept the inevitable

GOP is a racist organization. Proof is everywhere including the handling of these two women. You can say that it all depends on severity but I'm sure there are numerous examples of much less severe wounds getting full disability.

[chiburb]

15. With her Dad in Panama...

For Independence Day last week. A little hard to see, but he's stealing some of her cake.

[Nevernose]

17. FYI: Local Coverage (Las Vegas) and a Recent Article

http://new.blackvoices.com/news/bv-vegas-shoshana,0,1492246.story?coll=bv-news-black-headlines

http://electroniciraq.net/news/1194.shtml

Shoshanna also got soem decent coverage in the local press when she was awarded the key to the city by Oscar Goodman, but I can't seem to find a link to the article on either Google or the local papers.

[Isome]

19. And the beat goes on...

.::Black Voices Link::.

NEW YORK -- National Urban League president and CEO Marc H. Morial today called upon the U.S. Army 's Acting Secretary, the Honorable Les Brownlee, to conduct an immediate inquiry into and review of the Army's decision to award Army Spec. Shoshana Johnson a 30 percent disability benefit for the injuries she received while a prisoner of war in Iraq.

In his letter to the Under Secretary, Mr. Morial notes that Pfc. Jessica Lynch and Spec. Johnson were captured at the same time in the same attack, and that Johnson was released a week later and is still recovering from gun shot wounds to both of her ankles. "Yet," the letter states, "Pfc. Lynch is receiving an 80 percent disability benefit compared to Spec. Johnson's 30 percent."

[Isome]

20. La de daa de deeee...

.::WAPO Link::.

...Claude Johnson, Shoshana Johnson's father and himself an Army veteran, said his family and Shoshana do not begrudge Lynch her celebrity or her disability payments. But he said he believes his daughter should also get what she is due. He noted that the Army owes her more than the 30 percent disability benefit, which he said would translate into 30 percent of her base monthly pay of about $1,500, or about $500.

"There is ," Claude Johnson said in an interview. "I don't know for sure that it was the Pentagon. All I know for sure is that the news media paid a lot of attention to Jessica."

The parents said Shoshana Johnson -- who is 30, has a 3-year-old daughter, has been living at home and is continuing rehabilitation treatments for her legs -- will not speak publicly about the terms of her discharge. But they said she was stunned and angered when the Army informed her this past Friday of its decision on her disability.

Being a former Air Force Airman, I know racism is alive & well in the Armed Forces. There are more visible venues for recourse, but it exists and too often those venues are comprised of individuals who are much like those who sent you running there in the first place. Not unlike the civillian world, those engaging in racist behaviors are more sophisticated (covert).

[Isome]

21. La de da dee daaaaa....

.::Urban Legend Link::.

...The Army has said its decision on Shoshana Johnson's pension is not yet final, and it may yet be adjusted upwards, possibly to the same level as that of Jessica Lynch. Whatever the usual yardstick used to determine pension levels, and whether it was applied fairly or not, the public is unlikely to perceive the same differences between the two cases that the Army does, and people will — if things remain as they are now — come away from this issue with the impression that Johnson was ill-treated by the service she laid so much on the line for, and that this ill treatment was racially motivated.

[Ronnie]

25. Didn't I see her on...

...the Tonight Show a few months ago? The other guest, believe it or not, was Dennis Miller. As I recall, Mr. Miller stepped on most of her lines. Or maybe I dreamed it.

[Isome]

26. Yep

Show #2552
Dennis Miller (Guest) Shoshana Johnson (Guest) Wilco (Guest)