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Discussion Topic: Ex-POW, Shoshana Johnson in Iraq war recalls nightmares, depression |
1 jmp3213 |
02-04-2010 @ 4:35 AM |
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By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press Writer
Wed Feb 3, 9:34 am ET
WASHINGTON – Shoshana Johnson survived gunshot wounds to both legs and 22 days as a prisoner of war in Iraq. Life wasn't so easy when she came home, either.
In a new book out this week, the 37-year-old single mother describes mental health problems related to her captivity and tells how it felt to play second fiddle in the media to fellow POW Jessica Lynch, who was captured in the same ambush.
"It was kind of hurtful," the former Army cook said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "If I'd been a petite, cutesy thing, it would've been different."
Johnson, the nation's first female black prisoner of war, said she felt she was portrayed differently because of her race, either by media outlets that chose not to cover her experience or those who portrayed her as greedy when she challenged the disability rating she was given for her post-traumatic stress disorder.
While the story of Lynch, then 19, remains firmly in the nation's collective memory from the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, far less attention has been paid to Johnson, then 30, and four male soldiers from the 507th Maintenance Co. from Fort Bliss, Texas, who also survived captivity.
Johnson was rescued by Marines, about two weeks after Lynch's rescue. Months after returning home, Johnson left the military and today is enrolled in culinary school. She lives in El Paso, Texas, with her 9-year-old daughter.
Johnson's book, "I'm Still Standing," is being released in time for Black History Month. Johnson said she hopes that by telling her story, she can set the record straight and bring attention to mental health issues affecting veterans.
The day of the 2003 ambush, Johnson and Lynch were among 33 U.S. soldiers in a convoy that got lost in Nasiriyah en route to Baghdad. Their journey, Johnson said, was hampered by broken-down vehicles and malfunctioning equipment. Eleven were killed — including Johnson's friend Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa.
Johnson asked to be medically discharged from the military in part because she felt other soldiers resented her over the attention her POW status attracted.
She's also struggled with depression and nightmares. At times it was so bad, she writes, that her daughter, who was 2 at the time Johnson was captured, asked Johnson's parents, "Why is Mommy crying all the time?"
In 2008, she checked herself into a psychiatric ward for a few days.
"Even when I came home, I didn't think I'd ever get better. I didn't think the issues I had would ever ease," Johnson said in the interview. "But as time goes on and I stick with my therapy, it has gotten easier, and I know if I keep on the right track, I'll be OK."
It was hard at first to admit to having PTSD, she said, because she thought of it as something that happened to Vietnam veterans.
"When they started throwing out that word when I came home, I was like, no, that's not me," Johnson said.
Today, Johnson is training to be a pastry chef so she can make wedding and birthday cakes.
"It would just be nice to be able to celebrate those special moments with people," she said. "After everything that's gone on, I think those kinds of moments are very special."
After successfully fighting to receive improved disability benefits stemming from her PTSD, she was later asked to serve on the Veterans Affairs Department's panel on minority affairs.
She speaks proudly of the other POWs in captivity with her and keeps in touch with them. She said they schedule annual POW exams — the Defense Department is studying the effects of captivity — at the same time in Florida so they can see each other.
Contrary to speculation, Johnson said she was never angry at Lynch or jealous of her.
"Jessica is my friend," Johnson writes. "I was her friend before the ambush and I'm still her friend now."
One of the most brutal things Johnson endured was a captor grabbing her chest. She tells in her book of mobs of Iraqi people coming to view her as a vehicle she was in traveled from town to town, with one villager slapping her and another spitting on her. But while the men endured beatings during the captivity, she said she was treated better.
She describes acts of kindness, too, by the Iraqis. One doctor operated on her legs, which she credits with allowing her to keep them. Another doctor early in her captivity whispered to her that a woman Johnson assumed was Lynch was alive, which provided comfort.
if u fake the funk.....your nose gotta grow
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| 2jmp3213 |
02-04-2010 @ 5:16 AM |
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Sorry DA,I didnt see your post.........
if u fake the funk.....your nose gotta grow
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| 3heartbone |
02-04-2010 @ 5:23 AM |
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if it is on TV....it's propaganda
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| 4omim |
02-04-2010 @ 6:11 PM |
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You put your life on the line and make it back home safely(relatively speaking), and this is the thanks you get. The psychological damage suffered by troops returning from Iraq(or any other war) is truly an untold story, not to mention all those who come back home crippled,maimed, and mutilated and then the gov't that they served treats them like shyt when the request healthcare services from the V.A. and people wonder why I'm so against joining the military.
When the dust settles, I intend to be among those left standin'..or better yet..those ascendin'!
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| 5BWPStaff |
02-06-2010 @ 12:01 PM |
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A True Heroine!
[The site avatar creates discussions from community & popular topics]
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| 6dawilliams |
02-06-2010 @ 6:11 PM |
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all
I posted this story to bring attention to the plight of many ex-military and in this womans case an ex-POW. Sure she got medals. Sure she gets a pension for life and benefits but this cant take away the damage to the mind that has been done. For the few of you who have ever been in a combat zone and seen the hideously mangled and bullet riddled bodies of friend and foe alike and smelled death you know what I am talkin about.
I knew a young Black woman who went to Iraq in the first Gulf Invasion. She came back a changed person. Serving in a forward logistic post she saw a lot of death. She started behaving strangely. Her family had to have her put away. She was quite attractive with a you guessed it a nice booty! Oh well such a waste. She is now a ward of the state. I guess they ruined her so they should take care of her.
a luta continua
This message was edited by dawilliams on 2-6-10 @ 7:09 PM
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