Shoshana Johnson Reflects on Military Service, Survival and Legacy
Army veteran Shoshana Johnson is sharing her story of survival, service and resilience while calling attention to the overlooked contributions of Black women in the military.
Shoshana Johnson, a war veteran and author known as the first African American woman prisoner of war, said she does not like to be remembered that way.
“I’m a survivor, I survived captivity,” she said. “I’m a female veteran, a female Army soldier.”
Johnson was born in the Republic of Panama before immigrating with her family to Texas. Military service was something she was familiar with as her father served in the Army for 21 years and several aunts, uncles and cousins also served.
Johnson joined Junior ROTC in high school and said the military was part of her background.
“After I dropped out of college, trying to find my way, I joined the military,” Johnson said.
During her time in the Army, Johnson was captured by Iraqi forces during the Iraq War. She was rescued after 22 days and later received a Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Prisoner of War Medal.
Johnson said she hates the title as the first African American prisoner of war and would rather highlight the contributions of Black women like her in the military.
“Over 200 years … Black females have been contributing, whether they acknowledge it or not, but I’m the first one to get caught. That’s not something I jump up and down about,” she said.
When looking at history, Johnson said, she notices that people tend to overshadow the contributions of women, women of color and people of color. The first person killed in conflict for America during the revolutionary war was Crispus Attucks, she said, a Black and Native American man.
“Do we have anything named after him or anything like that?” Johnson asked. “No, because they want to hide the contributions.”
Johnson is part of a long history of women in the military, she said. Women have been serving since the Revolutionary War and Civil War disguised as men or serving alongside their husbands. This is not highlighted, she said.
“I think there’s a real injustice done to our young people by not highlighting how we truly got here as a nation. Women served, people of color served, and looking at those old movies from the 30s and 40s, thinking it was just white male, and thinking that’s how you won the war, it’s not true.”
Johnson’s story did not end with the military. She went back to school to study culinary arts and since then she and her niece have been working on a cookbook.
Family, she said, has played a crucial role in her life, especially as she continues to navigate post-traumatic stress disorder after her time in Iraq.
“I don’t know if I’d still be here if I didn’t have the kind of supported family that I do,” she said.
When facing her PTSD, Johnson said she knows how to ask for help.
“I’ve learned that. My issue with my PTSD is not a thing that’s gonna be cured tomorrow. It’s a chronic condition that I will be living with for the rest of my life, and I just learned how to manage and reach out for help when things get rough.”
Sometimes what helps is counseling, medication or just getting away to relax.
Johnson encourages women to remember those who came before them and to recognize their own value.
“I know times are rough right now,” she said. “But I think of our ancestors who fought hard so we can get here, we will survive it and understand what you contribute to the world. Never downplay who you are. Don’t dim your light so somebody else can shine.”
Now 53, Johnson said this is something she had to learn over the course of her life, especially after coming back from Iraq, she said.
“Too many times I dimmed my light so someone else can shine,” she said. “We need to quit dimming our light, if they can’t shine on their own, that’s on them.”
Damenica Ellis welcomes reader responses at dellis@spokesman-recorder.com.