Spc. Shoshana Johnson: former POW gets hero's welcome

SHOSHANA Johnson is bewildered. Slowly she makes her way through a throng of reporters and photographers and enters the First United Christian Church in South Los Angeles.

Once inside, the roar becomes almost deafening. The standing-room-only crowd is chanting her name, clapping and waving flags.

Dressed in her uniform, the shy and accommodating Army Specialist smiles and quietly accepts the accolades from the congregation and later at a packed high school and a local park. But she admits to constant bewilderment.

After all, she constantly reminds listeners that she has done nothing beyond her job as a proud American soldier.

Many disagree.

Johnson, 30, was one of seven soldiers captured by forces in Iraq last March and shown on camera by their captors in defiance of international law. She had been shot in both ankles during the attack that preceded the capture.

Johnson, a single mother from El Paso, Texas, became the first Black female Prisoner of War. The ordeal ended when all seven were rescued by U.S. Marines April 12 and she was seen on worldwide newscasts hobbling toward that plane to freedom.

She expects to take care of her injuries and resume her quiet, anonymous life as a soldier and eventually move on to her dream of entering culinary school. She is a cook in the Army.

But that return trip to the United States showed her just how profound her life was about to change.

"I got home and saw all these newspaper clippings my parents had saved for me," she recalls. "I had no idea my parents had been on TV. I got home and saw stacks of papers and all these articles. My dad had kept all the interviews that all my family members had done."

Shoshana is extremely uncomfortable with the moniker "hero" that has been thrust upon her since her ordeal became public. She is "overwhelmed" by the attention and numerous offers that keep coming her way. One person has offered to purchase a bakery for her, another wants to pay for her culinary school tuition and Hollywood is considering making a movie about her life and ordeal. She has gotten cards and letters from supporters in such places as Australia, Great Britain, Israel and Italy.

Although Johnson served her country in a very dangerous situation, she quickly gives all the credit to the Marines.

"I just survived," she says. "I did my job to the best of my ability. I don't think I did anything different than any other soldier. Those Marines who came and got us and risked their lives just to make sure I got home to my family, those are the heroes."

Unable to discuss the details of what happened to her in Iraq because of a pending military investigation, she does say very forcefully that her prayers and those that she knew were being delivered by her family and friends helped sustain her.

"I prayed and thought of my family. I knew my family would be there for me 110 percent," she says. "All of my family. And I have a big family."

And it's a family that has a long military tradition. Her father, a sister, several uncles and cousins all have served the country in various capacities. Johnson has been serving in the Army for seven years.

Her whirlwind trip through Los Angeles was organized by U.S. Rep. Diane Watson, who was moved emotionally by the images of Johnson on TV, and she was somewhat disturbed, she says, when she saw some of the other former POWs "getting accolades but not Shoshana." She describes Johnson as "a role model and a heroine."

Although she prayed to be able to come home to her 3-year-old daughter Janelle, Johnson says she knew that regardless of whatever happened to her, her parents were taking excellent care of her. "I wanted to see my daughter again," she says. "But I knew she was in the best hands possible besides mine--my parents. So, I didn't worry about her."

So now, she focuses on recovery, relaxing and thanking the millions who prayed for and supported her.

With a rare burst of laughter, she says the good thing about all of this is the fact that she has lost 15 pounds. And she wants to make sure she keeps it off. Her hope that the physical therapy she endures three times a week will help tone her body and prevent gaining any unwanted pounds. Johnson even cut her hair in hopes of deflecting some of the attention.

Smiling again, she rubs her hair. "Yeah, trying to hide. But it doesn't seem to be working."

Beyond being loving, supportive and very protective, her family keeps her totally grounded at all times. Even if she wanted to get absorbed in the sudden burst of celebrity, she says all she has to do is look at her daughter who sees her as the same person she was before Iraq. "She doesn't understand any of this. All she knows is that mommy's home."

No decisions have been made regarding her future. She knows that sudden bursts of celebrity and fame often subside quickly. And that's what she's looking forward to. "I want things to settle down and go back to normal," she says. "I just did my job. I still have a job to do. I'm still a soldier and I have to go back to work."