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Insult to Injury: Raw Deal for Jessica Lynch's Black Comrade-In-Arms

by Lee Hockstader in Austin, Texas

Shot through both legs and held prisoner in Iraq for 22 days, Shoshana Johnson returned home to a difficult convalescence that lacked the media fury and official hype that attended her friend and comrade in arms Jessica Lynch.

Depressed, scarred, haunted by the trauma of her captivity and at times unable to sleep, Specialist Johnson walks with a limp and has difficulty standing for long. Now that she is on the verge of her discharge, the US Army is aggravating her injury, her parents say.

While Private Lynch was discharged in August with an 80 per cent disability benefit, Specialist Johnson learnt last week she will receive a 30 per cent disability benefit from the army for her injuries.

The difference, which amounts to $US700 ($1000) a month in payments, has infuriated Specialist Johnson and her family. They have enlisted the help of the Reverend Jesse Jackson to take their case to the news media, accusing the army of double standards, insensitivity and racism - Private Lynch is white; Specialist Johnson is black.

"Race clearly is a factor," said Mr Jackson, who will take up Specialist Johnson's cause with the White House, the Pentagon and members of Congress.

"Here's a case of two women, same [unit], 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."