Black Army Specialist is One of Five Prisoners of War

By Stephanie A. Crockett, BET.com Staff Writer



Posted March 24, 2003 -- U.S. Army Spc. Shoshawna Johnson is one of five POW's believed to be held captive by Iraqi soldiers.



Johnson, 30, is a single mother from El Paso, Texas, whose main job in the Army is as a cook.



But she was cross-trained on a number of areas, her aunt, Margaret Thorn Henderson, told the "Today" show. But Henderson still doesn't understand how her niece ended up inside the Iraqi border.

"I thought she would be cooking, that type of duty," Henderson said. "That's the last place I thought she'd be."



Tracy Thorn, Johnson's cousin, saw the tape of Johnson for the first time this morning. She was on Iraqi television, with a

bandaged ankle, her eyes darting back and forth and her arms held tight in her lap, MSNBC reported.



"She looked scared," Thorn said on "Today." "I can't imagine what she's going through. I can't imagine what she's feeling."



Thorn said she never thought one of her family members could be a prisoner of war.



"You never think one of your family members will be one of those to be taken captive," Thorn said on the show. "It never dawned on me it would hit so close to home."



Only three of the five POW's have been identified. Pfc. Patrick Miller of Park City, Kan., is the father of two young children, and Army Spc. Joseph Hudson, 23, of El Paso, Texas, is married with a daughter. All are part of the 507th Maintenance Company at Fort Bliss, Texas.



When President Bush learned that there were prisoners of war, he demanded that their captors take good care of them.



"We expect them to be treated humanely, just like we'll treat any prisoners of theirs that we capture humanely," Bush said, according to MSNBC. "If not, the people who mistreat prisoners will be treated as war criminals."



http://english.pravda.ru/war/2003/03/24/44918.html

Yes, when I saw Shoshanna on the news, it brought tears to my eyes. Yes I am VERY concerned about the POWs safety, but I have to admit I broke down when I saw this young african american woman so freightened. The POWs are in my prayers!