Claim: Shoshana Johnson, the other female U.S. POW of the Iraq war, is slated to receive a far smaller disability pension than that granted Jessica Lynch.
Status: True.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2003]
Army Spec. Shoshana Johnson, the African American woman who was held prisoner of war in the U.S. invasion of Iraq, was looking forward to a quiet discharge from the Army in a few days. Battle scarred and weary, she has said not a word as her fellow POW comrade in arms Jessica Lynch cashes in with book and movie deals and a celebrity status in the media. But it is the Army that is forcing Johnson to break her peace. A few days ago, military brass informed her that she would receive a The difference amounts to $600 or $700 a month in payments, and that is causing Johnson and her family to speak out. They are so troubled by what they see as a "double standard," that they have enlisted [Rest of article here.] |
Origins: On 23 March 2003, the U.S. Army's
fatal one: it cost the lives of eleven American soldiers and resulted in the capture of six others, including Jessica Lynch and Shoshana Johnson. Lynch was rescued by Special Forces troops on
The article quoted above, which deals with disability pensions awarded these two soldiers, was written by Christine Phillip, a BET.com staff writer, and posted to the Black Entertainment Network site on
The difference between the pensions allotted
If disability pensions are awarded on the basis of what a soldier has been put through,
magnitude.)
Yet the U.S. Army does not award disability pensions on the basis of bravery or suffering in the field; the primary criterion upon which these stipends are based is that of extent of injury. It is not for the terror of the moment for which a soldier is compensated, but for the ongoing infirmity the experience leaves him or her with. Judged on that basis, there is cause for the variance between the pensions of the two servicewomen
The Army denies race plays any part in the difference between the two pensions. Army spokesman
Lynch was put on a Temporary Disability List, meaning that she can stay in the Army for up to five years and that her condition can be reevaluated periodically. If it doesn't improve, she could get a medical discharge. Although Johnson is awaiting a final decision on her disability status, her injuries were judged stable but permanent, and the board recommended that she be discharged from the Army. Johnson plans to appeal the board's recommendation next week, according to Rep. Diane Watson
Lynch and Johnson get different benefits because a military Physical Evaluation Board placed them in different categories, the Army said.
The Army has said its decision on Shoshana Johnson's pension is not yet final, and it may yet be adjusted upwards, possibly to the same level as that of Jessica Lynch. Whatever the usual yardstick used to determine pension levels, and whether it was applied fairly or not, the public is unlikely to perceive the same differences between the two cases that the Army does, and people will
In the face of such perceptions, many find it unthinkable the military will stand by its 30% determination. Dare it risk being seen as saving
Barbara "shavetrail" Mikkelson
Last updated: 3 September 2007
Sources: