Every now and then, Shoshana Johnson finds herself questioning whether she was worthy of being rescued.
The Army veteran was part of a convoy ambushed by enemy forces in Iraq in March 2003. Seven soldiers, including Johnson, were captured. Eleven others were killed.
9/11 happened, and by February 2003, Specialist Johnson deployed to Kuwait with the 507th Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas.
“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” she said, noting she was keenly aware of the realities of war but wasn’t expecting to get close to combat. “So when they started talking about us moving forward, I was like, OK, this is unexpected.”
On March 20, 2003, Johnson and the 507th Maintenance Company were last in a convoy of 600 vehicles heading from Kuwait into Iraq to start the ground phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Three days later, the company found itself off course in Nasiriyah, Iraq, due to a navigational error. It was there they were ambushed by the enemy.
“I remember the first shots, and it sounds like rock, just like rocks or pebbles hitting the windshield,” Johnson said.
Specialist Johnson and others took cover under one of their vehicles, at which point Johnson was shot in the ankle.
It appeared, but wasn’t confirmed, that the same bullet then struck her other ankle. After running out of a means to combat enemy fire, Johnson’s sergeant made the decision to surrender.