URL: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/7213959.htm
Sat, Nov. 08, 2003
Ex-POWs' treatment seems unfair to many
By William Douglas
Knight Ridder
WASHINGTON - Sunday, NBC will air its made-for-TV movie celebrating
Pfc. Jessica Lynch, whose capture and dramatic rescue is the feel-good
story of America's war with Iraq.
But some African-Americans don't feel so good about Lynch's story.
Instead, they ask: What about Shoshana Johnson?
Johnson, an Army specialist, belonged to the same 507th Maintenance
Company as Lynch. Unlike Lynch, Johnson fought to stave off their
Iraqi captors. Like Lynch, she sustained serious injuries.
But only Lynch got the headlines, the TV movie, the prime-time
television interviews and a biography penned by a Pulitzer
Prize-winning writer. Lynch, in short, got the full American celebrity
treatment, while Johnson largely got ignored. Many African-Americans
think that's simply because she didn't have the right ``face.''
African-American suspicions of a racial double standard were
reinforced last month when it was revealed that Johnson, who was shot
in both ankles, will get only 30 percent of her monthly pay in
disability benefits. Lynch, who had a head injury and broken bones in
her right arm, right leg, thighs and ankle, will get 80 percent
disability pay. Lynch's new book, ``I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica
Lynch Story,'' says she also was raped by her Iraqi captors.
``Shoshana is getting the shaft, and people are outraged about it,''
said Mary Mason, a Philadelphia talk-radio host whose show was
bombarded with callers complaining about the disparity in treatment.
``It's ridiculous, and complete racism.''
Johnson and her family in El Paso, Texas, say they have no proof that
the issue is rooted in racism, but they have engaged the Rev. Jesse
Jackson to press the Army to increase her disability benefits. An Army
statement said, ``Race is not an issue,'' and that the women's
disability benefits are based on the extent of their injuries and how
they will affect them in the future.
Lynch, through an intermediary, stressed that she and Johnson are good
friends and expressed hope that ``Shoshana gets 100 percent'' of what
she deserves.
Others think race hovers around the edges of this story. They see
Johnson's plight as another chapter in the long struggle of
African-Americans trying to get their due from white society.
``There before you is the American dilemma: We are unfair in treatment
and view when it comes to people of color,'' said William Smith, a
Vietnam War veteran and media adviser for the National Association for
Black Veterans.
Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at
Syracuse University, said he doubted that race was the reason that
Lynch became a media celebrity. But, he added, with her good looks and
compelling story, Lynch looked like a figure from central casting at a
time when the Pentagon desperately needed one.
Just weeks into the battle, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Gen.
Tommy Franks were enduring heavy criticism over whether their battle
plan provided enough ground forces to get the job done. The rescue of
Lynch on April 2, videotaped by the U.S. forces who raided the
hospital where she was being held, helped stem the criticism.
``It was clear that she was going to become the icon, the star of the
miniseries that was the war with Iraq. I think everybody was looking
for a symbol of the war with a happy ending,'' Thompson said.
``Jessica Lynch fits the profile of the type of casting American
television has done for years.''
And the early version of Lynch's story was good -- too good. The
Washington Post's initial front-page report said Lynch had suffered
knife and bullet wounds while ferociously fighting off her attackers.
Pentagon officials later said Lynch was hurt when her Humvee crashed
after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Lynch, in an ABC
interview to air Tuesday, says her weapon jammed and she never fired a
shot. She also criticizes the military for hyping her story.
So do national civil rights leaders.
``There appears to be unequal treatment between Johnson and Lynch'' on
the benefits issue, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said.
Army officials say both women's disability benefits are based on the
extent of their injuries and how they will affect their employment and
lifestyle.
Lynch and Johnson get different benefits because a military Physical
Evaluation Board placed them in different categories, the Army said.
Lynch was put on a temporary disability list, meaning she can stay in
the Army for up to five years and her condition can be re-evaluated
periodically. If her condition doesn't improve, she could be medically
discharged. Her disability payments could be lowered upon review, Army
officials say.
Though Johnson is awaiting a final decision, her injuries were judged
to be stable but permanent, and the board recommended that she be
discharged from the Army. Johnson plans to appeal the board's
recommendation next week.
Donna Brazile said she couldn't help seeing the Johnson-Lynch
disparities as a black-white issue. The African-American political
strategist, who managed Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000, said
she wasn't going to watch the Lynch TV movie.
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