Army Hero Shoshana Johnson Deserves Equal Compensation

On Octobver 28th, NAACP President & CEO Kweisi Mfume said that former POW Shoshana Johnson, who was wounded in Iraq, should receive compensation equal to any other wounded prisoner of war. According to news reports, Johnson is scheduled to receive only 30 percent of her disability benefits from the Army. Fellow POW and comrade, Jessica Lynch, will receive 80 percent of her disability benefits, according to published reports. The Johnson family has questioned this apparent double standard.

"The NAACP believes that all members of the armed services injured during service in Iraq deserve adequate compensation benefits," said Mfume. "In this case, however, there appears to be unequal treatment. Both Johnson and Lynch were wounded and captured by the enemy. Both are heroes, despite the greater publicity surrounding Lynch's rescue."

Mfume has asked Acting Secretary of the Army, Les Brownlee to explain why Johnson's benefits are much less than her fellow soldier.

Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors, said: "Unless there is an honest rationale, the discriminatory double standard the United States Army has applied to Iraqi war heroine Shoshana Johnson is disgraceful. We were proud to host and celebrate her at our Annual Convention in Miami this summer; it is past time for the military to give this young woman the recognition and the compensation she deserves."

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