Additional remains of US solider Sgt. La David Johnson were found in Niger on November 12 where he was killed during an ISIS ambush last month
Additional remains of US solider Sgt. La David Johnson have been found in Niger where he was killed during an ambush last month.
The Pentagon said the solider’s remains were recovered when a military investigation team traveled to the area on November 12 as part of their investigation into the ambush by ISIS fighters.
An armed forces medical examiner confirmed the remains belonged to Johnson and officials said his family were notified of the discovery on Monday.
The remains were found in the same area where his body was located about 48 hours after the ambush occurred on October 4.
Johnson’s body was found nearly a mile away from the ambush site where the bodies of three of his fellow soldiers – Sgt. Bryan C. Black, Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson and Sgt. Dustin M. Wright – were found dead on the day of the ambush.
The Pentagon did not provide details about the additional remains or indicate how the discovery might advance the overall investigation.
His pregnant widow, Myeshia Johnson, told the ABC last month that she had begged authorities to let her see his body when his remains were brought back to the US but she was advised against it.
His pregnant widow Myeshia Johnson said she begged authorities to let her see his body when his remains were brought back to the US (above) but she was advised against it
Myeshia, pictured at her husband’s October 21 funeral with their daughter, was notified of the discovery of Johnson’s remains in Niger on Monday
‘Every time I asked to see my husband, they wouldn’t let me. They tell me that he’s in a severe wrap, that I won’t be able to see him,’ she said in the interview with Good Morning America.
‘They won’t show me a finger, a hand. I know my husband’s body from head to toe and they won’t let me see anything. I don’t know what’s in that box it could be empty for all I know.’
The widow said she would continue to push for answers regarding her husband’s death.
The 12 American and 30 Nigerien soldiers on the mission were attacked by about 50 fighters associated with the Islamic State group.
Questions have since been raised over why it took hours before backup support reached the patrol and why Johnson’s body was left behind and only recovered the following day.
Myeshia said she was initially told that there had been ‘massive gunfire’ and that her husband was missing.
Johnson’s body was found nearly a mile away from the ambush site where the bodies of three of his fellow soldiers – Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, Sgt. Bryan C. Black and Sgt. Dustin M. Wright (left to right) – were found dead on October 4
Myeshia said she would continue to push for answers regarding her husband’s death after questions were raised over why Johnson’s body was left behind and recovered 48 hours later
‘A couple of days later is when they told me that he went from missing to killed in action,’ she said.
‘I don’t know how he got killed, where he got killed or anything.’
The Defense Department expects to complete its investigation by January.
The deaths generated a storm of controversy when they were first reported after President Donald Trump told Johnson’s wife that he knew what he signed up for during a condolence call.
‘It made me cry because I was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said it,’ she said during the GMA interview.
Myeshia, who is pregnant with the couple’s third child, said she ‘heard him stumbling on trying to remember my husband’s name and that hurt me the most.’
‘The only way he remembered my husband’s name because he told me he had my husband’s report in front of him and that’s when he actually said La David,’ she said.
Trump fired back on Twitter, insisting: ‘I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!’