Slain soldier’s remains found
Victim and three others were ambushed in Niger
Human remains belonging to slain Army Sgt. La David Johnson were discovered in Niger earlier this month, the Pentagon confirmed yesterday.
The parts were discovered more than a month after the 25-year-old soldier and three comrades were killed in an ambush, and more than two weeks after his funeral.
A joint task force of FBI and military investigators found the remains during a Nov. 12 inspection of the attack site outside Tongo, Defense Department spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement.
“We can confirm that the Armed Forces medical examiner has positively identified these remains as those of Sgt. Johnson,” she said.
White added the investigation is still ongoing into how Johnson was killed alongside Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright.
Johnson’s death was at the center of a dispute between the Trump White House and a Florida congresswoman who had known the soldier since he was a child.
The probe into his death was highly criticized as information was slow to pour out.
Johnson’s body wasn’t discovered for more than 48 hours after the Oct. 4 attack. Later reports indicated his hands were bound — suggesting Johnson was executed — and his remains were more than a mile away.
His body was later returned to the U.S., and he was laid to rest Oct. 21.
His widow, Myeshia Johnson, previously said she wasn’t allowed to view her husband’s body when it returned stateside, and slammed the Pentagon for a lack of answers.
CNN reported that the soldier’s loved ones have been briefed on the latest discovery.
Rep. Frederica Wilson, (DFla.), said Trump gave a tone-deaf condolence call to Myeshia Johnson while she was on her way to pick up her husband’s body.
During the call — on speakerphone and heard by Wilson — Trump allegedly forgot Johnson’s name, and told the grieving widow, “he knew what he signed up for.”
The disclosure sparked a messy debate between the lawmaker, whose account was confirmed by the widow, and the Trump administration — who denied her account of the call.