Soldier’s death in fi refight explained
WASHINGTON — Army Sgt. La David Johnson died in a hail of gunfire, hit as many as 18 times as he took cover in thick brush, fighting to the end after fleeing militants who had just killed three comrades in an October ambush in Niger, The Associated Press has learned.
A military investigation has concluded that Johnson wasn’t captured alive or killed at close range, dispelling rumors about how he died.
The report has determined that Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was killed by enemy rifle and machine gun fire from members of an Islamic State offshoot, according to U.S. officials. The Oct. 4 ambush took place about 120 miles north of Niamey, the African nation’s capital. Johnson’s body was recovered two days later.
The officials familiar with the findings spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Johnson’s combat death led to a political squabble between President Donald Trump and Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson from Florida after Trump told Johnson’s pregnant widow in a phone call that her husband “knew what he signed up for.” The spat grew to include Trump’s chief of staff, who called Wilson an “empty barrel” making noise.
A 12-member Army special forces unit was accompanying 30 Nigerien forces when they were attacked in a densely wooded area by as many as 50 militants traveling by vehicle and carrying small arms and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
All told, four U.S. soldiers and four Nigerien troops were killed in the ambush. Two U.S. and eight Nigerien troops were wounded.
The bodies of three U.S. Green Berets were located on the day of the attack, but not Johnson’s remains. The gap in time led to questions about whether Johnson was killed
in the assault and not found, or if he was taken away by the enemy.
According to the officials, a medical examination concluded that Johnson was hit by fire from M-4 rifles — probably stolen by the insurgents — and Sovietmade heavy machine guns.
The officials said Johnson’s body was found under thick scrub brush where he tried to take cover. There were no indications he was shot at close range or had been bound or taken prisoner, as several media reports have suggested.
The three other Americans killed were Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia.
The U.S. military believes someone in a nearby village where the troops had stopped may have tipped off attackers to the presence of U.S. commandos and Nigerien forces in the area, setting in motion the ambush.
U.S. special operations forces have been routinely working with Niger’s forces, helping them to improve their abilities to fight extremists in the region. That effort has increased in recent years, the Pentagon said.