Soldier’s angry widow: Trump didn’t know husband’s name U.S. general says Americans deserve answers about Niger

Washington — A fallen soldier’s angry widow joined the stormy dispute with President Donald Trump on Monday over his response to her husband’s death, declaring that his failure to remember the soldier’s name in last week’s condolence call “made me cry.” He retorted that the call was “very respectful” and her accusation about her husband’s name simply wasn’t true.

Though Trump refused to let the new round of complaints go unanswered, he steered clear of the insults he exchanged last week with a congresswoman who had overhead the sympathy call.

The president spoke in public at two events during the day — including his awarding of the military Medal of Honor to a Vietnam-era Army medic — and made no mention of the case of Sgt. La David Johnson, one of four soldiers killed Oct. 4 in a firefight with militants tied to the Islamic State group in Niger.

In addition to criticizing Trump, Myeshia Johnson, the sergeant’s widow, also complained bitterly that she had not been able to see her husband’s body.

“I need to see him so I will know that that is my husband,” she said. “I don’t know nothing, they won’t show me a finger, a hand.”

A Pentagon spokeswoman said the military often may make a recommendation on viewing but that soldiers’ bodies are prepared and turned over to the family and its funeral director. The final decision on viewing is up to them, said spokeswoman Laura Ochoa.

Myeshia Johnson spoke for the first time in the dispute on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” In the interview, she supported critical statements last week by Rep. Frederica Wilson, who had been in the car with the widow and other relatives when Trump phoned.

“Yes, the president said that ‘he knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway.’ And it made me cry ’cause I was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said he couldn’t remember my husband’s name,” Johnson said.

The president answered on Twitter soon after the interview aired, saying: “I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!”

The row over Trump’s call began last week when Wilson, a Florida Democrat, accused Trump of being callous in the conversation and Trump responded that Wilson’s account was fabricated.

But Johnson backed Wilson’s account, saying that the congresswoman was a longtime friend and listened on a speakerphone in the car with family members.

Washington (AP) — The U.S. special forces unit ambushed by Islamic militants in Niger didn’t call for help until an hour into their first contact with the enemy, the top U.S. general said Monday, as he tried to clear up some of the murky details of the assault that killed four American troops and has triggered a nasty political brawl.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the American people and the fallen soldiers’ families deserve answers about the deadly ambush in the west African nation. But he said he still lacks many of the details about how the attack unfolded, and he asked for patience as the military investigation continues.

Dunford’s description of the incident, however, underscored how long the mid-morning attack dragged on, and that it was many hours before the wounded and killed were evacuated. He said that “within minutes” after the unit called for assistance, a U.S. drone was moved into position overhead, providing surveillance and full-motion video. He declined to say if it was armed, but said it did not fire.

Another hour went by before French fighter jets arrived, but the wounded weren’t taken out until later in the afternoon when French helicopters arrived along with additional Niger troops. The bodies of the three Green Berets who were killed were evacuated that evening, he said.

“I make no judgment as to how long it took them to ask for support,” Dunford said. “I don’t know that they thought they needed support prior to that time. I don’t know how this attack unfolded. I don’t know what their initial assessment was of what they were confronted with.”

A battle-hardened commander, Dunford recalled situations when, “you’re confronted with enemy contact, your initial assessment is you can deal with that contact with the resources that you have.”

He added that under the military’s rules, U.S. forces only accompany Niger troops on missions in that area when “the chances of enemy contact are unlikely.” But he also agreed that it is an inherently dangerous area, and U.S. forces are there as part of a training and advising mission to help local Niger forces learn to deal with the various al-Qaida and IS-linked groups operating in the region.

Dunford acknowledged that nearly three weeks after the attack, many questions remain.