parliament will continue to pursue the scrutiny, function of the foreign commonwealth office, and, hopefully, as effective or more effective than we have done. and i would just like to thank you for coming today. >> thank you. >> and, ms. pierce as well, thank you very much. >> okay. thanks a lot. :

>> shoshana johnson recalled her 22 days as an american prisoner of war with fellow soldier jessica lynch. at the onset of operation iraqi freedom in march of 2003. shea details her return to the united states and her difficulties with post-traumatic stress disorder. bournes' and noble booksellers oppose this event. >> when i first started doing this book signing and things like that i was under the impression you came up behind the book. i was asked to speak a little bit and that was a deer in the headlines. it is nonfiction, what do i do? hello? then we take q&a for 20 minutes.

most of that i kind of know. i don't know what you can ask me, born in panama, my parents came to the united states and immigrated to the united states in 1978. my dad joined the military. it was a wonderful experience. a different culture, it helped me become a better person. i graduated from high school and decided -- i went to you talk. didn't do that good. i have lots of fun. the grades weren't that good.

i dropped out and really didn't have a direction with my life. i had jobs here and there but by the time my figure out my love was cooking and i wanted to go to culinary school i checked it out. culinary school is very expensive. since i messed up for first-time mom and dad told me i had to pay for it myself. so i looked into joining the military. i first started with the air force because i thought it was a cushy air job but it turned out the air force wanted me to lose 50 pounds. no way. i could do that. my sister was already at new mexico military institute. i had plenty of cousins who went into the military helping them pay for their education. it was a natural progression.

i joined the army, it is not culinary school. i learned to cook for my mom and my grandma but cooking for 500, rice and mashed potatoes for 500 is a different experience. you can't put all little flavor that you can in your food and my parents -- you are not in the army anymore, you can put some flavor in your food. all the love. my first duty assignment was carson's. i was there with my sister. my little sister is younger than me and an officer. we were not happy about that situation. my mom loved it because it is not far away and we were together. we didn't like it because you live all this time with your

sister and your doing your thing and the army puts you right back together. we were also in the same regiment. we couldn't run from each other. there is the reason for everything. i had my daughter and it was a good thing i was so close to home and i had the support of my sister nearby. my youngest sister graduated and came to colorado springs to help me with my daughter. when i was close to reenlistment i said i am not going to reenlist and my parents alike are you crazy? we have babies to take care of. yourself rating against the parental unit. in the end, requested to come

back. we asked the army to step back. about four weeks into my deployment i was involved in an ambush and become a pow. certainly it never occurred to me that i would be a pow. we had a briefing before going into iraq and we talked about that. once you talk about sniper fire you have a possibility of losing your life and that became very real to me but it never occurred to me that i would be a pow. i prepared for death but not for captivity, strange as it seemed. it was not an easy capture. it was very violent. i lost 11 comrades and became

pows with five and others. 22 days of captivity, it was not easy but it was better than i thought. i was shot during the ambush and received medical care for my legs. i was treated humanely and sometimes with a lot of respect which was something i didn't expect from the enemy. i was very grateful for it. on the twenty-second they, the united states marine corps came to the rescue, kicked down the door just like in the movies. just like in the movies. they kicked down the door. get down, get down. i heard that clear english and i felt complete julie. complete julie.

i was going home. a was coming home to a wonderful crowd in el paso. it was a blessing. i had no idea all these people were waiting for us to come home. a i remember folks on the aircraft saying you have a big crowd waiting. really? why? i expected my family, but i didn't expect so many people waiting and welcoming us home. appreciate it more than i can say. coming home was jolliest but it wasn't very easy. there was a lot going on. a lot of whistling and attention and i still had to deal with the after effects of what happened to me physically and mentally. and i am still dealing with

those aftereffect. i went for a lot riding this book. it helped to go through things. and let go of some things. but i could never have done this seven years ago. i could never have done this seven years ago and then go on to this media tour. it is so much. everything comes to you in the time that is best for you. i guess this is my time. all the things that have gone on, very nice and very cool but in this end being at home, going to school, i go to community. i'm a culinary arts student and spending time with my family, it is -- yes, i know about flames. it is all right.

spending time with my family, my niece and my dog, that is what it is all about and i enjoy every bit of it no matter how much they join me crazy. i appreciate that you came out to seamy especially since some of you see me every day. mom called at 6:30 in the morning. thank you very much for joining me and i will take questions now. don't tell me you don't like questions. >> where your daughter goes to school. >> she goes to bliss elementary. she is into everything that she is not supposed to. she is 9. she is back there grinning.

test my nerves. what are you going to do? >> what made you decide on this? >> besides the fact that my family has been telling me -- i had to explain you think i am all good and wonderful. the whole world doesn't necessarily feel the same way. i had to work it out in here and i heard so many stories about what happened to me. from people that were nowhere near iraq telling me what happened to me. i needed to set the story straight from my point of view. as i learned in the last two weeks, no matter what you tell certain people will believe what they want to believe. i am starting to learn to let it go. they don't want to believe my version even though i was there and there's nothing i can do

about it. anybody else? [inaudible] do you keep in touch with others? >> yes. i spoke to joe last night. i spoke to jessica lynch last week. i keep in touch with them. when it comes down to with they are the only ones who really understand, it is okay. when people get nasty and they do, i talked to them and just vent. they understand exactly what i am talking about, exactly what i mean. we are forever connected. >> i haven't read your book but were you held together with the other privates in your convoy? or were you isolated? >> i was separated from the men.

most of the activity, wasn't about the last week or so. >> with your legs and feet injured, how did you get about? they took you from place to place? >> the first couple of hours they carried me and by the end of that night i walked because i was afraid they were going to get tired of carrying me. just ended. i said you get to walk. so i walked. i sucked it up. >> when you were rescued, did you find out what happened to the iraqi men were holding you captive? >> no. i have no idea.

we heard some rumblings, maybe they went to the american side. we never found out what happened to others. yes? >> when you came back, did you feel you got what you needed? and you were treated in a way that was responsible or you got what you needed? >> yes and no. there were issues as far as medical and things like that. i was very fortunate. she went with me during my checkups. she was very vocal about things that she felt i needed.

about starting therapy and i was denying that i had an issue for a long time but she pushed. my mom pushed. my dad pushed. i really started getting help. but they had to push. >> very important that people -- >> yes. >> as somebody said on a questionnaire or something, i know something and they said you don't -- >> as a soldier you learn to suck up a lot of things and the last thing you want to lead it is that there is something wrong. a lot falls to the family, the advocate for their soldier, their marine. you have to push a little bit and don't be afraid to push. cure servicemen made a sacrifice and they need help. don't be i don't want to rock

the boat and things like that. rock the stinking boat. this person is part of your life and they are important to you and they have earned the medical care. push if you have to. i was bad. i like my heels. i refuse -- i had to give up a lot of things. i am not giving up the shoes. [talking over each other] >> you where your high heels. >> i did. >> trey instructed you not to put more items in the book? >> there are certain things that i can talk about and that is just the way is. we have servicemen -- my sister

is making faces at me. i am going to call you out. we have servicemen in afghanistan and iraq horse still fighting the complex and i have no problem beating certain things back. i don't think it affects the story at all. i don't think it makes a big difference if i say that or if i don't say that. is about how i feel about how i dealt with the situation. i don't think those facts make a big deal. [talking over each other] >> this talk about being on a veterans board? >> i sit on the advisory committee for minority affairs. we meet twice a year and we do site visits and things like that and make recommendations to the secretary. >> are your plans to consider that in definitely? >> until they kick me out.

i will be there until they kick me off. it was very surprising to get on the board when i was the youngest member of the board. at the time i was the only one from this complex. when i was asked i don't know what i can contribute. i feel i can speak up for those in this conflict and especially the women of this conflict because the facilities are not prepared for the number of women that are currently coming back then need their services. they are doing their best. they are really doing their best and that started from a couple years ago. it is hard for them to play catch up. >> was your initial treatment provided by the captors of your initial treatment for your wounds and with that treatment

how did that delay you getting good treatment to rehabilitate? >> the initial medical treatment was from the iraqis. besides cleaning up the wounds i had surgery and they cleaned out the wounds again as much as they could. it was pretty good but part of the problem is after the surgery my captivity continued longer. i didn't see a doctor for a while after that and i continued to walk on my legs so by the time i was rescued i needed another surgery to repair more damage but i am grateful for the initial surgery that the iraqis provided. it was the best they could do under the circumstances. the city was being bombed and i got surgery. i appreciate that. >> i wrote a research paper on isolation. i read john mccain's experience and i was curious. you were there for 22 days. when did you start experiencing isolation? within a week or two weeks?

>> i am not catching -- >> they find 7 people's integrity like through john mccain, one thing that kept him going was his faith. he said two weeks into his captivity he started to feel cognizant of hopelessness. did you have that? >> it went back and forth. there were days when i am going home to do this or that, planning out the rest of my life and there were days when i would think this is it. i hope my parents have my body to barry and lay it to rest and go on with their life. i was very lucky. the men really -- i could lean on them. they yelled out, miller and his angry americans singing all the time. they really kept my spirits up,

telling stories back and forth. the remember there was a bombing close to the prison. wrong young people one of the pilots that got shot down was talking about all right! and he started singing bombs over baghdad. i wasn't too happy. but it kept you going. it really did keep you going. i could hear them and that gave me hope. >> i went to high school with you. >> yes! sorry. >> seeing you is an answer to a prayer. i was in st. louis when you were captured and i remember seeing the news story. seeing you and seeing you so happy is an answered prayer for me. i am really excited about your

book. i can't wait to read it. what other a publicity appearances do you have? >> this is my last one for right now. i did the today show and larry king and when the williams and stuff like that. this is the last one for right now. i have a couple radio interviews and things like that. i am going to pick and choose. a lot of the stuff within the first two weeks was laid out by the publisher. but now is up to me. i want to spend a lot of time at home. i already missed two weeks of class. i have to be real about this. the book is very nice. i hope people get an understanding of my experience and learn not to judge a book by its cover meaning people. i hope they understand what it is like to be a soldier a little

bit. but in this end, i have to go back to regular life. everyday stuff is cool but i never realized. i want to pay off my mortgage and raise my daughter and send her off to college. those are the things that are important. i am retired. i can just go to school. i will be a professional student. yes? >> what is your favorite pastry to make? >> i like making a cocoanut cake. my mom showed me how to make it. it is old fashioned. crack a coconut and ground it down. then i do the bird cakes. they get picky. i want a strawberry cake, high-school musical.

i mean really! and that is from a 5-year-old. >> do you want your daughter to join the forces? >> i would sit down with her and tell her what it is really like. all the commercials with gary sinise are really nice, but that doesn't show everything. i would sit down with her and speak to her about everything about the military. if that is what she chooses to do i would support her but she already told me know. i did an interview last week and she was with me and they asked me the same question and she shook her head no. okay. that is up to you. >> having gone through what you have been true, would you like your daughter in the military?

>> i loved being in the army. i don't regret going one minute. i would do it all again. i enjoyed it. it was something i was very proud of and i think i made a contribution to the society in which i live. [applause] i will take two more questions than we can get to the signings. >> you said you were alone. jessica was not with you. >> no. what happened is the end of the guys were captured. jessica lynch was unconscious. they found her alive and took her into the hospital. by that time they had started to move as to baghdad. we didn't see her again until

the rescue. >> how did you know she was alive? >> when we were rolling out to baghdad, one of those dana carvey bob hope movies. you young people that don't understand that. there was a series of movies the doctor told me your blonde friend is alive and it was very reassuring because at the time he told me that to my knowledge it was just the six of us or five of us all live in the whole convoy. i didn't know that anyone had made it. >> do you feel it is time for the military to reestablish women being combat veterans. >> yes. i am a combat veteran. they need to reexamine the

training. the lines for combat have changed. whether you are a clerk of supply work medic, you are in combat. you are in harm's way. what is the purpose of keeping women out? it doesn't make any sense anymore. as we progress and things change we need to adapt and overcome. we cannot keep the same rules. we have to move forward with it. that is one of the things that is great about this country. one of the reasons the constitution and the bill of rights is so unique is it is supposed to adapt as our society adapts and it has. that is why we have been able to do this for 200 years. we adapt our laws, our rules changed to adapt every girl.

>> what do you think about the emir involved so often when they should stay out of it? it is not so much of the problem on the outside that doesn't know anything about what is going on? the media cause a lot of problems. >> yes and no. there were a lot of media people that caused issues. i remember hearing about that geraldo incident when he was drawing the little map and i heard about some other people, they would ask what are you doing and turnaround and say i am not telling you that. we are in the middle of something going on. we need to reexamine who is we allow to be in the area. some of it needs to be shown to the public as far as how tough it is for the soldier, how intense it can be so people on

this side can understand what we are going through and give us some support. but we don't need the media telling exactly what is going on. just like you reported it on cnn, you were reporting it to the enemy as well. we need to balance that a little bit better. >> what type of food did they serve you and did they season it? >> in the beginning we got a lot of bread and water. a lot of hard bread and water and some orange stuff. sometimes as americans we can be a little arrogant. i remember getting a little porridge stuff and i am not eating that. what makes you think they are going to feed you again?