Shoshana Johnson, the first black female POW, speaks at an IOP event on veterans' issues.

Shoshana N. Johnson, the first Black female prisoner of war in the United States, spoke on veterans' issues at a Harvard Institute of Politics panel on Thursday night.

The event was part of the Veterans Impact Initiative, which includes the IOP. It was titled "Public Service and Sacrifice: A Conversation with Shoshana Johnson, America's First Black Female Prisoner of War."

IOP Executive Director Setti D. Warren, who is also an Iraq War veteran, moderated the conversation.

Johnson talked about her time as a POW, including the circumstances that led up to her arrest in 2003.

Her troop was caught off guard after crossing the border into Iraq on an assigned mission, she claimed.

During the ambush, Johnson was wounded in both legs, sustaining a ruptured Achilles tendon and a shattered bone. She was subsequently held captive for 22 days until a Marine Corps rescue mission liberated her.

Many soldiers, particularly prisoners of war, experience challenges when they come home from battle, according to Johnson.

"It's a big battle," she said. "Despite having a great family and receiving all of the mental health treatment that a former prisoner of war and purple heart recipient is entitled to, I've been hospitalized three times since returning home."

Veterans' health care, according to Johnson, is insufficient.

Attendee John S. Cooke '25 posed a question to Johnson regarding the growth in mental health crises among veterans, and what governments should do about it.

"I believe people are having difficulty opening their brains and their wallets to it," Johnson added.

Cooke claimed after the incident that the topic was personal to him because of his background.

Johnson also stressed the significance of legislators ensuring that the requirements of present and past military personnel are satisfied.