Human remains of Sergeant La David Johnson were discovered earlier this month according to a Tuesday announcement by The Pentagon. The additional remains were discovered at the scene of an ambush in Niger where the late soldier was killed last month.
Johnson’s death attracted media attention in late October after Florida Congresswoman Rep. Frederica Wilson relayed President Donald Trump’s apathetic remarks to Johnson’s widow Myeshia Johnson to media outlets. Trump reportedly told the woman her late husband “knew what he signed up for” by joining the military during a phone call purportedly intended to extend condolences. The young widow’s story also drew speculation surrounding the hardly disclosed U.S. military presence in Niger.
The remains of Johnson, who was one of four American soldiers killed in the Oct. 4 ambush, were uncovered by investigators on Nov. 12. The discovery may explain why Johnson was prohibited from seeing her late husband’s body.
In an interview with “Good Morning America,” Myeshia said she’d been prevented from seeing his corpse.
“I need to see him so I will know that that is my husband,” she said. “They won’t show me a finger, a hand; I know my husband’s body from head-to-toe and they won’t let me see anything.”
“I don’t know what’s in that box,” she continued. “It could be empty for all I know.”
Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White did not specify which of Johnson’s body parts were found.
The investigation into the ambush will reportedly conclude in January.
