GOOD PIECE

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Nearly a year after being shot and taken prisoner in Iraq, former Army specialist Shoshana Johnson said the 22 days she spent in captivity do not make her a hero.

''I'm a survivor, not a hero,'' Johnson told Essence magazine in its March issue. ''The heroes are the soldiers who paid the ultimate price and the Marines who risked their lives to rescue us. ... They took a chance and because they did, I'm here.''

Johnson, 31, of El Paso, Texas, was a cook for the 507th Maintenance Company when it was ambushed in March 2003. She was shot in both ankles and captured with five other soldiers, including Jessica Lynch. Nine U.S. soldiers died in the attack.

In an interview, Johnson said she was slapped and punched by her captors until her helmet flew off, exposing her braided hair.

''That's when they realized I was a woman,'' Johnson said. ''They stopped beating me and immediately separated me from the others.''