--- title: Niger: Military Finds More Remains of La David T. Johnson description: The Pentagon revealed it found additional human remains of a U.S. soldier killed during the Oct. 4 ambush in Niger. canonical: https://time.com/5033633/niger-la-david-johnson-myeshia-donald-trump/ author: W.J. Hennigan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-21T17:48:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:19:44.508Z article:section: Politics og:title: Military Investigation Finds More Remains in Niger og:description: Investigators are trying to determine how Sgt. La David T. Johnson died. og:url: https://time.com/5033633/niger-la-david-johnson-myeshia-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt359890e298477efb/6988e268bc6cfc74933e393f/la-david-johnson-gofundme.jpg?branch=production&width=306&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 306 og:image:height: 172 og:image:alt: la-david-johnson-gofundme og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Military Investigation Finds More Remains in Niger twitter:description: Investigators are trying to determine how Sgt. La David T. Johnson died. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt359890e298477efb/6988e268bc6cfc74933e393f/la-david-johnson-gofundme.jpg?branch=production&width=306&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. Military Investigation Finds More Remains in Niger > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [W.J. Hennigan](https://time.com/author/w-j-hennigan/)  ## W.J. Hennigan Nov 21, 2017 5:48 PM UTC  Army Sergeant La David T. Johnson Army Sergeant La David T. Johnson Photo courtesy of Myeshia Johnson/GoFundMe  by [W.J. Hennigan](https://time.com/author/w-j-hennigan/)  ## W.J. Hennigan Nov 21, 2017 5:48 PM UTC The Pentagon revealed Tuesday that military investigators made a grisly discovery this month when they stumbled upon additional human remains of [a U.S. soldier killed during the Oct. 4 ambush](http://time.com/4993045/myeshia-johnson-donald-trump-frederica-wilson/) in Niger. Investigators with the FBI and U.S. military were dispatched to Niger to determine what happened and answer questions about whether the forces had adequate intelligence, equipment, and took proper security precautions. The team visited the [site of the attack on Nov. 12](http://time.com/4994226/joseph-dunford-niger-ambush-press-conference/) and interviewed local villagers as well as retraced actions leading [up to, during and after the ambush](http://time.com/4996246/army-niger-fallen-troops-special-forces/). It was then they found “additional human remains,” according to the Pentagon Pentagon spokeswoman Dana W. White said in a statement that the Armed Forces Medical Examiner has positively identified these remains belonging to [Sgt. La David T. Johnson](http://time.com/4987321/sgt-la-david-t-johnson-remains/). Johnson was missing for two days following the deadly militant assault on a joint-patrol of a dozen members of the Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha, or “A-Team” and 30 Nigerien troops. The U.S. military feared he fell in enemy hands before the Nigeriens found his body. The grim finding brought the final tally to four U.S. soldiers killed, five Nigerien troops killed, and three U.S. wounded. The others killed were Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright. The Pentagon did not say whether the discovery of remains has added to their understanding of what happened while he was missing. Myeshia Johnson, the soldier’s widow, later [told “Good Morning America”](http://abcnews.go.com/US/fallen-soldiers-widow-angry-trumps-call-couldnt-remember/story?id=50655063) she wasn’t allowed to view her husband’s remains before he was buried at home in Florida on Oct. 21. “Why couldn’t I see my husband? Every time I asked to see my husband, they wouldn’t let me,” she said. “They told me that he’s in a severe wrap — like I won’t be able to see him. I need to see him so I will know that that is my husband.” “They won’t show me a finger, a hand,” she said. “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. It could be empty for all I know, but I need to see my husband. I haven’t seen him since he came home.” The Pentagon said it expects the report into the ambush to be completed and publicly released after the New Year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5033633/niger-la-david-johnson-myeshia-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5033633/niger-la-david-johnson-myeshia-donald-trump/"},"headline":"U.S. Military Investigation Finds More Remains in Niger","datePublished":"2017-11-21T17:48:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:19:44.508Z","description":"The Pentagon revealed it found additional human remains of a U.S. soldier killed during the Oct. 4 ambush in Niger.","url":"https://time.com/5033633/niger-la-david-johnson-myeshia-donald-trump/","keywords":["Military","Niger"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt359890e298477efb/6988e268bc6cfc74933e393f/la-david-johnson-gofundme.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"W.J. 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