--- title: U.S. Army Sgt. David T. Johnson's Remains Received By Widow description: The widow of U.S. Army Sgt. David T. Johnson received his remains after President Trump said "he knew what he signed up for." canonical: https://time.com/4987321/sgt-la-david-t-johnson-remains/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-18T16:27:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:54:33.119Z article:section: Politics og:title: See the Heartbreaking Moment Sgt. La David T. Johnson's Widow Received His Remains og:description: After President Trump said "he knew what he signed up for og:url: https://time.com/4987321/sgt-la-david-t-johnson-remains/ 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: See the Heartbreaking Moment Sgt. La David T. Johnson's Widow Received His Remains twitter:description: After President Trump said "he knew what he signed up for 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 ---  # See the Heartbreaking Moment Sgt. La David T. 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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 [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Oct 18, 2017 4:27 PM UTC  Army Sergeant La David T. Johnson Army Sergeant La David T. Johnson Photo courtesy of Myeshia Johnson/GoFundMe  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Oct 18, 2017 4:27 PM UTC Myeshia Johnson, the widow of U.S. Army Sgt. La David T. Johnson, has found herself unexpectedly thrust into the national spotlight following a controversial phone call from President Donald Trump. Sgt. Johnson, 25, was one of four [soldiers killed in Niger earlier this month](http://time.com/4986918/us-military-niger-soldier-deaths-investigaton/). The White House said Tuesday evening that President Trump called the families of those killed in the incident, including Myeshia Johnson. Later Tuesday evening, Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson told a Florida news station that, during his call with Sgt. Johnson’s widow, Trump said that Sgt. Johnson “knew what he signed up for.” “To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn’t say that to a grieving widow . . . that’s so insensitive,” Wilson [told WPLG.](https://www.local10.com/news/politics/trump-speaks-to-widow-of-sgt-la-david-johnson) Wilson said that she overheard the call while driving with Myeshia Johnson on the way to Miami International Airport to receive Sgt. Johnson’s remains. President Trump has [denied Wilson’s claims](http://time.com/4987094/donald-trump-david-johnson-james-comey/), calling them “totally fabricated.” But Rep. Wilson [stands by her account,](https://twitter.com/RepWilson/status/920643495953649665?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F4987094%2Fdonald-trump-david-johnson-james-comey%2F) saying that others also overheard the call. The Associated Press released footage showing Johnson, accompanied by her six-her-old daughter, sobbing and draping herself over her husband’s coffin when it landed in Miami. The pair had two children together, [according to the Miami _Herald,_ ](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-gardens/article179356376.html)and Johnson is pregnant with a third. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4987321/sgt-la-david-t-johnson-remains/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4987321/sgt-la-david-t-johnson-remains/"},"headline":"See the Heartbreaking Moment Sgt. La David T. 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