The Andrew Johnson Fund

Andrew Johnson, Client of USJAG, Featured in the New York Times 

In a recent two-part story published by J.M. Phelps of The Epoch Times, it was revealed that a forensic investigation launched by USJAG uncovered a shocking cover-up by the Department of Defense. The investigation centered around the experience of Javier Ortiz, who was abandoned by the very institution that had sent him off to war.

Part I 
Part II

Andrew Johnson's story came to the attention of the New York Times, which reached out to USJAG for comment. Soon, that conversation led to a deep dive into what was uncovered through the organization's forensic investigation of Javier Ortiz, and it was quickly discovered it was not an isolated incident. It was systemic across the Marine Corps and Army.  

Please take a moment and read about Andrew Johnson's situation.

It will move you.

It will make you want to help him.  

Andrew Johnson's Story

Andrew Johnson, a tall, strong ammunition loader who stood right behind a cannon for thousands of shots, came home speaking with a noticeable delay as if on a bad phone line. He was seeing flashes of light he couldn’t explain. He grew suspicious of fellow soldiers and stayed isolated in his room. A year after coming home, he tried to overdose with sleeping pills.

“I can’t even remember what I was dealing with,” Mr. Johnson said in an interview in Jackson, Miss., where he now lives. “I didn’t drink, didn’t smoke. I had a girlfriend. But I just couldn’t function. I had this deep feeling of being all alone.”

The Army started him on therapy for depression and gave him pills to help with nightmares.

He was transferred to a new unit that knew nothing about his blast exposure in Iraq. He acquired a reputation for being unstable, and was reprimanded for saying inappropriate things to other soldiers and shoving a medic. Last year, the Army forced him out for misconduct and gave him an other-than-honorable discharge.

He got a string of jobs but lost them. He tried to go to school twice and failed. He went to a veterans’ hospital seeking help, but was turned away because his discharge barred him from receiving care there.

He is now homeless and sleeps in his car. Recently, he said, he attempted suicide again.

Earlier this year, he started seeing things. Shadows cast by streetlights seemed to be crawling. At first, there were transient flickers of motion on the edge of his vision. Then came full hallucinations of creatures moving through the darkness.

“Now they are very close, like at arm’s length, and very real,” he said in a phone call from his car one night. “Honestly, I see it right now, and it’s freaking me out.”

Source: Dave Philipps, New York Times, November 5th, 2023

The Ask

Please help us in helping Andrew get the assistance he needs and deserves.

Together, all of us can make a difference.