In the first days of the war, a Fort Bliss unit grabbed worldwide headlines when its soldiers were ambushed in An Nasiriyah.

The ambush cost 11 soldiers their lives and turned six others into prisoners of war for several weeks.

Their capture and release made the POWs international celebrities for a time.

Among them those soldiers was Shoshana Johnson of El Paso.

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In February 2003, KFOX was at Fort Bliss when members of the 507th Maintenance Company said goodbye to their families and friends, as they prepared to deploy for the invasion of Iraq. No one knew at the time the tragedy that would befall these soldiers within weeks.

Three days after the invasion of Iraq began on March 23, 2003, Spc. Shoshana Johnson and other members of the 507th were at the end of a long military convoy.

A wrong turn at night led the soldiers straight into an ambush at An Nasiriyah. The ambush cost 11 soldiers their lives.

Johnson got shot in both ankles and became one of six prisoners of war.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch became the most famous POW from the 507th. But their captivity and rescue would make all the POWs international celebrities in the early days of the war.

"It was hard. You know, people knew so much about me and it was very startling to have people that you never laid eyes on before come up and tell you, 'I know about your daughter, about your family.' It's nerve-wracking, especially when you're coming home and dealing with PTSD right off," said Johnson.

In addition to dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Johnson suffered permanent damage to her legs when she was shot during the ambush.

"The damage can never be fully repaired. I still have problems with it. It still bothers me. But I consider myself blessed that I still have my legs," said Johnson. "For you, which is worse? Is it the psychological wounds of war or the physical wounds of war?," said SHOSHANA. "Definitely, the psychological. Sometimes.... when I first came home I didn't think there was anything wrong with me. It took my family pushing and prodding before I sought counseling."

"Five years later, I still haven't received the person we saw off," said Johnson's father Claude Johnson.

Shoshana's father, said the biggest thing he's noticed since his daughter's return from the war has been the mood swings brought on by PTSD.

"I think we really didn't understand PTSD as much as we understand it now, because we saw her do so many things and we're trying to get her to do other things and it's now that she's slowly coming back that we realize that this was, 'oh, this was because of that,'" said Claude Johnson.

Shoshana Johnson lso had to live with the loss of comrades from the 507th, like Pvt. Ruben Estrella Soto, who was also from El Paso.

She said the death of Lori Piestewa in the ambush hit her especially hard.

"Lori was a mom just like me, being a female. And it is.... dealing with her loss is a little more... it's a little more difficult for me because we were so similar," said Johnson.

For Johnson, the toughest time came months after her homecoming from Iraq, when the celebrations, commemorations and celebrity faded away.

"It was good year of me going, going, going so I wouldn't have to think about it. But when it all came to an end, it was a big crash," said first name Johnson.

Shoshana Johnson said PTSD is much more common among soldiers returning from Iraq than they or the military are willing to admit. "I have some friends who came back in the 4-1 cav, and I've been on them 24/7 to go and talk to somebody. You know , as much as it feels good to say I'm macho and I'm fine, it's not going to kill you to talk to somebody for an hour," said Shoshana Johnson.

Despite the years of emotional and physical pain, the Ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company brought to her life... Shoshana says the ordeal did teach her a very valuable lesson.

"As Americans in general, we take a lot of things for granted. We take our freedom for granted. I do my best not to take anything for granted now," said Shoshana Johnson.

The 507th Maintenance Company no longer exists. The Army disbanded the unit in the summer of 2005.

VIDEOS: February 16, 2008: Former P.O.W. Shoshana Johnson Talks To KFOX February 16, 2008: Claude Johnson Describes How PTSD Has Challenged His Family