STAS 15: LaVena Johnson
What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.
Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2026
⏱️ 19 minutes
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Summary
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Scott, and you're listening to What Was That Like? |
| 0:06.6 | Every other Friday, I have a guest come on and talk about something they experienced that was extremely unusual. |
| 0:13.7 | Well, today's Friday, and we're in between new episodes, so I want to tell you a story. |
| 0:19.2 | And this story comes with a content warning for discussion of suicide. |
| 0:30.3 | On a summer day in 2005 at 7.30 a.m., a doorbell was ringing in Florissant, Missouri. |
| 0:40.1 | For Linda Johnson, seeing a lone soldier standing on her porch through the window was a gut punch. |
| 0:49.1 | She went to find her husband John in order that they might face the news together. |
| 0:55.0 | It's a scene that has played out across America for generations, but for the Johnsons, the news delivered that morning was only the beginning of their nightmare. |
| 1:06.0 | The soldier on the porch told them that their 19-year-old daughter, Army Private First Class Levina Johnson, was dead. |
| 1:18.7 | The official word from the Army was that Levina had died of a self-inflicted non-combat injury. |
| 1:26.8 | They claimed she had taken her own M-16 rifle into a contractor's tent on the base in |
| 1:33.8 | Ballad Iraq, placed the barrel in her mouth, and pulled the trigger. |
| 1:40.3 | To the Army Criminal Investigation Command, it was an open and shut case of a heartbroken young woman pushed to the brink. |
| 1:50.1 | But to John and Linda Johnson, the story didn't just feel wrong. |
| 1:55.8 | It felt like an impossibility. |
| 2:06.6 | Right, home from work, walk the dog, kids are back. Mom! |
| 2:07.6 | Up the stairs for something. |
| 2:09.6 | Ugh. |
| 2:10.6 | Back down, no idea what I went up for. |
| 2:13.6 | Mom, what's for dinner? |
| 2:15.6 | Chop, sizzle, done. |
| 2:19.5 | Hello Fresh can't slow life down, |
... |
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