U.S. Military Keeping Secrets About Female Soldiers’ ‘Suicides’?
Ann Wright
TruthDig
Sep 10, 2008
August 26, 2008 - Since I posted on April 28 the article “Is There an Army Cover Up of the Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers,” the deaths of two more U.S. Army women in Iraq and Afghanistan have been listed as suicides—the Sept. 28, 2007, death of 30-year-old Spc. Ciara Durkin and the Feb. 22, 2008, death of 25-year-old Spc. Keisha Morgan. Both “suicides” are disputed by the families of the women.
Since April 2008, five more U.S. military women have died in Iraq—three in noncombat-related incidents. Ninety-nine U.S., six British and one Ukrainian military women and 13 U.S. female civilians have been killed in Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as probably hundreds of thousands of Iraqi women and girls. Of the 99 U.S. military women, 64 were in the Army active component, nine in the Army National Guard, seven in the Army Reserve, seven in the Marine Corps, nine in the Navy and three in the Air Force. According to the Department of Defense, 41 of the 99 U.S. military women who have been killed in Iraq died in “noncombat-related incidents.” Of the 99 U.S. military women killed in the Iraq theater, 41 were women of color (21 African-Americans, 16 Latinas, three of Asian-Pacific descent and one Native American—data compiled from the Web site www.nooniefortin.com).
Fourteen U.S. military women, including five in the Army, one in the Army National Guard, two in the Army Reserves, three in the Air Force, two in the Navy (on ships supporting U.S. forces in Afghanistan) and one in the Marine Corps, one British military woman and six U.S. civilian women have been killed in Afghanistan. According to the Department of Defense, four U.S. military women in Afghanistan died in noncombat-related incidents, including one now classified as a suicide. Four military women of color (three African-Americans and one Latina) have been killed in Afghanistan. (Data compiled from www.nooniefortin.com.)
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11132
Showing posts with label Pfc. LaVena Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pfc. LaVena Johnson. Show all posts
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Pfc. LaVena Johnson's life ended but how? Murder or suicide?
U.S. Army says suicide; Parents seek investigation
By Ashahed M. Muhammad
Assistant Editor
Updated Aug 18, 2008, 12:37 am
(FinalCall.com) - The U.S. Army says it was a suicide resulting from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head from an M-16. The parents say it was murder.
Three years later, instead of celebrating their daughter’s birthday, the parents of Pfc. LaVena Johnson are continuing their investigation into what they believe is a cover-up of the suspicious circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death.
U.S. Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead on a military base in Balad, Iraq on July 18, 2005 just a few days before her 20th birthday.
LaVena’s mother Linda said she was always against her daughter going to the military, but since she was in charge of telecommunications for her unit in Iraq, LaVena was able to call her parents just about every day and that would ease her mind, hearing her daughter’s voice.
“It was a pain that hit my heart that has not gone away,” Mrs. Johnson told The Final Call as she described the scene at 7:30 a.m. on July 19, 2005 when she first heard that her daughter was dead. Mrs. Johnson does not believe her daughter committed suicide.
“There’s no way that my daughter would have done that to herself, she loved life, she had dreams and hopes and plans, she loved her family.”
The details of her daughter’s death have been gradually told to Mrs. Johnson by her husband John Johnson in order to ease the pain. She was just recently told one of the most graphic details in the case—that her daughter was set on fire.
“It was like her death all over again to know that my sweet baby was laying somewhere with no one to help her. Being murdered and then set on fire—it was the worst most horrific thing I have ever heard,” said Mrs. Johnson fighting back tears. “We were making plans to be together, and she was making plans to do things with her family.”
On July 27, 2005, when LaVena was to turn 20 years old, they were instead at her wake.
“On her 20th birthday, I was looking at my daughter in a box,” said Mrs. Johnson. “We should have been celebrating her life, but it was stolen from her.”
Mr. Johnson, LaVena’s father, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology and has 25 years of experience as an administrator working for the Army in a civilian administrative capacity, said every time his daughter called, he would speak to her first so that he could check out her state of mind. In his years working with the military, he is trained to identify soldiers with suicidal thoughts, and he said his daughter did not display any of the symptoms typical of one preparing to take their own life.
go here for more
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_5113.shtml
By Ashahed M. Muhammad
Assistant Editor
Updated Aug 18, 2008, 12:37 am
(FinalCall.com) - The U.S. Army says it was a suicide resulting from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head from an M-16. The parents say it was murder.
Three years later, instead of celebrating their daughter’s birthday, the parents of Pfc. LaVena Johnson are continuing their investigation into what they believe is a cover-up of the suspicious circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death.
U.S. Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead on a military base in Balad, Iraq on July 18, 2005 just a few days before her 20th birthday.
LaVena’s mother Linda said she was always against her daughter going to the military, but since she was in charge of telecommunications for her unit in Iraq, LaVena was able to call her parents just about every day and that would ease her mind, hearing her daughter’s voice.
“It was a pain that hit my heart that has not gone away,” Mrs. Johnson told The Final Call as she described the scene at 7:30 a.m. on July 19, 2005 when she first heard that her daughter was dead. Mrs. Johnson does not believe her daughter committed suicide.
“There’s no way that my daughter would have done that to herself, she loved life, she had dreams and hopes and plans, she loved her family.”
The details of her daughter’s death have been gradually told to Mrs. Johnson by her husband John Johnson in order to ease the pain. She was just recently told one of the most graphic details in the case—that her daughter was set on fire.
“It was like her death all over again to know that my sweet baby was laying somewhere with no one to help her. Being murdered and then set on fire—it was the worst most horrific thing I have ever heard,” said Mrs. Johnson fighting back tears. “We were making plans to be together, and she was making plans to do things with her family.”
On July 27, 2005, when LaVena was to turn 20 years old, they were instead at her wake.
“On her 20th birthday, I was looking at my daughter in a box,” said Mrs. Johnson. “We should have been celebrating her life, but it was stolen from her.”
Mr. Johnson, LaVena’s father, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology and has 25 years of experience as an administrator working for the Army in a civilian administrative capacity, said every time his daughter called, he would speak to her first so that he could check out her state of mind. In his years working with the military, he is trained to identify soldiers with suicidal thoughts, and he said his daughter did not display any of the symptoms typical of one preparing to take their own life.
go here for more
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_5113.shtml
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Pfc. LaVena Johnson's family wants investigation reopened
Family asks Army to reopen pfc. suicide case
By Cheryl Wittenauer - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 3, 2008 20:33:27 EDT
ST. LOUIS — The father of the first female soldier from Missouri to die in Iraq wants Congress to force the Army to reopen its investigation into her death.
John Johnson, father of LaVena Johnson, said Tuesday that he met in April with Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, as well as others.
The Johnsons and their supporters collected signatures for petitions asking the House and Senate Armed Services committees to direct the Army to revisit the investigation of Johnson’s death.
“I could let it go, but then, someone will get away with murder,” John Johnson of Florissant told reporters Tuesday.
Army Pfc. LaVena Johnson was found dead July 19, 2005, in a small contractor’s tent in Balad, Iraq, after only eight weeks in the country. Army investigators and coroners ruled she had shot herself in the mouth with an M-16 rifle.
Johnson contends his daughter was attacked, raped and had her body dumped in the tent, where a fire was started in hopes of destroying her remains.
The House Armed Services Committee is looking into the case, but has not decided whether to hold a formal investigation, said spokeswoman Lara Battles.
A spokeswoman for the Senate Armed Services Committee said it was unaware of the case.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_lavena_johnson_060308/
By Cheryl Wittenauer - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 3, 2008 20:33:27 EDT
ST. LOUIS — The father of the first female soldier from Missouri to die in Iraq wants Congress to force the Army to reopen its investigation into her death.
John Johnson, father of LaVena Johnson, said Tuesday that he met in April with Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, as well as others.
The Johnsons and their supporters collected signatures for petitions asking the House and Senate Armed Services committees to direct the Army to revisit the investigation of Johnson’s death.
“I could let it go, but then, someone will get away with murder,” John Johnson of Florissant told reporters Tuesday.
Army Pfc. LaVena Johnson was found dead July 19, 2005, in a small contractor’s tent in Balad, Iraq, after only eight weeks in the country. Army investigators and coroners ruled she had shot herself in the mouth with an M-16 rifle.
Johnson contends his daughter was attacked, raped and had her body dumped in the tent, where a fire was started in hopes of destroying her remains.
The House Armed Services Committee is looking into the case, but has not decided whether to hold a formal investigation, said spokeswoman Lara Battles.
A spokeswoman for the Senate Armed Services Committee said it was unaware of the case.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_lavena_johnson_060308/
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