Posts Tagged ‘Lavena Johnson’

If you think the news coverage about the war, and what happens to men seems scarce, coverage on what happens to women at war is even more scarce. News coverage and military data keeping about military suicides is similarly sketchy. Even in an ever more unpopular war, suicide is seen as a weakness of the individual rather than an indictment of the way the war is going. And it gets even more obscure when one re-examines the confluence of women at war AND suicide. Suicide for males may be weakness revealed, but to look at the military list of female suicides, it covers alleged sexual promiscuity and other types of personal culpability as well. And it is a convenient folder for hiding male behaviors the military would prefer to dismiss as boys being boys. Trouble is, the “toys” these boys have are military women treated as disposable objects.

Let’s review a couple of the worst stories, shall we? Like the continued obfuscation about Lavena Johnson, for instance. Lavena Johnson’s death was listed as a suicide, and had her father never opened her casket to look one final time on his beloved daughter, it might have stayed that way. But her mourning father saw bruising on her face, and when he looked at her body, he wondered how the gunshot wounds matched the military story of her shooting herself. And why was her body burnt? Why were her genitals covered with chemical burns? Lavena Johnson appeared to have been raped and murdered, and although her body was suspiciously found in a contractor owned (KBR) tent, the signs of rape never adequately investigated. She died in 2005, and still, her death is listed as suicide. Apparently the US Army still prefers a convenient fictional suicide to investigating murder and rape of an American black woman. The military still contends that after starting the fire to burn her journal, she killed herself in embarrassment over having contracted genital warts.

Really? Seriously? So much has been written about this case, and yet her father cannot get Congress to seriously seek answers for what happened to her: “Private LaVena Johnson’s nose was broken, teeth were loose, one eye was concave and there were abrasions over her body. The supposed M-16 hole to the head was far too small for the revolver-sized exit wound, and was on the wrong side of her skull for a right-handed woman to have pulled the trigger. Her genital area showed evidence of acid, perhaps used to destroy DNA evidence. She had white military gloves glued to her burned hands.” All this time, and no answers, the Army insists all the injuries to her face were from the ‘backblast’ effect of the M-16. And why would she suicide in a KBR tent? Veterans have told me tales of contractors behaving as if American military women were their private stock of Playboy bunnies; why is this not addressed? Seems some serious ass-covering was operative. “The death was initially taped off as a crime scene but the investigation was shut down by a general’s order.”
Dr. Johnson, seeking his daughter’s killer, found ten other families whose daughters were alleged suicides: all had rape as common history! He believes he knows who killed Lavena, an officer quickly gotten out of country two days after her death—a man still free.

The Army has not done a good job on being honest about female soldiers and the causes of death, and some of the contracting firms are even worse. It throws credibility to the winds, as even a men’s magazine pointed out in a story examining Kamisha Block’s murder. Both Block and Johnson were failed by the military chain of command, both sets of parents were lied to about cause of death. Block’s parents were told a friendly fire incident killed their daughter, when she was in fact shot to death by an abusive supervisor who was obsessed with her.

I urge you to read the long Alternet article because although it is from 2008 and is several pages long, every bit of information is necessary to understand the additional risks women in the military face daily on and off the battlefield. The military treats suicides as if they are shameful, a sign of lack of proper attitude—when the despairing person was male. But if the dead body is female? Well, then suicide is a comfortable, conveniently emotional excuse to ignore abuse, rape, and murder. More than a flag covers these women’s caskets—an invisible pall of shame and disgrace is pulled over the incidences of their deaths.

I don’t care if you let your little boys grow up to be cowboys, folks; but until the military establishment can ‘fess up the truths about the numerous non-hostile deaths of female troops, do NOT let your little girls grow up to be soldiers, sailors, or BAMs, ok?

I blogged a good while back about the number of women dying in suspicious (to put it mildly) circumstances.  Lavena Johnson is one of many, and one so horrifyingly obviously not the suicide the Army conveniently labeled it, that it makes your head spin. Please, join me in seeking truth and justice for her.

Dear Friend,

LaVena Johnson was 19 years old, serving in Iraq as a private in the Army, when she was raped, murdered, and her body was burned–by someone from her own military base. Despite overwhelming physical evidence, the Army called it a suicide and closed the case.[1]

For three years, LaVena’s parents have been fighting for answers. At almost every turn, they’ve been met with closed doors or lies. But together we can help achieve justice for LaVena and other families who have suffered similar tragedies.[2]

Will you join me in standing with the Johnsons and calling on Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to investigate the Army’s cover-up of Lavena’s death?

http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=2034-630613

Thanks.

1. “The cover-up of a soldier’s death?” LavenaJohnson.com, March 6, 2007
http://www.lavenajohnson.com/2007/03/cover-up-of-soldiers-death.html

2. “Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?” CommonDreams.org, April 28, 2008
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564/

Yes, the count of women service members killed stands at 100. It got me thinking as I looked thru a portrait gallery of their faces. I read the listed reasons of death. More than 15% were listed as the result of “non-hostile incidents”…which means the enemy didn’t kill them. Nor did illness or vehicular accidents; those are listed differently. Three were described as “weapons discharge” and some of those had the additional notation “suicide.”

Those should have made more noise, don’t you think? One, a talented young woman skilled at languages, an Arabic linguist, with a psychology degree and trained at Ft. Huachuca to be an interrogator. They must have neglected the newer “enhanced” techniques. Less than a week on the job she objected to the techniques used, and soon after that left a note and shot herself to death.
Well, is it horrible or sadly inspiring to think that at least one young American couldn’t stand seeing her country stoop to such methods? Rest in peace, Alyssa Peterson.

Melissa Valles, from a tiny border town in Texas, was the second female fatality in Iraq. She was one of the “non-hostile weapons discharge” listings. She died of a gunshot wound to the stomach.
I was in the Army. I used an M-16. If that was the weapon that killed her, I cannot imagine how it happened. Neither can her mother, and the Army sends updates and says it is investigating; but it has been years now. Where is the answer to how a young woman “accidentally” shot herself in the stomach? Rest in peace, Melissa; those who survive you have no peace, wondering how you died so young and far from home.

And the British Army lost a female soldier, Denise Rose, to suicide as well. Her family simply asked to be left to grieve in peace. She was a member of the Royal Military Police in the Special Investigation Branch. One wonders what investigation pushed her past the point of wanting to survive to go home. Rest in peace, Denise Rose. You are missed, more than words can tell, I am sure.

One of the worst cases was young Lavena Johnson, nearly at the end of her tour at war and making plans with her family for her homecoming. She died of a ‘non-hostile weapons discharge’ which the Army labeled suicide. So, how, pray tell me, did a right handed young woman shoot herself in the left side of her head with an M-16 rifle and without leaving gunshot residue upon her hands? And how did she beat the hell out of herself FIRST? Did she also try to set her body afire to cover up her own “suicide”….this one is infamous, folks. It deserves the truth; that she was likely assaulted and killed to silence her. Rest in peace, Lavena. And may your killer(s) and those who covered their tracks get what they deserve. Death is tragic, glossed over murder labeled suicide….well, tragic doesn’t begin to describe it.

Debra Banaszak’s mother doesn’t understand why her daughter would kill herself when she had a teenaged son to return home to and was happy serving her country. She concludes that if what the Army tells her is true, it was something in the war that caused it. She is without her child, her grandson is without his mother. And the answers are too few. Rest in peace, Debra; I am sorry you could not see your son graduate college, and begin manhood before your eyes.

Tina Priest was born prematurely and weighed barely a pound, but she beat the odds and survived to thrive. Well, until after the Army discounted and botched investigating her claim of having been raped in Iraq, that is. The Army said there was “insufficient evidence” to continue the investigation. Gee, sounds like Army code for “Boys will be boys, honey…and you know the WACS were called the “Whore Corps” …what else are you here for?” The Army said she was “romantically involved” with the man she accused of rape. Did she commit the ultimate female sin and say “No.” when he wanted to hear yes? She is said to have shot herself in the chest. Charges against her accused rapist were dropped a few days later. Her parents gave the Army a patriotic young woman and a casket is what they got back. Rest in peace, Tina. I hope the man who raped you dies a horrid and lonely death—as you did.

Amy Duerksen was the beautiful 19 year old daughter of an Army chaplain. She died in Iraq of a gunshot wound to the chest, a non-hostile gunshot. I found no explanation and her parents did not press the Army for answers. Perhaps that would have hurt more than losing Amy? How does that happen, how does a lovely, vibrant young 19 year old girl get shot in the chest? Is the Army hiding “friendly fire” deaths under the title ‘accident’? Rest in peace, Amy. I’m sorry the idiots of the Westboro Baptist Church marred your funeral, and I am grateful that the Patriot Guard Motorcycle riders were there for you.

And Hannah Gunterman, of California, but serving with a unit from my neighboring Ft. Lewis, Wa. died of a non-hostile cause. An un-named cause that is “under investigation.” Not a vehicular accident, not an illness—no those are listed eagerly enough. Why did you die, Hannah? Does Governor Swartzenegger’s statement about your gallant service to you country comfort those doing without you now? Rest in peace, Hannah. I hope you enjoyed Washington State and its beauties before you went off to the desert to die.

Denise Lannaman died in Kuwait, where her mission was supporting the war in Iraq. And Jane Lanham died in Bahrain, likewise supporting the war. Lannaman’s death is (as are so many) “under investigation”, while Lanham’s has been called “natural causes.” But unlike other natural causes that are named: heart attack, cancer, blood vessel clogs, aneurysm—I find no named cause.
Yes, I am paranoid. I want to know what took these skilled women out of life, out of action, out of the story of this war. Rest in peace, Denise and Jane; I never met you and I miss you anyway. I hope it all was something “natural” and not the opposite. The stories of women in this war make me nervous and untrusting.

Major Gloria Davis was a career Army officer with 18 years in service. She was a mother and grandmother who died of a non-hostile gunshot wound. Some sources list it as being decided as suicide. This after she recorded herself reading Sesame Street for her grandchild? She was no youngster shocked at being far from home, she was a professional and gave no signs of distress.
Yes, yes, the Army is “investigating.” But you see, they say she shot herself after being caught taking bribes on her job as a contracting officer in Kuwait. The Army worked to freeze her assets. Gee, they should be so quick to nail Blackwater. Rest in peace, Gloria—since you aren’t here to defend yourself, I guess nobody else can.

Jennifer Valdivia, another death from non-hostile causes, was listed in the Bahrain newspapers as a suicide. But her death is under investigation and one wonders….will these investigations ever answer all the questions? Rest in peace, Jennifer. Your shipmates must be grieving.

Kamisha Block is another “non-hostile” death that the Army is “investigating.” Is that a new word for stalling, obscuring, or obfuscating? Her parents say it was friendly fire that killed their pretty daughter and they just “want to know the truth about it.” Rest in peace, Kamisha, the MPs surely miss your steady presence.

Roselle Hoffmaster was a doctor, likewise killed in a non-hostile incident. I know she will be direly missed. Like Jeannett Dunn , Jennifer Valdivia, and Christine Ndururi —another victim of a death at hands not Iraqi. But that doesn’t mean those deaths were non-violent, or innocent, or accidental. About 20% of all fatalities are from what is termed non-hostile causes. Some of those are illness and vehicle related deaths, of course. But with the women, entirely to many were in suspicious circumstances with little in the way of answers. Christine Ndururi’s mother spoke to her the day before her death, said she was fine and not sick—but the military says she died of “illness.”

Some were more than suspicious: Genesia Gresham and her friend Anamarie Sannicolas Camacho were shot to death by a fellow servicemember at their naval base in Bahrain. He shot himself as well, but he did not die. And one of the officers of the base thinks the best solution is for the fellow sailors of the dead women to “get over their anger”?? Gee, I never had the privilege of meeting the victims, or their grieving families, and I have a burning desire to punch some officer who thinks ‘getting over the anger’ is the cure. Vice Admiral Cosgriff? You need to get over your stupidity. Rest in peace, Anamarie and Genesia; at least your families can’t be told it was an accident.

Knowing the worst is perhaps an odd kind of solace, but questions other families can’t get answered must tear at hearts and minds for a long time. I know, if I looked, I’d find even more among the men—deaths that make you shake your head in frustration. There are many more men who have died. Not every family has the luck of the Tillman family in forcing the military to confess the truth. So, I stick to the women, and wonder ever more about stories of rape and harassment; about women afraid to go to the latrines at night. Every feminine name I write, that has “non-hostile incident ” for the cause of death makes me reflect upon those stories. I try not to be the fire-breathing and utterly intemperate feminist I was in my own Army days; I try to look at both men and women as members of the same species: human. But sometimes, like tonight, it seems women face some extra risks at war. And not from the expected enemy. It is insult to fatal injury that the military seems to hide the sad truth and not root out the causes.