Vanessa Guillen and a number of other soldiers at Fort Hood sparked outrage across the country, leading to an independent review of the command climate and culture on the military post. First it was a five-mile run, then it was a two-mile run. Who were the soldiers who had testified to seeing Guillen leave the arms room the day she disappeared? Rodriguez disputes this claim. "That is the opposite of what he's been consistently saying.". When Elisabeth Finch met Jennifer Beyer in 2019, the two women forged a fiercely loyal friendship, and eventually got married. Barely a week later, Private Corlton Chee, 25, died during training. During the run, Chee, who had no preexisting health conditions, collapsed. (Marine Lance Corporal Riley Schultz's death on March 15, 2019, at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, was also ruled a suicide, despite his hyoid being broken. III Corps Inspector General. I will tell you everything, he told his mother. Five were murdered. At first, Aguilar told investigators, they cut her up using a machete. In fact, Casteel had been convinced that CIA agents were attacking him since last June. They returned several days later to pour concrete over the remains. On April 29, it was Private Joshua Barnwell, 19. The story appears in the July/August 2021 issue of Vanity Fair.I enthusiastically recommend this article. I will tell you everything." A sergeant from Guillens division called it mandatory fun days. The additional scrutinythe congressional delegation visit, press toursmeant that soldiers had to work harder. And being mission-ready, the perpetual vigilance it requires, ensures a kind of endless possibility of war, which in turn justifies the $740 billion annual defense budget. Killeen was named after another disappointing man: Frank Killeen, an assistant general manager to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway. By then, the Army, it seemed, had stopped providing Wedel-Morales with a sense of purpose, and he had turned to alternate sources of meaning, namely car and motorcycle clubs, and life beyond the base. Later, Robinson would tell investigators that Guillen completed her task and exited the building. She has become that complicated, indelible thing: a hero. September 10, 2020. Fort Hood officials confirmed Monday that Martinez and Mosley were assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. Memorial that now stands at the site Vanessa Guillen's remains were found in Killen, Texas. Matthew Disney, 20, of Aberdeen, Maryland, were pronounced dead on the scene by emergency medical personnel at the North Carolina military. Dominic Criqui, who served in Vanessa Guillen's unit, says that the training had come to feel "stupid" and "pointless." Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt. In 2007, also in Iraq, Specialist Kamisha Blocks death was ruled an accident by a single shot of friendly fire before the family received the body and saw that she had five gunshot wounds, including one to the head. Site Gregory Wedel-Morales' remains were found in Killeen, Texas. After hours, media should call the Emergency Operations Center at (254) 287-2054 and ask for the on-call PAO. Courtesy | Margie Taylor Spc.. It rained that night, and the drive, which should have taken three hours, was slow going. Killeen was named after another disappointing man: Frank Killeen, an assistant general manager to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway. So much of reporting is opening yourself up to chance, and there I was, compulsively locking and relocking the rental car door. You can click this link to create an obituary. Eventually Fernandes rang from the Army hospital. Namely, the military. The circumstances are so strange and awful that fully understanding the events can be difficult. But as Beyer would soon realize, Finchs past wasnt what she claimedand Beyers own difficult history was up for the taking. Later came Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese, who still run sushi and pho restaurants in Killeen. Fernandess family told me they have never been interviewed. This was true of many I met at Fort Hood, including press officer Major Gabriela Thompson, my tour guide on base, who told me she joined to pay off her student loans: "It was my ticket out," she said, echoing other soldiers' sentiments about how the military had rescued them from hardscrabble existences. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers vanished or died, including 13. Bill to attend technical school in Houston to work on wind turbines or oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana. Robinson himself left soon thereafter, he would testify, to spend the night off post with his girlfriend. (The police opened an investigation on August 19.) A group of soldiers, including Robinson, greeted them. The death was ruled a suicide despite the fact that the blanket stuffed around the window to hold the pipe in place had been doused in Schuettes own blood, and Schuette was found with nine stab wounds across his body, including his forearm and his left hand. No skid marks were apparent, nor did anyone hear the crash. Sergeant Brad Reynolds, 37, killed himself on May 16. Guillen confessed that she was being harassed by another soldier. The Army's own investigation found "major flaws" at Fort Hood, leading to the firing or suspending of 14 officials. Hazel Buck Blackwell, whose family lost their farm, homestead, barns, orchards, and adjoining land when the base took over, said the closest thing might be the unexpected death of someone you loved very much. It was a heartrending, searing experience, central Texas historian GraDelle Duncan said, leaving lifetime marks on all, and actually killing some from the psychic devastation that followed. Fertility Rate. These figures eclipse American casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same year. Dont they care as to what happened to Elder Fernandes? He had then driven the body to the Leon River and had come back to pick Aguilar up from the gas station where she worked on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, five miles east of Fort Hood. (The person who called in with the tip declined to collect the reward. Later Fort Hood confirmed it was for violating quarantine. It's possible. The brutal murders of four Idaho college students shocked millions. The disappearance of Vanessa Guilln, a 20-year-old soldier at the sprawling Texas Army base of Fort Hood last April, captured headlines across the world. Eleven of the deaths remain unresolvedsome legally; others for the victims' families. Fort Hood might not even stand out were it not for a particularly bad year among many. Texas Death Records Indexes, Obituaries and Cemetery Burials by County. The numbers are distressing. As distressing as the remains in shallow graves or the missing hyoid bone is the fatalism from soldiers and locals alike. March 1, 2023 (94 years old) View obituary. Anthony Nevelle Peak Jr. Hogan, 19, and Peak Jr., 21, were both killed in a. The U.S. Army identified a soldier found dead behind his company barracks at Fort Hood last week as 26-year-old Spc. By then Wedel-Morales had grown distant from his family in Oklahoma, who had not been told of the marriage. As soon as I get out of the hospital, I will call you. Stump was going 82 mph in a 30-mph zone, the investigation report said, and had hit a tree on a mound. There, Wedel-Moraless remains had been found, long ago decomposed in the Texas heat. In January 2017, Fox News cited reports to say the Army and local police were probing deaths of 11 Fort Hood soldiers who died on and off the base in the months before under mysterious circumstances, as per reports. Namely, the military. The death was ruled a suicide despite the fact that the blanket stuffed around the window to hold the pipe in place had been doused in Schuette's own blood, and Schuette was found with nine stab wounds across his body, including his forearm and his left hand. Army investigating after soldier, 26, found dead in latest in string of unexplained deaths at Fort Hood barracks Fort Hood officials have not released the cause of death for Maxwell. Also that year, Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach was raped by her superior, which she reported. He had then driven the body to the Leon River and had come back to pick Aguilar up from the gas station where she worked on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, five miles east of Fort Hood. And yet: The data is not really out of the ordinary for U.S. military bases. -. Most of the groups were aboveboard, even as they were ruled by certain strictures for meeting attendance, dress code, and how to appropriately signal respect. On the night of August 19, Wedel-Morales went out to Club Fuego, located in a desolate strip mall about 10 miles east of Fort Hood. ", "I'm 21 now, and let me tell you. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. Search Fort Hood obituaries and condolences, hosted by Echovita.com. Mayra wept during the journey, already fearing the worst. Hood was an unsuccessful battle commander; 400 men of his Texas Brigade died in a single fight, some would argue through incautious direction. ), On July 3, a fortnight after Wedel-Morales's body was found, Specialist Miguel Yazzie, 33, died at Fort Hood after his repeated requests to see a doctor were denied, according to Carma Johnson, whose brother died at Fort Hood. If not, what explained the false accounting? These figures eclipse American casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same year. IMCOM is not responsible for the content of links outside home.army.mil. Eventually Fernandes rang from the Army hospital. On April 30, 2021, Fort Hood found that Guillen had indeed been sexually harassed by a soldier, but not Robinson.). On May 19, military investigators went through Robinson's phone and learned that he had called his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, multiple times on the night of April 22, as late as 3:30 a.m., from a town 20 miles east of Fort Hooddespite his claim he had been with Aguilar that night. The pursuit of happiness, or simply stability, will invariably lure people to the American military, which may be why the undocumented, the indigent, or those with a criminal record are overrepresented in its ranks. There were no Black residents in town until the early 1950s. My caution wasnt entirely unfounded. She doesnt belong to the Army anymore, AnaLuisa Tapia, a local organizer, told me. Fort Hood also stated that it had completed an exhaustive search for Fernandes, and that it had interviewed all relevant parties, including the family. Within days of arriving at Fort Hood, Chee's clothes were stolen. The next day, Wedel-Morales failed to show up for duty, and the day after that, he was classified as absent without leave, making him one of the thousand or so soldiers who go AWOL in any given year. Jennifer Anthony Lovells sister, Temple Tx. Robinson himself left soon thereafter, he would testify, to spend the night off post with his girlfriend. I have sponsored a a Change.org listing advocating renaming the post after Oveta . July 2, 2022 (86 years old) View obituary Chong Thigpen November 12, 2021 (66 years old) View obituary Jaylen Tristian Bush April 3, 2021 View obituary Cecil Earl Garrison February 21, 2021 (87 years old) View obituary Daniel John Hunt January 29, 2021 (79 years old) View obituary Aage John Hoffman January 26, 2021 (86 years old) View obituary This memory now refreshed, Gloria began asking around for a name and soon learned it through Guillens friend: Aaron Robinson, the last person to have seen her daughter. Despite 10,000 hours of investigation and 300 interviews, much about Guillen's death remained a mystery. Thirteen killed themselves. Last December, a Special Forces soldier and an Army veteran were found dead at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where another soldier disappeared in May and was later found murdered. Fort Hood announced that Stump had crashed his car while driving under the influence, though a toxicology report proved inconclusive. Casteel had told Rodriguez "he was getting away from the abuse.". = Link to a nongovernmental site. I asked him directly if he wasnt willing to speak because of position and he signaled yes, and he said, Id rather tell you in person. , Several days later, Rodriguez learned that Casteel had been committed to a hospital on base. The discovery in 2020 of the dismembered and burned remains of Vanessa Guillen, a Fort Hood soldier who disappeared on April 22, 2020, sparked outrage from central Texas to . Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, . Hazel Buck Blackwell, whose family lost their farm, homestead, barns, orchards, and adjoining land when the base took over, said the "closest thing might be the unexpected death of someone you loved very much." (Ring returned to base of his own accord later that day.). Terrie Boley, whose daughter Candance became addicted to crack cocaine while serving at Fort Hood and was murdered in a motel room in 2011, told me not to drink the water. He died in 1879, leaving a troubled legacy that is only now beginning to be questioned. Chee had joined the military in part to support the young family he was starting with his high school sweetheart turned fiance. Maxwell Hockin, the Central . Driving into Killeen last fall, what greeted me was a deer, roadkill, that had been severed in half. The base was named after John Bell Hood, a Confederate general from a family that enslaved people in Kentucky, who made his name by breaking a Union line at Eltham's Landing in Virginia and who, by today's standards, likely suffered from PTSD. On May 11, however, Fernandes reported to Fort Hood abusive sexual contact from a staff sergeant, whom he alleged groped him in a supply room, according to the redacted military investigation report. ARMY-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION STATUS. After 10 torturous weeks and growing. He also wanted an education, and joining the Army he knew he could take care of all of that, his sister Carma Johnson says. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. Eric Christopher Hogan and Pfc. Fort Hood is one of 800 United States military bases around the world, the third largest in the country. He died in 1879, leaving a troubled legacy that is only now beginning to be questioned. When the family exhumed his body in November 2020 for want of a second opinion, the independent autopsy revealed that the bone had in fact gone missing.) (Fort Hood) A soldier in the 1st Cavalry Division was found dead Saturday in his company area, according to a statement from. Thirteen killed themselves. In the same week, Private Edward Casteel, who had been missing from Fort Hood since October 6, was found in a parish jail in Louisiana, arrested after a high-speed chase. I guess my point is, Rodriguez told me, if everything was fine, the way Fort Hood officials would lead us to believe, then why would this soldier, out of character, leave base without permission, and [why] did he not feel comfortable enough to call his captain or anyone on that base once he was arrested for speeding? Fernandes had just been stationed at Fort Hood in January. After a chase along Rancier Avenue, the same street near which Lovell was found dead, Robinson shot himself and died. He refused to send a selfie or get on a video chat and began using a strange and unfamiliar speech pattern. The numbers are distressing. There she encountered Specialist Aaron Robinson, also 20 years old but a rank above. Wedel-Morales was thrilled to become a father. His wife, Christal, was denied her husband's mobile phone, the final investigation report, and even his corpse, until Texas Congressman Ron Wright stepped in on that front. A group of soldiers, including Robinson, greeted them. Killeen itself sits on an especially brutal stretch of central Texas, along the Balcones Fault, which separates the high plains of the Hill Country to the west from the grand prairies and limestone plains of the east, and along which runs Interstate 35. They married in May 2017, and he took her name with hyphenation. It was also an ancient Comanche Native American burial ground, discovered when construction workers unearthed more than 2,200 grave sites in 1998. After he returned to Fort Hood, Rodriguez managed to get Casteel on a video call. The Times found 159 noncombat deaths of Fort Hood soldiers since the beginning of 2016, which included seven homicides and 71 suicides. There was a deep cut above his left eye, and cuts all over his legs. That most soldiers enlist when they are still teenagers, their yet-unformed minds taught to kill. His body was mostly intact but for his hyoid, which was never found. Fernandes was dropped off at his friends house the next day, never to be seen again. "She is now for the movement.". Curiously, a few hours after the officers picked up Casteel, he went silent online. The author knocks on the doors bearing the darkest symbols, behind which lie guns, ammo, antisemitism, antiabortion dogmaand a belief in the coming civil war. "As soon as I get out of the hospital, I will call you. All are former soldiers. Later the same day, at 8:30 p.m., Aaron Robinsons girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, changed her story and told Army investigators that Robinson had confessed to her that he killed Guillen in the arms room, beating her to death with a hammer. Military bases are the last piece of the homeland that soldiers see before they are deployed to fight and the first glimpse of home when they return. Before Guillen, there had been Private LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead in a tent in 2005 in Iraq. FORT HOOD, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - U.S. Army officials at Fort Hood have identified the soldier who was found dead Saturday, Oct. 13 behind his company barracks. Later Fort Hood confirmed it was for violating quarantine. He joined the U.S. Army in March of 2017 as a combat engineer and had been assigned to . Rodriguez disputes this claim. Failure to comply could incur fines of hundreds of dollars or other, more severe social censure. Club Fuego where Gregory Wedel-Morales was last seen, Killeen Tx. Driving into Killeen last fall, what greeted me was a deer, roadkill, that had been severed in half, Next I passed Club Dreams, where Specialist Shelby Jones was shot, bled out, and died last March; then Guns Galore, where Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan purchased a semiautomatic pistol that he would use to kill 13 people in 2009. my deodorant makes my armpits hurt,
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