August: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2009)

On August 31, 2009August 17, 2017 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, In Their Name, Military Policy, Navy, Non Combat Death, USMCLeave a comment

08/31/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Jason Dahlke, 29, and Eric Hario, 19, Afghanistan, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia

08/31/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Abraham Wheeler III, 22, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/29/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Earl Werner, 38, and Taylor Marks, 19, Iraq, Oregon Army National Guard

08/28/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kurt Curtiss, 27, Afghanistan, Fort Richardson, Alaska

08/28/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Wildes, 18, Afghanistan, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/27/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: John Hallett III, 30, Cory Jenkins, 30, Ronald Sawyer, 38, and Dennis Williams, 24, Afghanistan, Fort Lewis, Washington

08/27/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Donald Hogan, 20, Afghanistan, Camp Pendleton, California

08/26/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Darby Morin, 25, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/25/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Joseph Fortin, 22, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/24/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Andrew Lobosco, 29, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/23/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Troy Tom, 21, and Jonathan Yanney, 20, Afghanistan, Fort Lewis, Washington

08/23/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Ingram, 25, Afghanistan, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/22/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Justin Pellerin, 21, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/21/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Brian Wolverton, 21, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/21/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jose Crisostomo, 59, Afghanistan, International Security Assistance Force Kabul

08/20/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Clayton Bowen, 29, and Morris Walker, 23, Afghanistan, Fort Richardson

08/20/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Paul Dumont, Jr, 23, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Eustis, Virginia

08/20/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Hastings, 23, NCD, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/20/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: William Van Osdol, 23, Iraq, Schweinfurt, Germany

08/19/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Adam Benjamin, 34, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/19/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Leopold Damas, 26, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/19/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: William Woods Jr, 31, Afghanistan, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Glen Arm, Maryland

08/17/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Nicholas Roush, 22, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/17/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Joshua Bernard, 21, Afghanistan, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay

08/14/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: William Cahir, 40, Afghanistan, Marine Forces Reserve, Washington D.C.

08/14/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: John Tinsley, 28, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/12/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Bruce Ferrell, 21, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/11/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Richard Walters Jr, 41, NCD, Kuwait, Fort Benning, Georgia

08/10/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Patrick Schimmel, 21, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/10/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Javier Olvera, 20, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/10/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Dennis Burrow, 23, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

08/10/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jerry Evans Jr, 23, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/10/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Swanson, 20, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/10/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Tara Smith, 33, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/09/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Matthew Freeman, 29, Afghanistan, Okinawa, Japan

08/07/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: James Argentine, 22, Travis Babine, 20, and Jay Hoskins, 24, Afghanistan, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay

08/07/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Christian Guzman Rivera, 21, Afghanistan, Okinawa, Japan

08/06/2009: DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Anthony Garcia, 21, Afghanistan, Marine Corps Base Hawaii

08/05/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Keiffer Wilhelm, 19, NCD, Iraq, Fort Bliss, Texas

08/04/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Ronald Luce Jr, 27, Alejandro Granado, 42, and Severin Summers III, 43, Afghanistan, 20^th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Jackson, Mississippi

08/03/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Jonathan Walls, 27, Richard Jones, 21, and Patrick Fitzgibbon, 19, Afghanistan, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/03/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Alexander Miller, 21, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

08/03/2009: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Johnny Polk, 39, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/02/2009: Remains Identified as Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher

08/01/2009: DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Gregory Posey, 22, and Jonathan Stroud, 20, Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

Army National Guardsman Spc. Timothy Juneman Died by Suicide; Family Shares Imminent Redeployment to Iraq ‘Major Stressor’ (March 5, 2008)

On March 5, 2008September 6, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, In Their Name, Military Policy, National Guard, PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, Stateside Death, SuicideLeave a comment

“The identity of one other veteran who killed himself this year became public when his family wrote U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in April about concerns with VA mental health care. Spc. Timothy Juneman, 25, a National Guardsman and former [Fort Lewis] Stryker Brigade soldier who was injured in a roadside explosion in Iraq, died March 5, 2008…Juneman’s body was found in his Pullman home March 25, nearly three weeks after he had hanged himself. He had missed several appointments at the Spokane VA. In records obtained by Juneman before his death, Brown wrote that imminent redeployment to Iraq with the National Guard was a ‘major stressor’ contributing to Juneman’s condition, his mother said.” Read more from The Spokesman here.

In the News:

CBS News first reported on the staggering number of veteran suicides in a report last year. Now, newly-released data shows that vets who get help from the VA are still at risk. -CBS News (March 20, 2008)

They served their country honorably but after risking their life in combat abroad, coping with coming home was too much. In the last three months seven servicemen being treated by Spokane’s VA Hospital have committed suicide. -4 News Now (April 29, 2008)

Despite recent efforts by the Veterans Administration to prevent veteran suicide, seven have committed suicide in the Inland Northwest in the last four months and US Senator Patty Murray is calling the situation unacceptable. -4 News Now (May 1, 2008)

Army Sgt 1st Class David Cooper Jr. Died of a Non Combat-Related Injury in Baghdad, Iraq (2007)

On September 5, 2007September 8, 2017 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, In Their Name, Military Policy, Non Combat DeathLeave a comment

cooper_photo_sm — Sgt 1st Class David Cooper Jr, US Army

Army Sgt. 1st Class David Cooper Jr, 36, died of a non combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq on September 5, 2007. Sgt. 1st Class Cooper was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division in Fort Lewis, Washington. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation. The official cause of death is unknown.

Army Pfc. Hannah McKinney Died of Injuries Sustained After She was Hit & Run Over by a Humvee in Iraq; Sgt. Damon Shell Left Her to Die on the Side of the Road (September 4, 2006)

On September 4, 2006June 30, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Non Combat Death, Sexual Assault1 Comment

Pfc. Hannah Gunterman McKinney, US Army, died from non-hostile incident in Taji, Iraq on September 4, 2006. Pfc. Gunterman was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 542nd Maintenance Company, 44th Corps Support Battalion, Fort Lewis, Washington. According to the Department of Defense, the incident was under investigation at the time of the press release.

According to initial media reports, Hannah left a guard tower at a logistics base in Taji, north of Baghdad, to go to the latrine and was hit and run over by a Humvee as she was crossing the road. The DoD reported that she died from injuries sustained after she was struck by a vehicle. The driver had apparently left the scene of the accident and it would be two hours before a tank crew discovered Hannah laying severely injured on a darkened perimeter road. Hannah was rushed to a hospital where she would later die. Hannah was married to a fellow soldier at Fort Lewis and was the mother of a toddler son. Her husband, Chris McKinney, told the Los Angeles Times that the Humvee driver was intoxicated and was in custody, facing disciplinary action. Chris said that every time he talked to Hannah he could tell she was as depressed as one could get. She just wanted to come home and be with her son and her family. Later we would learn that McKinney’s last hours involved alcohol, sex and a decorated Army reservist who was responsible for looking out for junior enlisted soldiers like Hannah. Although alcohol was banned in the combat zone, one of the sergeants had managed to buy vodka. Later drunk, the sergeants piled into a Humvee to bid goodbye to friends including Hannah. The soldiers were celebrating the end of their tour. They went to Hannah’s guard tower, she left her post, and they all went back to the barracks to drink.

Hannah’s parent’s Matthew and Barbara Heavrin want the American public to know the truth. According to statements in the Army Criminal Investigation Division report, Hannah got really drunk and had a sexual encounter with one of the soldiers. Her autopsy report showed a .20 blood-alcohol level. Sgt. Damon Shell testified that he attempted to take Hannah back to the Guard tower but realized she was in no shape to go back to work. On his way back to the barracks, Shell reports that he hit a bump, Hannah’s Humvee door popped open, and she fell out. Shell eventually noticed that Hannah was no longer in the Humvee and instead of stopping to help or look for his fellow soldier, he left the scene and went back to bed in the barracks. Hannah’s death resulted from injuries suffered after she fell out of a Humvee and was struck by that same vehicle. Sgt. Damon Shell was charged with involuntary manslaughter but a military jury at Fort Hood found him not guilty of that charge. Prosecutors argued that driving drunk in a war zone with an underage, incapacitated junior soldier to whom he had supplied alcohol and whose vehicle door he was the last to operate made him culpable for her death. The defense argued that Shell was not responsible for what happened to Hannah after she fell out of a Humvee known to have problems with doors popping open. They argued it was a horrible accident. Damon Shell pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of drinking, drunken driving, and consensual sodomy. He was jailed for 13 months and demoted to a private yet not discharged from the Army.

Hannah’s death benefit ($500,000) went to her husband Chris. The family learned that under military rules, nothing was required to be put aside for Todd, who was not Chris McKinney’s child. Hannah’s parents eventually testified to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs about the death benefits that went to Chris McKinney. They believe that it is an anomaly that needs to be remedied to benefit the surviving sons and daughters of deceased soldiers, sailors and airmen to assist the grandparents who raise them. Matthew Heavrin shared that the assumption was made that Chris is caring for Hannah’s son Todd, which he is not and the burden of raising Hannah’s son has been left solely to them. According to Hannah’s father, Chris McKinney never offered any of the $500,000 death benefit to the family or to Hannah’s toddler son Todd.

Her case would become one in a litany of noncombat deaths in Iraq, which number more than 700, from crashes, suicides, illnesses and accidents that sometimes reveal messy truths about life in the war zone. ~The Seattle Times

Veterans for Peace: Sexual Assault on Military Members Press Conference, Seattle, Washington (August 11, 2006)

On August 11, 2006February 23, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, In Their Name, Medical, Military Policy, Navy, PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, Scandals, Sexual Assault, USAF, USCG, USMC, VeteransLeave a comment

Talk by 22-year Army Veteran Eli Painted Crow as part of the “Voices of Women Veterans” workshop at the Veterans for Peace 2006 National Convention August 11, 2006 in Seattle, WA.

Sara Rich, Mother of Suzanne Swift speaking at the Veterans for Peace 2006 National Convention. Suzanne Swift was sexually assaulted while serving in Iraq by members of her own unit. (August 11, 2006)

Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (1)

Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (2)

Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (3)

Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (4)

Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (5)

“Despite 25 years of Pentagon studies, task force recommendations and congressional hearings, sexual assaults and rape in the military continue unabated. In 2010 the Department of Defense (DoD) conducted a survey of active duty members which revealed that only a small percentage of the more than 19,000 incidents of rapes and sexual assaults involving service members was actually reported. For the record, an estimated 13.5 percent of sexual assaults and rapes saw the light day—and only 8 percent of those reports resulted in prosecution—in the end 465 service members were either administratively discharged or punished through the court-martial process —that’s about 2.5 percent of the total suspected acts of sexual assaults and rape—a good percentage for a direct mail response, but unacceptable for a justice system.” Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) (November 16, 2011)

The Department of Defense Announced the Death of an Army Soldier Supporting Operation Enduring Freedom: Spc. Patrick Tillman (April 23, 2004)

On April 23, 2004September 16, 2024 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, In Their Name, Military Policy, Non Combat Death, Scandals, Suspicious DeathsLeave a comment

Department of Defense Casualty Press Release:

This screenshot of this press release for Patrick Tillman is no longer on the DoD press releases website. They deleted the original site and created a new one that only goes back to 2014.

YouTube Videos:

Remembering Pat Tillman: 10 Year Anniversary Special Report (2014) | Outside The Lines

The Truth Behind the Pat Tillman Story

CNN Official Interview: Pat Tillman’s mother: Evidence was destroyed

Army Ranger Tillman Death Investigation

Tillman Book Tells of Search for Information

Military Spouse Jessica Meyers Found Dead in Abandoned Vehicle; Army Soldiers Jeremy Meyers & Christopher Baber Guilty of Murder for the Life Insurance Policy (July 20, 2003)

On July 20, 2003July 1, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military PolicyLeave a comment

Initially Jessica Bart Meyers was reported missing to the police but five days later her dead body was discovered in an abandoned car near the harbor on July 20, 2003 in Tacoma, Washington. Jessica had been strangled to death. Fort Lewis Army soldiers Jeremy Meyers & Christopher Baber were charged with her murder. Jeremy and Christopher tried to make the murder look like a robbery gone wrong. Investigators discovered that Jeremy took out a life insurance policy on Jessica without her knowledge. And these two soldiers conspired to kill Jessica for the $100,000 life insurance policy. Jeremy offered to pay $10,000 to anyone who would help him with his plan to kill his wife. The murder would also allow Jeremy to move forward in a new relationship with 15 year old Sarah Benton, who he made travel plans with shortly before the murder. Christopher Baber was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 8 years in prison. Jeremy Meyers was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to 41 years in prison.

Investigation Discovery:

ID Go: A young army private with delusions of greatness has a lusty affair A young army private with delusions of greatness has a lusty affair with an underage tart. Nothing will get in the way of his illicit affair- including his loving wife and infant son. -Head Games, Deadly Sins (S4,E7)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

Tag: Fort Lewis

August: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2009)

Army National Guardsman Spc. Timothy Juneman Died by Suicide; Family Shares Imminent Redeployment to Iraq ‘Major Stressor’ (March 5, 2008)

Army Pfc. Hannah McKinney Died of Injuries Sustained After She was Hit & Run Over by a Humvee in Iraq; Sgt. Damon Shell Left Her to Die on the Side of the Road (September 4, 2006)

Veterans for Peace: Sexual Assault on Military Members Press Conference, Seattle, Washington (August 11, 2006)

The Department of Defense Announced the Death of an Army Soldier Supporting Operation Enduring Freedom: Spc. Patrick Tillman (April 23, 2004)

Military Spouse Jessica Meyers Found Dead in Abandoned Vehicle; Army Soldiers Jeremy Meyers & Christopher Baber Guilty of Murder for the Life Insurance Policy (July 20, 2003)

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