Navy Seaman Sandra Grant Died of Natural Causes While Aboard the USS Eisenhower in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (December 31, 2006)

On December 31, 2006December 31, 2019 By AdministratorIn Accidents, Armed Forces, In Their Name, Medical, Military Policy, Navy, Non Combat Death1 Comment

17695945_116985239713 — Seaman Sandra Grant, US Navy

Navy Seaman Sandra Grant, 23, died of a natural causes (cardiac arrest) while aboard a ship in the Arabian Sea on December 31, 2006. Seaman Grant was a Damage Control Fireman supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Naval officials reported the death was under investigation but preliminary findings pointed to natural causes. Sandra was a sailor, a family member, a friend, a wife, and the mother of a baby boy. She was also one of three sailors announced in the Department of Defense press release that died of ‘natural causes’ or an ‘accident’ in a hostile fire zone in support of OIF. Lt. Cmdr. Jane Lanham, 43, died from natural causes on September 19, 2006 in Bahrain. Petty Officer 3rd Class Roger Napper, 20, died of trauma from a single motor vehicle accident on October 7, 2006 in Bahrain.

[Sandra’s] father said the news came as a total shock because she was always healthy and didn’t have any prior medical condition. –The-Dispatch.com

Fort Hood Army SSG Jeannette Dunn Died of a Non Combat Related Injury in Taji, Iraq (November 26, 2006)

On November 26, 2006September 11, 2020 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, In Their Name, Non Combat DeathLeave a comment

Jeanette Dunn — SSG Jeannette Dunn, U.S. Army

Army SSG Jeannette T. Dunn, 44, died of a non combat related injury in Taji, Iraq on November 26, 2006. SSG Dunn was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 15th Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. According to the Department of Defense, the incident is under investigation. The official cause of death and outcome of the investigation are unknown.

“For years I wondered what great things that she had accomplished in the Military. She was a great Soldier when I knew her. You could find no one more dedicated to accomplishing the Mission.” –Charles Baker

New York Army National Guard Sgt. Denise Lannaman Died in a Non Combat Related Incident at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait (October 1, 2006)

On October 1, 2006September 30, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, In Their Name, Military Policy, National Guard, Non Combat Death, Suicide, Suspicious DeathsLeave a comment

Army National Guard Sgt. Denise Lannaman, 46, died in a non combat related incident at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait on October 1, 2006. Sgt. Lannaman was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the New York Army National Guard’s 1569th Transportation Company in Newburgh, New York. Reports indicate that Lannaman was found dead in a jeep with a gunshot wound. At the time of the press release, the Department of Defense announced that the incident was under investigation. Sgt. Lannaman’s death was ruled a suicide by the Army. She was one of three people in the same logistics group in Kuwait tied to a bribery scheme investigation that allegedly died by suicide. Major Gloria Davis, Army (2006) and Lt. Col. Marshall Gutierrez, Army (2006) deaths were also ruled suicides by the Army.

In the space of three months last year (2006), three members of the U.S. Army who had been part of a logistics group in Kuwait committed suicide. Two of them — a colonel and a major — had power over contract awards and had been accused of taking bribes just before they killed themselves. The third was Sgt. Denise A. Lannaman of Queens. ~New York Times

September: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2006)

On September 30, 2006September 1, 2017 By AdministratorIn Accidents, Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, National Guard, Navy, Non Combat Death, Suicide, USAF, USMCLeave a comment

09/30/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Christopher Blaney, 19, NCD, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/29/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Edward Reynolds Jr, 27, and Henry Paul, 24, NCD, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/29/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: James Chamroeun, 20, Iraq, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

09/28/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jose Lanzarin, 28, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

09/28/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: James Lyons, 28, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/28/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Casey Mellen, 21, Iraq, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

09/27/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jared Raymond, 20, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/27/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Christopher Riviere, 21, Iraq, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

09/26/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Velton Locklear III, 29, and Kenneth Kincaid IV, 25, Iraq, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

09/26/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Carlos Dominguez, 57, Iraq, Army Special Operations Command, New York

09/26/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Windell Simmons, 20, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/25/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Howard March Jr, 20, and Rene Martinez, 20, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

09/25/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Eric Kavanagh, 20, Iraq, Schweinfurt, Germany

09/25/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Charles Jones, 29, NCD, Iraq, Kentucky Army National Guard

09/25/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Bobby Callahan, 22, NCD, Iraq, Fort Drum, New York

09/25/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Ashley (Henderson) Huff, 23, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/25/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Allan Bevington, 22, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

09/25/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Cesar Granados, 21, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/22/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Robb Needham, 51, Iraq, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

09/22/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Yull Estrada Rodriguez, 21, Iraq, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

09/22/2006: First Identification of U.S. Soldier Missing in Action from World War I

09/22/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Aaron Smith, 31, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

09/22/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Jennifer Hartman, 21, and Marcus Cain, 20, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/21/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Christopher Zimmerman, 28, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

09/21/2006: Navy Aviator Missing In Action From Vietnam War is Identified

09/19/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Russell Makowski, 23, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/19/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: James Worster, 24, NCD, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

09/19/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jeffrey Shaffer, 21, Iraq, Bamberg, Germany

09/19/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Adam Knox, 21, Iraq, Ohio Army Reserve

09/18/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Davis, 32, Iraq, Fort Wainwright, Alaska

09/18/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Clint Williams, 24, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/18/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Bernard Deghand, 42, Afghanistan, Kansas Army National Guard

09/18/2006: DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: David Roddy, 32, Iraq, Norfolk, Virginia (Multi-National Corps – Iraq)

09/16/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Emily Perez, 23, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/16/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Ryan Miller, 19, Iraq, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

09/15/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Ramsey, 27, NCD, Iraq, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

09/15/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Harley Andrews, 22, Iraq, Bamberg, Germany

09/15/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Weir, 23, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

09/14/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Mattingly, 30, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/14/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jeremy DePottey, 26, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

09/13/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Fuga, 47, Afghanistan, Missouri Army National Guard

09/12/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Alexander Jordan, 31, Iraq, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska

09/11/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Anthony Seig, 19, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/11/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: John Carroll, 26, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

09/11/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Merideth Howard, 52, and Robert Paul, 43, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/11/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Nathaniel Lindsey, 38, Afghanistan, Oregon Army National Guard

09/11/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Johnathan Benson, 21, Iraq, Camp Pendleton, California

09/11/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Luis Montes, 22, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/09/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Gordon, 23, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/08/2006: Airman Missing in Action From the Vietnam War is Identified

09/08/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Jason Merrill, 22, and Edwin Andino II, 23, Iraq, Wurzburg, Germany

09/08/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Vincent Frassetto, 21, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

09/07/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jeremy Shank, 18, Iraq, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

09/07/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Marshall Gutierrez, 41, NCD, Camp Virginia, Area Support Group, Arijan, Kuwait

09/07/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Germaine Debro, 33, Iraq, Nebraska Army National Guard

09/06/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Richard Henkes II, 32, Iraq, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

09/06/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Angel Mercado-Velazquez, 24, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/06/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Ralph Porras, 36, and Justin Dreese, 21, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/06/2006: DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Christopher Walsh, 30, Iraq, Missouri Navy Reserve (Multi National Corps – Iraq)

09/06/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Hannah Gunterman, 20, NCD, Iraq, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Shannon Squires, 25, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Vosbein, 30, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Ryan Miller, 21, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Jared Shoemaker, 29, Iraq, Marine Forces Reserve, Oklahoma

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Eric Valdepenas, 21, Iraq, Marine Forces Reserve, Massachusetts

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Shane Harris, 23, Iraq, Twentynine Palms, California

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualties: Cliff Golla, 21, and Philip Johnson, 19, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Eugene Alex, 32, Iraq, Fort Wainwright, Alaska

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Deason, 28, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

09/05/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Nicholas Madaras, 19, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

09/01/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Joshua Hanson, 27, Iraq, Minnesota Army National Guard

09/01/2006: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Colin Wolfe, 19, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

09/01/2006: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Moises Jazmin, 25, Qixing Lee, 20, Shaun Novak, 21, and Tristan Smith, 23, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

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

Army Criminal Investigation Report for the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Balad, Iraq (April 28, 2006)

On April 28, 2006May 5, 2021 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Cold Cases, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Non Combat Death, Scandals, Sexual Assault, Suicide, Suspicious DeathsLeave a comment

Fort Campbell Army Pfc. LaVena Johnson Died of Non Combat Related Injuries in Iraq; Death Ruled Suicide But Independent Investigation Revealed Rape and Murder (July 19, 2005)

We are not exactly sure when Army Pfc. LaVena Johnson’s CID Report was dumped on-line by the government but it appears to have shown up after the death of Vanessa Guillen. (Source: US Army CID)

Army Criminal Investigation Report for the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Balad, Iraq (April 28, 2006)

Military Murder Podcast Featured the Suspicious Death of Fort Campbell Army Pfc. Lavena Johnson in Balad, Iraq (July 27, 2020)

‘The Silent Truth’ Documentary: The Rape, Murder & Military Cover-Up of Army Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq (July 1, 2014)

Dr. John Johnson clarified in an interview on the Donny Walker Morning Show that wound statin was found on LaVena’s genitals. Listen to the full interview here.

Fort Hood Army Pfc. Tina Priest Died From a Non-Combat Related Incident in Iraq; Death Ruled Suicide But Family Suspects Rape & Murder (March 1, 2006)

On March 1, 2006July 22, 2020 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Cold Cases, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Non Combat Death, Scandals, Sexual Assault, Suicide, Suspicious Deaths2 Comments

Army Pfc. Tina Priest, 20, died from a non-combat related injury in Taji, Iraq on March 1st, 2006. She was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 4th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Divison at Fort Hood, Texas. The Army ruled the death an apparent suicide but Tina’s parents dispute that finding based on the evidence and believe that she was raped and murdered; Tina reported a rape two weeks prior to her death. This case is no longer under investigation by the Army but considered an unsolved cold case because of the concerns the family has with the death investigation and cause of death ruling by the Army. Forty-one (41) female service members died of non combat related injuries while serving in Iraq; and twenty-three (23) were labeled homicide, suicide, or the cause of death is unknown. Tina’s suspicious death was discussed in the Silent Truth Documentary and on the Crime Junkie Podcast.

“What happened to LaVena Lynn Johnson and so many others speaks to a Pentagon culture which more closely resembles a rogue government–than a legitimate branch serving under civilian control. It is highly telling that this family, along with the Tillman family each had to have a documentary film made JUST TO ALERT THE PUBLIC TO THE TRUTH OF PENTAGON COVER-UPS. I urge everyone to view this important documentary – before the local military recruiter mandated under No Child Left Behind –‘friends’ their child at school. God forbid, they could wind up coming home in a body bag – like LaVena.” Read more from Truthout here.

The Silent Truth Documentary:

Ninety-four US military women in the military have died in Iraq or during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). ‘The Silent Truth’ tells the story of one of these women, PFC LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead on Balad Air Force Base in Iraq. The army claimed she shot herself with her own M16 rifle, but forensic evidence, obtained by the Johnson family through the Freedom of Information Act, brings the army’s findings into question. The Army refuses to re-open LaVena Johnson’s case, leaving the family in limbo. ‘The Silent Truth’ follows the Johnson’s pursuit of justice and truth for their daughter. -The Silent Truth Documentary (July 1, 2014)

Crime Junkie Podcast:

Army Soldier Katherine ‘Kat’ Singleton Died in Iraq; Department of Defense Did Not Publish Press Release Notifying Public of Death (2006)

On January 18, 2006January 7, 2018 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Cold Cases, In Their Name, Military Policy, ScandalsLeave a comment

Screen Shot 2018-01-06 at 9.56.47 PM — Katherine Singleton, US Army

The parents of Army soldier Katherine ‘Kat’ Singleton, 25, confirmed that she died in Iraq on January 18, 2006 but did not wish to comment further. Kat Singleton’s home of record is listed as Pensacola, Florida and she enlisted in the Army’s Delayed Entry Program in 2001. Singleton worked as a 15F10 (MOS) and was assigned to the HHC Training Support Battalion at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Singleton’s first deployment to Iraq was with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky from March 2003 to May 2003 (not confirmed). The Department of Defense did not publish a press release notifying the public of Katherine Singleton’s cause of death in Iraq. As a matter of fact, no credible information is available on the web except in an obituary.

HER FRIEND’S LAST WORDS AND REQUEST:

“I just want to let you know that there is no need to yell “cover up” in this case. The death of Kat P. Singleton was kept private for reasons that are no one’s business, but I assure you she is dead and that the government didn’t hide things from the public. She didn’t die overseas and what happened was very tragic but not for the public eye. She was a brave soldier who said on many occasions that she never regretted enrolling in the army and would go back to Iraq to fight for her country to secure our freedoms over and over again. She was a wonderful person and I am glad that our lives touched. I am sending this article that most of you seem to have over looked so that you may see that she is dead and she is buried. I feel that her father said little to the press because he didn’t want the world to know his family business and I believe also that it is time for you to close this thread and let Kat rest in peace. She will be forever loved and missed deeply and never forgotten.” -Anonymous

September: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2005)

On September 30, 2005August 26, 2017 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, In Their Name, Military Policy, National Guard, Navy, Non Combat Death, Suicide, USAF, USMCLeave a comment

09/30/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Daniel Arnold, 27, George Pugliese, 39, Eric Siebodnik, 21, Lee Wiegand, 20, and Oliver Brown, 19, Iraq, Pennsylvania Army National Guard

09/29/2005: DoD Identifies Air Force Casualty: Elizabeth Jacobson, 21, Iraq, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas

09/29/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Steve Morin Jr, 34, Iraq, Texas Army National Guard

09/29/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jason Benford, 30, Iraq, Fort Benning, Georgia

09/28/2005: DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Robert Macrum, 22, NCD, Arabian Gulf, USS Princeton

09/28/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Robert White, 34, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/28/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Tulsa Tuliau, 33, and Casey Howe, 32, Iraq, Fort Drum, New York

09/27/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Andrew Wallace, 25, and Michael Wendling, 20, Iraq, Wisconsin Army National Guard

09/27/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Andrew Derrick, 25, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/27/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Mike Sonoda Jr, 34, Iraq, California Army National Guard

09/27/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Howard Allen, 31, Iraq, Arizona Army National Guard

09/27/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Shawn Graham, 34, Iraq, Texas Army National Guard

09/27/2005: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Elijah Ortega, 19, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

09/27/2005: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Steven Valdez, 20, Afghanistan, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

09/26/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: John Flynn, 36, and Patrick Stewart, 35, NCD, Afghanistan, Nevada Army National Guard

09/26/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Adrian Stump, 22, and Tane Baum, 30, NCD, Afghanistan, Oregon Army National Guard

09/26/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kenneth Ross, 24, NCD, Afghanistan, Giebelstadt, Germany

09/26/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Daniel Scheile, 37, and Paul Neubauer, 40, Iraq, California Army National Guard

09/26/2005: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Brian Dunlap, 34, Iraq, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward)

09/26/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kevin Jones, 21, Iraq, Mannheim, Germany

09/23/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Pierre Raymond, 28, Iraq, Pennsylvania Army Reserve

09/23/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Travis Arndt, 23, NCD, Iraq, Montana Army National Guard

09/23/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Scott McLaughlin, 29, Iraq, Vermont Army National Guard

09/22/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Lawrence Morrison, 45, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/22/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: William Allers III, 28, Iraq, Kentucky Army National Guard

09/21/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: William Evans, 22, Iraq, Pennsylvania Army National Guard

09/21/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Michael Egan, 36, and William Fernandez, 37, Iraq, Pennsylvania Army National Guard

09/21/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Mark Dooley, 27, Iraq, Vermont Army National Guard

09/20/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Alan Gifford, 39, and David Ford IV, 20, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/20/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Regilio Nelom, 45, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/20/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Deckard, 29, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/16/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Alfredo Silva, 35, Iraq, California Army National Guard

09/16/2005: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Shane Swanberg, 24, Iraq, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward)

09/14/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kurtis Arcala, 22, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/13/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jeremy Campbell, 21, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/13/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Christopher Everett, 23, NCD, Iraq, Texas Army National Guard

09/08/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jeffrey Williams, 20, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

09/08/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Jude Jonaus, 27, and Franklin Vilorio, 26, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/07/2005: DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Robert Martens, 20, NCD, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

09/07/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Bohling, 22, Iraq, Fort Benning, Georgia

09/06/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Luke Williams, 35, NCD, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/06/2005: DoD Identifies Marine Casualty: Ryan Nass, 21, NCD, Afghanistan, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

09/05/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Lonnie Parson, 39, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/05/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualties: George Draughn Jr, 29, and Robert Hollar Jr, 35, Iraq, Fort Stewart, Georgia

09/03/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Derek Hines, 25, Afghanistan, Vicenza, Italy

09/02/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Lowell Miller II, 35, Iraq, Mississippi Army National Guard

09/02/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jason Ames, 21, NCD, Iraq, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

09/02/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Monta Ruth, 26, Iraq, Fort Benning, Georgia

09/01/2005: DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Gregory Fester, 41, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Fort Campbell Army Pfc. LaVena Johnson Died of Non Combat Related Injuries in Iraq; Death Ruled Suicide But Independent Investigation Revealed Rape and Murder (July 19, 2005)

On July 19, 2005August 29, 2020 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Cold Cases, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Non Combat Death, Scandals, Sexual Assault, Suicide, Suspicious Deaths4 Comments

Editors Note: Need to get up to speed quick with the unsolved case of Fort Campbell Army Pfc. Lavena Johnson, please check out Episode 40 on the Military Murder Podcast.

Army Pfc. LaVena Johnson, 19, died of non combat related injuries in Balad, Iraq on July 19, 2005. Pfc. Johnson was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the Army’s 129th Corps Support Battalion in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Unlike most, the Department of Defense did not announce that LaVena’s death was under investigation in their press release. The Army Criminal Investigation Division later determined that Pfc. Johnson’s cause of death was suicide by self inflicted gunshot wound. The Army tried telling the family that LaVena used her own M-16 to commit the suicide. The family immediately suspected foul play and ordered an independent autopsy for LaVena. LaVena was not depressed and showed no signs of suicidal ideation. As a matter of fact, she was happy and bubbly and looking forward to going home for Christmas. After the family saw LaVena’s body and obtained investigative documents from the Army, they quickly realized that LaVena did not die by suicide, she was raped and murdered.

According to the family, the Army never investigated LaVena’s death as a homicide nor did they do a rape kit test or autopsy. The family gleaned from the paperwork that Army investigators first considered LaVena’s death a homicide and recorded that in their paperwork, but within a short window of opportunity were suddenly ordered to cease their investigation and reclassify her death as a suicide. Ten years later, LaVena’s father, Dr. John Johnson, continues to fight for justice for his daughter. And, although he has had struggles getting media coverage, he has forged out on his own to speak the truth for LaVena. Dr. Johnson is featured in a documentary called The Silent Truth which presents the heartbreaking story of his daughter LaVena. Pfc. LaVena Johnson was betrayed by the very people she depended on for her life, and the military industrial complex who would rather silence the truth then harm their reputation.

Petition: Reopen the investigation of LaVena Johnson’s death

In the News:

Nineteen year-old Army PFC LaVena Johnson, was found dead on a military base in Balad, Iraq in 2005. The U.S. Army ruled Lavena’s death a suicide, but an autopsy report and photographs revealed Johnson had a broken nose, black eye, loose teeth, burns from a corrosive chemical on her genitals, and a gunshot wound that seemed inconsistent with suicide. LaVena’s father, John Johnson, shares his family’s fight to get answers from the military about his daughter’s death. -Protect Our Defenders (July 14, 2012)

Pfc. LaVena Johnson died in Iraq on July 19th, 2005 and her family needs your help. -Unsolved Mysteries (September 26, 2014)

Many have heard about the efforts for justice in the case of Army PFC LaVena Johnson. In 2005 after only 6 weeks of her deployment in Iraq, PFC LaVena Johnson was found dead. The Army says suicide, but after close evaluation and discovering a plethora of discrepancies in the Army’s report, LaVena’s father Dr. John H. Johnson began the fight for justice for his daughter. On this episode of The Rock Newman Show our special guest are LaVena’s father, Dr. John H. Johnson and attorney Donald V. Watkins. We warn our viewers that this episode of The Rock Newman Show goes into deep detail concerning the evidence and death of PFC LaVena Johnson. Dr. John H. Johnson and Donald V. Watkins contend that by no means is this case a suicide, and say they even know the name of the culprit. -The Rock Newman Show (February 11, 2016)

Learn more here: ACT Now! Stand for PFC LaVena Lynn Johnson

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

Tag: Non Combat Death

Navy Seaman Sandra Grant Died of Natural Causes While Aboard the USS Eisenhower in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (December 31, 2006)

September: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2006)

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)

Army Soldier Katherine ‘Kat’ Singleton Died in Iraq; Department of Defense Did Not Publish Press Release Notifying Public of Death (2006)

September: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2005)

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: