My Last Breath: In Loving Memory of My Sister Army Reservist SSG Virginia Caballero, Our Fallen Servicemembers, and Our Gold Star Families

Virginia Caballero

SSG Virginia Caballero, U.S. Army Reserve

Army Reservist SSG Virginia Caballero Died on Plane Enroute in US After Deployment in Kuwait, Family Received Conflicting Accounts of Cause of Death (September 13, 2014)

My Last Breath by Suzie Caballero Turner, Gold Star Family

Ft. Hood tried to cover up 2 other deaths,
When Greg and Vanessa took their last breath.
Lying to the family, wouldn’t tell them the truth,
Hoping no one would ask, their story runs smooth…

But there is a group, Gold Star Families their name,
Who knew much better, Ft. Hood is the blame.

But this is much bigger than sexual assualt you see,
This is about soldiers killing him, them, and me,
About Heroes who once fought for us,
But when one dies, we can’t make a fuss.

Don’t get me wrong, sexual assault is a crime,
And those who commit it, better do the time,
But this situation is bigger you see…
It’s about lies told when they killed me.

Told my family I put a gun to my head,
But a soldier in arms is why I am dead,
My family knows better, you’re telling a lie,
They know for a fact, that’s not how I’d die.

A medical death, how quickly you lied,
Another soldier is the reason that I died,
His corruptive lifestyle, I didn’t agree,
So he thought he’d go on and silence me.

I’m only a Sgt, take orders from command,
What they tell me to do is out of my hands,
The mission they gave me, sounds dangerous to me,
Tried to talk to command, but they just disagree.
Now the mission’s over, just like it played in my head…
So they try to blame me, because we all end up dead…

It took them a month to find me and my car,
They didn’t realize that they took this too far,
Sending my phone signals to my home state,
Hoping my family will just take the bait,
While they decide what they’re going to say
About what happened to me when i died that day.

Suicide is what you tell my wife…
Multiple stab wounds from somebody’s knife
She knows me better, knows you’re telling a lie
She knows this isn’t the way I would die…

Commander and others like treating me bad,
So I finally stood up, only got them mad,
So now I am unresponsive, face down on my bed,
Another soldier in arms is why I am dead…

Healthy as ever, pass each PT test,
Taking care of me, doing my best,
All of a sudden, I fell on the floor,
All they tell my family, “She’s not breathing any more.”
Lie to my family, not medical death,
But a coward soldier who took my last breath.

These are just a few of the hundreds of deaths,
When our own fellow soldier took us from our last breath,
It wasn’t at war, not by the other country,
But one of our own who ended my life for me.

Higher command tries to diffuse the crime,
By making up a story and not doing the time.
Lying to the family, saying stories untrue,
Making families think there’s nothing they can do.

This needs to stop, too many have died!
Too many families to whom they’ve lied!
Now it’s time to make things right!
By telling the truth and letting us fight,
Fight for our loved ones who can no longer speak,
Because the truth is all we seek!

To demand the truth about their death,
And who made them take their last breath!
They deserve respect, justice, and closure too,
So quit being a coward and do what you’re supposed to do,
Start acting like the soldier you signed up to be
So families again, can believe in humanity!

Don’t get me wrong, we can’t blame them all,
We can’t expect all of Ft. Hood to fall,
For all the corrupt cowards who led a hero to death,
And watched him as he took his final breath.

This isn’t just happening on Ft. Hood you see,
This is happening within all military,
Some of these deaths are Marines, and Navy too,
Every military branch has got quite a few…

But just like the corrupt ones, not all of them are bad…
There are also some good ones who the corrupt ones make mad..

There are many true soldiers still left you see,
Who are doing what’s right, fighting for him, her, and me,
So don’t disrespect a true soldier in any way…
Because of what corruption may have played out today.
So weed out the cowards and take them away,
Throw them in a prison for taking our loved ones that day…

Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Other Areas)

Map of Middle East

Bahrain

20 Apr 08: PO1 Cherie Morton, Navy (medical, under investigation)
22 Oct 07: MASN Anamarie Camacho, Navy (gunshot wound, homicide)
22 Oct 07: MASN Genesia Gresham, Navy (gunshot wound, homicide)
1 Oct 07: MASA Shayna Schnell, Navy (injuries sustained in a vehicle accident)
16 Jan 07: MA1 Jennifer Valdivia, Navy (hazed and bullied by supervisor, carbon monoxide poisoning, death ruled suicide by NCIS)
19 Sep 06: LCDR Jane (Lanham) Tafoya, Navy (non-combat related causes)

Jordan

26 Jul 06: CIVILIAN Donna Marie Kerns (vehicle accident)

Kuwait

13 Sep 14: SSG Virginia Caballero, US Army Reserves (medical non-combat death en-route from Kuwait to US)
27 Aug 12: SSG Jessica Wing, Maine Army National Guard (death ruled suicide)
19 Feb 09: Spc Cwislyn Walter, Hawaii Army National Guard (non combat related vehicular accident)
12 Nov 07: Spc Ashley Sietsema, Army (injuries sustained in vehicle accident)
6 Nov 07: Spc Christine Ndururi, Army (medical, unexplained non-combat illness)
1 Oct 06: SSG Denise A Lannaman, New York Army National Guard (gunshot wound, death ruled suicide)
28 Oct 05: 1LT Debra A. (Butler) Banaszak, Missouri Army National Guard (non-combat related injury, death ruled suicide)

The Arabian Gulf

31 Dec 06: SN Sandra Grant, Navy (assigned to USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, medical, cardiac arrest)
18 Apr 02: SN Katrina Grady, Navy (non-combat illness, medically evacuated from USS Port Royal)

The Gulf of Aden/Indian Ocean

12 Feb 07: MA2 Laquita James, Navy (natural causes aboard Bataan off the Horn of Africa)

The Gulf of Oman

18 Jan 11: OS2 Dominique Cruz, Navy (she went missing from aboard the USS Halsey in the Gulf of Oman, found during search and rescue operations Jan. 19 in the Gulf of Oman after being reported missing Jan 18, under investigation)

The Persian Gulf

25 Oct 03: FN Jakia Cannon, Navy (assigned to USS Enterprise, medical, died of natural causes while underway)

Related Links:
Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Iraq)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Afghanistan)
Noonie Fortin: Killed in Iraq or in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom
Noonie Fortin: Killed in Afghanistan or in support of Operation Enduring Freedom

Army Reservist SSG Virginia Caballero Died on Plane Enroute in US After Deployment in Kuwait, Family Received Conflicting Accounts of Cause of Death (September 13, 2014)

If you have any information that could help this family find answers, please contact us at militaryjusticeforall@gmail.com. Thank you.

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SSG Virginia Caballero, US Army Reserves (2014)

Honoring SSG Virginia Caballero, US Army Reserves, who became ill while en-route from Kuwait and then died unexpectedly shortly thereafter at a hospital in Rockford, Illinois on September 13, 2014. Apparently the commercial plane needed fuel and/or had to do an emergency landing for Virginia in Rockford, Illinois. It appears that they were on their way to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. According to reports, Caballero was a Reservist stationed with the 452nd Combat Support Hospital, 330th Medical Brigade out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin but trained at Fort McCoy prior to her deployment to Kuwait.  She served in Kuwait for roughly eight months and for some reason was coming home a month early with a high ranking travel companion. Media reports claim she wanted to surprise her family in Texas. It is believed Caballero suffered from a blood clot which was exacerbated with the altitude on the flight. She was not listed as a non-combat death by the Department of Defense but this would in fact be considered a non-combat death due to medical. The family admits in newspaper articles that a lot of the details are sketchy.

Here are the questions we have after combing through the below articles. Why was she coming home a month early accompanied by a high ranking travel companion if she was going to surprise her family? Did something happen in country prior to her boarding that plane? Was this an early surprise for family in Texas or an expedited transfer from Kuwait back to the states? The military isn’t in the business of assigning high ranking travel companions unless there is an issue. Were there any concerns about medical health prior to boarding the plane? Where were they flying to? Rockford, Illinois is only a couple hour drive from Fort McCoy. Why did they not land the plane sooner at a larger airport like Chicago when the medical issues began to develop or the fuel began to get low? Why did the DoD not send out an official notification of non-combat death considering she was on active duty orders in support of war efforts in Kuwait? Criminal Investigation Division (CID) was assigned to investigate the cause of death of Virginia. The family was asked to submit a FOIA request for the results of the investigation.

Related Links:
Army Soldier Reflects on Life Overseas and Time Back Home
Lubbock movers reach out to help purple heart recipient
Soldier flying home to surprise family in Texas dies en route
Decorated soldier flying home to surprise family in Abernathy dies en route
Local Purple Heart Recipient Died While On Active Duty
Purple heart recipient’s body to arrive in Lubbock on Saturday
Family, friends remember Virginia Caballero as Veterans Day approaches
The Heart of a Soldier: Sergeant earns hero’s salute from hometown
USAR SSG Virginia Caballero, 41 (Noonie Fortin)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Other Areas)
Tribute to SSG Virginia Caballero from her Family
Abell Funeral Home Tribute to Virginia Caballero