Picking up Patterns in Military “Investigations” of Non-combat Deaths: Part 2:
Here are the basic facts in the case of Jason Pirro in the words of his parents written in 2007:
Our son, PFC Jason Pirro, wanted to provide a better life for his wife and daughter. He wanted to honor his Country. He wanted to be a Marine. Jason joined the Marines in November of 2003 and left for boot camp at Parris Island, SC in January of 2004. Shortly thereafter, he found out that his wife was pregnant with their second child. Our son finished basic training and completed his Crucibles with a broken foot.
In May 2004, Jason went to Camp Geiger's School of Infantry in North Carolina. On July 9, 2004, Jason called home to ask about an old car we had and said that even if he had to work two jobs, he couldn't wait to get out of "this hell hole." On the 14th of July at approximately 10 p.m., Jason talked to his wife, Christina. He told her that he loved her and would call in a couple of days to let her know what was going on. Jason had also talked to a couple of his friends and had several jobs waiting for him when he got home.
On July 15, 2004, three Marines came to our door. They told us that Jason was found hanging in the barracks. They would not answer any of our questions. They told us that there would be an investigation into his death. We were told that upon the completion of the investigation, someone from the Military would sit down with us and go over the findings of the investigation. That never happened.
On July 18, 2004, the Marines had a memorial service for Jason at Camp Geiger. During the service, the clergy stated that PFC Jason Pirro committed suicide. Our family was not notified of any press release, nor were we notified when the investigation was completed. We have not seen any member of the Marines or other Military personnel since the initial interview with NCIS in October 2004.
We have never been officially notified that the investigation into my son's death was closed. As of this date, we have not received his "dog tags."
Over the last two and a half years, I have not had much cooperation from the Military. We have tracked down several Marines who knew Jason and agree that he did not commit suicide. A couple of Jason's fellow Marines believe, as we do, that he was murdered.
We have been requesting as much information as we can from the Military under the Freedom of Information Act. Although we did receive some information, there are a lot of missing documents and photographs.
We have been in touch with our representatives in Congress for help in getting the investigation reopened. As of this date, we have heard nothing. We are being ignored by our Military and our Government.
The Military says our son committed suicide. We strongly disagree with their opinion, but they will not take the time or effort to meet with us or even talk to us. The documents that we have received and the photographs of the death scene (which arrived on Mother's Day weekend in May 2006) show enough discrepancies to back our belief that PFC Jason Pirro was murdered while stationed at Camp Geiger, NC.
PFC Jason Pirro loved his family. His daughters have been deprived of a loving and caring father. His wife has lost her best friend, companion and the man she loved. We have lost our son. PFC Jason Pirro has lost his future.
We want the Marines who did this to our son to be brought to justice and to take responsibility for their actions. We want justice for PFC Jason Pirro.
Gary and Vicki Van Horn
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If you would like to get an idea who Jason Pirro was through family photos, click on the arrow in the video below.
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