Suit Over Pa. Soldier's Death in Iraq Is Revived

By JOE MANDAK Associated Press

PITTSBURGH August 1, 2013 (AP)

A federal appeals court revived a lawsuit Thursday against a military contractor in the death of a Pittsburgh-area soldier who was electrocuted in his barracks shower at an Army base in Iraq.

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Grieving parents sue Air Force for answers in daughter's death

The grieving parents of a 19-year-old Idaho woman who died serving her country thousands of miles from home say the U.S. Air Force won't give them information about the circumstances of her death.

Airman 1st Class Kelsey Sue Anderson of Orofino died June 9, 2011, at Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean 3,300 miles west of Hawaii. The military has reported she committed suicide.

But Chris and Adelia Sue Anderson, her parents, filed a lawsuit last month in U.S. District Court to force the Air Force to respond to their Freedom of Information Act request seeking more information about how their daughter died.

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Marine Corps studying spike in suicides

Fond du Lac - A few years ago as the war in Iraq was winding down and fighting continued in Afghanistan, the number of Marines killing themselves spiked.

The U.S. Marine Corps wants to know why.

Though the Corps has previously studied suicides and attempted suicides by Marines, the military branch is launching a project this year to examine the complex reasons that Marines are dying by their own hand.

A team of researchers, including a professor at Marian University in Fond du Lac, will interview relatives and friends of active-duty Marines who died by suicide between 2010 and 2012. Their reports for the Marine Corps Suicide Prevention Psychological Autopsy Project will be used to identify suicide risk factors or trends that might be unique to Marines.

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New civil trial ordered in Army training death

HONOLULU — A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial in a lawsuit filed by the family of a Texas soldier who was killed and others who were injured during a live-fire training exercise in Hawaii.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling overturned a jury verdict that found the manufacturer of mortar cartridges not liable for causing the 2006 explosion that killed Staff Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez.

The 27-year-old from Beeville, Texas, was hit by shrapnel at the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. He was supervising the firing of two mortars when a shell detonated in the cannon. The blast seriously injured Samuel Oyola-Perez, Julius Riggins and Wilfredo Dayandante.

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Mum: Army hiding truth into soldier's death

The grieving mother of a dead Kiwi soldier asked for the return of his clothes but was told they were burned as the items were considered "bio-toxic".

An Army investigator also told Venus Poa she may never know the truth about the death of her son in Afghanistan last year.

She replied: "We are Ngapuhi - we will get to the truth, however long it takes."

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Wait for court-martial in fratricide case frustrates victim’s family

WASHINGTON — It’s been almost four years since the deadliest case of American fratricide in the Iraq War, and the Army sergeant accused of killing five of his fellow servicemembers has yet to face a court-martial.

The lengthy delay has one victim’s family questioning what, exactly, is keeping the Army from moving faster on the case.

 

“It’s just not justified. There’s really no good reason,” Tom Springle said. “We’ve waited long enough.”

 

His brother, Navy Cmdr. Charles Keith Springle, was among those killed in May 2009 at Camp Liberty in Baghdad when Sgt. John Russell allegedly opened fire on the combat

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How to honor non-combat military deaths?

WASHINGTON -- Jack Fletcher doesn’t have an objection to the new Distinguished Warfare Medal. He just thinks that his son, a soldier who died in the line of duty, deserves an award as well.

“There are a lot of troops and families who fall through the cracks,” he said. “It’s baffling to me that everyone who loses their life serving honorably in the military isn’t somehow honored.”

 

Fletcher’s son, Lt. Robert “Bart” Fletcher, was shot and killed by a fellow soldier during a confrontation over missing weapons at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2008. Because the attack was not combat-related, he was not eligible for the Purple Heart.

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Disadvantage in Court: Soldier’s family calls for prosecution against judge

Legal successors of army Lieutenant Artak Nazaryan are demanding criminal prosecution against judge Samvel Mardanyan, chairman of Tavush province’s general jurisdiction court, presiding in Nazaryan’s case ongoing since 2010.        

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MARINE COLONEL’S DEATH MURDER NOT SUICIDE: WIDOW SUES MILITARY TO REOPEN INVESTIGATION CITING NEGLIGENCE AND COVER

Exhausting all other efforts, Kimberly Stahlman, the widow of Col. Michael Ross Stahlman, has filed a precedent-setting Complaint under The Administrative Procedures Act (APA) asking a Federal judge to force the reopening of her husband’s death investigation and to change his Manner of Death from “suicide” to “homicide.”

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Dead GI's Mom Upset in Quick Draw Killer's Parole

A Massachusetts woman whose son was shot and killed in Iraq in what was described in court as a game of “quick draw” gone bad said she is angry and stunned that the killer is up for parole just 10 months after being sentenced to four and a half years in jail.

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Insight into Military Cover-up of Murders

Sgt. who was murder witness sues National Guard, says retaliation

The article above makes me wonder why the Military is so eager to maintain its "reputation" that it would pervert the cause of justice.  Military members have the same responsibility to report wrongdoing that civilians do.  They should be able to give court testimony without the imprimatur of a Military Service.  They should not be protecting murderers for the sake of a public profile.

In many cases, families are not given information about the deaths of loved ones for this reason.  This has got to stop. 

Honor implies truth telling.

Gold Star mother feels betrayed, not ready for the truth, so she waits

AKRON, Ohio — Peggy Buryj might be a phone call away from answering the great mystery of her life.

But she hesitates.

Buryj thinks she knows the name of an American soldier who killed her son, Jesse, in a friendly-fire incident in Iraq on May 5, 2004.

According to a soldier who was there, the bullet came from the gun of a man who is still in the U.S. Army and living in Italy.

But knowing that has not brought her comfort. Instead, the Canton woman has concluded there’s nothing she can do about it.

So the agony and the grieving continue after eight long years. She often feels lonely, even among other Gold Star mothers, because her circumstances and pain are unusual. She doesn’t even celebrate military holidays like other survivors.

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What the Danny Chen Case Has Accomplished Through the OCA

Nineteen year old Army Private Danny Chen died on October 3, 2011.  He was found shot to death and it has been assumed that the gunshot was self-inflicted.  I do not know how thorough the forensic examinations were.  The Army is typically reluctant to reveal detail on their investigations.  There is always the possibility, without proof to the contrary, that he was murdered.  We will probably never know for sure.  That is the result of the unreasonable secrecy which the US Military holds to in cases of non-combat deaths.  I hope that someday they will reexamine this policy.

Because of the extraordinary aid of the OCA, the Organization of Chinese Americans, this case received extensive media coverage and excellent legal representation.  The soldiers involved in the racial and physical harassment of Private Chen were prosecuted.  As of December 2012, all the trials were completed. 

The Chen family has recently stated that they feel no sense of closure and Elizabeth OuYang, the spokesperson for the OCA has expressed similar disappointment that justice was not done in the case.

I understand their sentiments and agree with them to an extent. 

To the Chen family, I want to say that from my experience they will never feel a sense of closure.  I’m sorry, but that’s the way I see it.  They have lost a loved son to injustice.  They will mourn for the rest of their lives.  They will long for the son they have lost.  But they will learn to live with it.  I send them my sympathy, and, more importantly, my empathy, as I have similarly lost a soldier son to injustice. Unfortunately, there are thousands of families in the US who have had this experience. 

Here is what I want to say on the positive outcome of the Chen case.  Yes, I think there was a positive outcome and I think that the OCA is to be congratulated and praised for their proactive role in this outcome.

It is just slightly more than one year since Danny’s death.  The Army has publicly acknowledged that egregious  injustice was done which caused Danny to commit suicide.  The resolution of this case is much more unusual than you might expect.  Most of the families of non-combat death victims have never received any acknowledgement of wrongdoing by any of the Military Services, either of individual servicemembers or by command.  The OCA will continue to work to eliminate hazing and harassment of Military members.  The public has been made aware.  This is a big accomplishment with a positive result.

Eight soldiers were tried and found guilty of various offenses in just over a year.  The Chen family and OCA should know that this is extraordinarily rare!  True, the charge of negligent homicide was dropped in each case, but they had to know that this serious charge was a long shot to prove.  Each defendant got some sort of punishment.  This is also exceedingly uncommon, and further acknowledgement of wrongdoing within the ranks.

It is a start.  Some justice was done. 

Typically, families are on their own in seeking justice for their children and spouses.  They spend inordinate amounts of money on lawyers and bring cases which drag on for years and yield little justice.  This is common even in the case of provable homicide.  They receive little cooperation from the Military and/or civilian police when it comes to investigation.  The perpetrators are rarely prosecuted.  Within our group of families, there are many who are still trying to obtain information about their loved ones deaths after decades without much success.  They can find no ombudsmen or affordable legal counsel.  They cannot break through the barrier of secrecy and bureaucracy which protects the Military.  We need more groups like the OCA in America. 

Donna Janeczko

Recent articles on the Chen case:

http://www.stripes.com/news/last-of-accused-in-pvt-danny-chen-s-death-to-be-removed-from-army-1.201082
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/danny-chen-hazing-trial-mother_n_2324247.html
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/danny_chen/index.html

Comments from some of our members:

Well said. I know how disappointed they must be. I know they expected more, we can all relate to that. A friend of mine told me that Liz Ou Yang was on the news last week expressing her disappointment in the outcome. I don't think that they realize what they actually were able to accomplish.
Bonnie Palecco

 I agree, well said. I have nothing but respect and admiration for this family, unfortunately the loss of a child can overshadow any positive actions they have accomplished. Just getting the military to even acknowledge anything is a miracle, as most of us already know! In a very short time, This family has created great change for the future of others!! We know how crippling grief can be, The mourning process involves a great deal of anger and pain, which is very difficult to see past at times! I pray given time, the family will be able to see more clearly the good they have done for this world, and the hope they have given to others to keep going in our own battle for justice!!! And yes , as we all know they will mourn, always!!

Lora Bailey

Well said! Thanks for posting it. After 21 years we have less.

Congratulations to the family for making this much progress.

Kirk would have been 45 on the 28th!

Lois Vanderbur

 

DOD to study impact of troops' death on family members

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Defense Department is looking for participants to take part in a study of how a servicemember’s death impacts surviving family members.

The National Military Family Bereavement Study is a five-year project that will examine emotional impact, loss of benefits, level of community support, and how bereavement changes over time in hopes that researchers can learn from grieving post-9/11 military families to enact better survivor care policy, researchers said Tuesday in a Defense Department news release.

The study is being conducted by the Defense Department’s Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and is the first large-scale scientific bereavement study to focus on the impact the death of a servicemember has on their family, the release said. The study was funded by the DOD’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program through the university’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress in Bethesda, Md.


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Platoon sergeant gets demotion in rank in Pvt. Danny Chen suicide case, but won't serve prison time

Staff Sgt. Blaine Dugas will lose a rank, but will not have to spend any time in prison after being convicted during a Special Court-Martial on Fort Bragg.

Dugas, a platoon sergeant with the Fort Wainwright, Alaska-based unit of Pvt. Danny Chen, was convicted during the two-day proceeding of using alcohol in a combat zone and dereliction of duty.

Dugas, 36, of Port Arthur, Texas, is the third of eight soldiers in Chen's unit to be court-martialed in connection with Chen's suicide in Afghanistan last year.

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Platoon Sergeant Gets 90 Days for Role in Hazing of Private

http://www.stripes.com/news/platoon-sergeant-gets-90-days-for-role-in-hazing-of-private-1.186092

Parents of Afghanistan war veteran who died after D.C. incident are fighting for his honor

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. — Surveillance video from a McDonald's captures the last moments in the life of a former football player and Afghanistan war veteran from Clifton Park. But it's what the tape doesn't show that has outraged his grieving parents.

Paul and Gail Casey, the parents of the late Patrick Casey, recently obtained about 20 minutes of grainy footage taken inside the Washington, D.C., restaurant during the early morning of Sept. 23, 2011, just before their son was involved in a confrontation that ended his life. The couple have memorized every head-turn in the recording. They view it with skepticism and dread.

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Trials of soldiers accused of hounding New York Army Pvt. Danny Chen being moved to U.S.

Court martials moved from Afghanistan to Ft. Bragg, N.C. 
Pvt. Danny Chen’s grieving family got a reason to cheer Wednesday after the Pentagon announced it was moving the trials of eight soldiers accused of hounding the New Yorker to death from Afghanistan to the U.S.

The commander at Ft. Bragg, N.C., “has agreed to accept court-martial jurisdiction over the eight Soldiers charged in relation to the death” of Chen, Army spokesman Randy Randolph said in a statement.

Told of the decision, Chen’s parents said they were happy with the switch.
“We are very pleased to hear the news that the court martials have been transferred to the United States,” they said in a statement. “We will now have an opportunity to watch justice being brought for our son.”

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Gold Star Families All, Regardless of Where a Soldier Fell

By GARY FARWELL

My son, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Gary Marc Farwell, flew Black Hawk helicopters through four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Then on February 3, 2010, he and two other soldiers died when their helicopter crashed near Mannheim, Germany. After an extensive investigation, the Army could not determine the cause of the crash.

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Mother Of Slain Soldier Kills Adopted Granddaughter, Herself

CONWAY, Ark. (January 9, 2012)--An Arkansas woman who adopted her granddaughter after her son was killed in Iraq stabbed the 7-year-old girl and then set fire to their home in what authorities described as a murder-suicide.

Janice Robbins and her granddaughter Abby, who was stabbed once in the chest, both died in the fire Saturday, either of smoke inhalation or from thermal injuries, a coroner said.

Faulkner County, Ark., sheriff's spokesman Maj. Andy Shock said Janice Robbins left a suicide note in her pickup truck in which she said she didn’t want to leave the girl behind.

Staff Sgt. William T. Robbins, 31, of North Little Rock, Ark., died Feb. 10, 2005 in Taji, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries.

He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade, based in Little Rock.
Janice Robbins adoption of her granddaughter was finalized in 2010, authorities said.

Authorities said they found no indications Janice Robbins had financial problems.

They’re trying to determine she had sought counseling for depression.

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David Sharrett’s family still wants justice for friendly fire death in Iraq

Dave Sharrett Sr. still sees his son in his dreams.

In one, the son is home on leave from Iraq, a warrior, a man. His boots are caked in mud. His fatigues are dirty. “And as we talk,” Sharrett says, “I realize I have to tell him that I know how he is going to die.”

Four years after Pfc. David H. Sharrett II of Oakton bled to death near a clump of scrub trees in Balad, Iraq, the father finally knows how the son was killed: shot by his own lieutenant in a case of “friendly fire.” But he still doesn’t know why.

Read the entire story here.