The stories are gruesome, then heartbreaking, then beyond belief. Guillen's youngest sister, Lupe, made me promise to stay at the Marriott, a hotel she considered safer than the rest. I've lost brothers and sisters in arms, a marriage, I've lost family, I've lost friendships that were supposed to be forever. Fort Hood had refused to list him as missing, and it was only after his then fiance, Paradise Rodriguez, posted a video on Facebook that an officer at the parish jail saw it and got into contact. (Fort Hood does not count Moore in its official casualty list, as he was a member of the National Guard.). Women, who make up 17 percent of active-duty military, were doubly bereft, and the case files were awash with stories of the dead. A few days later, they spoke again, for the last time. And yet: The data is not really out of the ordinary for U.S. military bases. Hood was an unsuccessful battle commander; 400 men of his Texas Brigade died in a single fight, some would argue through incautious direction. "You can find Osama bin Laden, but you can't find a soldier that went missing on your own base?" Eventually Fernandes rang from the Army hospital. Fort Hood concluded Chee had died in training. A group of soldiers, including Robinson, greeted them. Sergeant Brad Reynolds, 37, killed himself on May 16. (Penny says they met online.) The military is necessarily an institution of state-sanctioned violence, where we teach our young to kill on our behalf in the name of ideologies such as patriotism or democracy. Beyond the base, gas station attendants and restaurant servers, many of whom were veterans or had ties to the military, all seemed resigned to certain fates. Maxwell Hockin, was found dead outside his company barracks on Saturday, October 9. Schuette's body was returned to his family "wrapped like a mummy." The purported motto of the Army was family first, mission second, Gary Shafer, a noncommissioned officer who served at Fort Hood from 2012 to 2018 and who knew Wedel-Morales through the car-club scene, told me. Atop these sedimentary layers of desecration, displacement, and disorientation, the War Department set out to build a base that would go on to serve as a footnote to nearly every war in modern memoryKorea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but also Grenada, Panama, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Call (254) 287-9993 or (254) 287-0106 to request a PAO escort. On May 19, military investigators went through Robinsons phone and learned that he had called his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, multiple times on the night of April 22, as late as 3:30 a.m., from a town 20 miles east of Fort Hooddespite his claim he had been with Aguilar that night. Eleven of the deaths remain unresolvedsome legally; others for the victims' families. If she wanted to pursue things further, they advised, she would have to file a missing persons report with the local police. III Corps Policies and Regulations . Fuck Biden, Dont Tread on Me, and a Wisconsin Death Trip for Our Times. (There was also literal toxicity on base in that some of the mold-infested barracks where soldiers lived were "technically condemned," according to Maureen Elliott, a military spouse and a housing advocate.). This negates civic participation, as the state no longer needs to collect taxes and thus stops serving the people, who in turn have no need to pressure the government for anythingthe very dynamic that continues to play out in oil-rich Gulf states. When the family exhumed his body in November 2020 for want of a second opinion, the independent autopsy revealed that the bone had in fact gone missing.) Then they tried burning the body. He refused to send a selfie or get on a video chat and began using a strange and unfamiliar speech pattern. A sergeant from Guillen's division called it "mandatory fun days." If not, what explained the false accounting? American military bases, once established, seldom shutter, and Fort Hood, which started operating during World War II, has remained open for business, its 218,000 acres spreading across two counties in central Texas near an otherwise unremarkable town called Killeen. Guillen confessed that she was being harassed by another soldier. From here, wars are launched. (The police opened an investigation on August 19.) Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. Search Fort Hood obituaries and condolences, hosted by Echovita.com. But then certain details start illuminating the mystery: that one out of three women soldiers have experienced sexual harassment, according to a recent survey. She filled out the paperwork that is the lifeblood of the Army before heading toward the arms room, a few paces away. His wife, Christal, was denied her husbands mobile phone, the final investigation report, and even his corpse, until Texas Congressman Ron Wright stepped in on that front. Escorts should be arranged in advance to allow for coordination with the organization receiving coverage. I am astounded nobody is interested, the Fernandes family lawyer Lenny Kesten told me. Military bases are the last piece of the homeland that soldiers see before they are deployed to fight and the first glimpse of home when they return. May Jeong has written an in-depth analysis of the rash of unexplained deaths at Fort Hood. Radically transparent, low cost versions of high cost generic drugs. A few days later, so did 21-year-old Specialist Trey Ring. All are former soldiers. The new family, like more than 70 percent of all Fort Hood service members, lived off post, but after two dead bodies were found on their street, they moved into base housing. (Marine Lance Corporal Riley Schultzs death on March 15, 2019, at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, was also ruled a suicide, despite his hyoid being broken. He got home around 2 p.m. and told his wife, Gloria, about the unusual aches. When his parents rushed to the hospital, they saw that Chee, lying unconscious, had bruises and scrapes on his chin and on both sides of his face. Why had it taken forensics 72 days to conduct a search of the arms room? He had then driven the body to the Leon River and had come back to pick Aguilar up from the gas station where she worked on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, five miles east of Fort Hood. That psychological trauma among veterans vastly exceeds physical wounds. "As soon as I get out of the hospital, I will call you. Five were murdered. The numbers are distressing. (The person who called in with the tip declined to collect the reward. When Ailina offered the Fort Hood authorities the contents of her sons car, including a laptop, iPad, and external hard drive, they declined to investigate further. Dominic Criqui, who served in Vanessa Guillens unit, says that the training had come to feel stupid and pointless. What on earth are you training for? he asks, then answers. Also that year, Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach was raped by her superior, which she reported. American military bases, once established, seldom shutter, and Fort Hood, which started operating during World War II, has remained open for business, its 218,000 acres spreading across two counties in central Texas near an otherwise unremarkable town called Killeen. Five were murdered. Mayra wept during the journey, already fearing the worst. he asks, then answers. ), On July 3, a fortnight after Wedel-Morales's body was found, Specialist Miguel Yazzie, 33, died at Fort Hood after his repeated requests to see a doctor were denied, according to Carma Johnson, whose brother died at Fort Hood. "He seemed weird," Rodriguez said. The search party arrived at Fort Hood at 3 a.m. Guillens staff sergeant told the group to come back in the morning. Basic details of the incident kept changing. October 13, 2021 04:48 PM. Five were murdered. U.S. ARMY INSTALLATION MANAGEMENT COMMAND Also that year, Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach was raped by her superior, which she reported. On August 11, a higher-up called Fernandes's mother, Ailina, to tell her that her son had not shown up for work for two days. Amid all those other deaths, on June 21, 2020, a search party found the charred lid of a cargo box along the Leon River 20 miles east of Fort Hood. Robinson gave Guillen the serial number for a .50 caliber machine gun that needed servicing. His body was mostly intact but for his hyoid, which was never found. The figures coming out of the deaths at Fort Hood are depressing, as reported in Vanity Fair. (The police opened an investigation on August 19.) But with each encounter, it was becoming clear that the military had not failed its soldiers at all. After the public remonstrations began, Fort Hood launched something it called Operation Phantom Action, a weeklong retreat of sorts that was meant to rebuild trust between soldiers and the leadership. As many as 28 Fort Hood soldiers died in 2020, including in multiple homicides, suicides and other accidents. Reformers would say that the military had failed its men and women. Photo: US Army. Fertility Rate. 60.2 (births per 1,000 women 15-44 years of age) Teen Birth Rate. I felt a bad vibe there, Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. They returned several days later to pour concrete over the remains. Fort Hood was founded in January 1942 as a training ground for tank destroyers, selected for its varied terrain. They pointed glumly to past cases, some of which there were public records for and others I could find no traces of in the official files. THE MURDERS AT FORT HOOD Remains of soldiers have been turning up around the Texas military base with terrifying frequency. The stories are gruesome, then heartbreaking, then beyond belief. "I guess my point is," Rodriguez told me, "if everything was 'fine,' the way Fort Hood officials would lead us to believe, then why would this soldier, out of character, leave base without permission, and [why] did he not feel comfortable enough to call his captain or anyone on that base once he was arrested for speeding? Fort Hood has come under serious fire in recent years, as the incident follows the heartbreaking death of Vanessa Guilln. His killers were never looked for properly and thus never found. He had then driven the body to the Leon River and had come back to pick Aguilar up from the gas station where she worked on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, five miles east of Fort Hood. The corpse had been dead for a while, though it was impossible to determine exactly how long. In 2007, also in Iraq, Specialist Kamisha Block's death was ruled an accident by a single shot of friendly fire before the family received the body and saw that she had five gunshot wounds, including one to the head. The soldiers said that Guillen's belongings had been found in the arms room, but otherwise she had left no trace. When Ailina contacted the military police at Fort Hood, they told her that Fernandes was an adult, and that if he was missing, he likely didn't want to be found. I will tell you everything." The tributaries that run through Fort Hood flow into the Leon River, where Guillen's remains were later found. Morta's death comes amid intense scrutiny of Fort Hood in recent weeks. The 2020 numbers add to ongoing mysteries, including a 2016 case . Fort Hood is the Army's premier installation to train and deploy heavy forces. By then Wedel-Morales had grown distant from his family in Oklahoma, who had not been told of the marriage. It is unclear if Killeen even bothered to visit his namesake town, which, by the early 1880s, comprised 40 people living across 360 acres, mostly working in the two cotton gins, two gristmills, and two saloonsit had the most saloons, gamblers, and shootings per capita in Bell County, according to historian Martha Bowmer. Later came Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese, who still run sushi and pho restaurants in Killeen. It rained that night, and the drive, which should have taken three hours, was slow going. He got home around 2 p.m. and told his wife, Gloria, about the unusual aches. Specialist Justen Ogdens death in July 2017 was ruled a suicide, but the suicide note Fort Hood produced as evidence did not match his handwriting, according to his mother, Toni. Dominic Criqui, who served in Vanessa Guillen's unit, says that the training had come to feel "stupid" and "pointless." By then Wedel-Morales had grown distant from his family in Oklahoma, who had not been told of the marriage. (Penny says they met online.) The first week I spent in Texas that October, 22-year-old Lucas Hicks-Mack went missing on base. Fort Hood officials confirmed Monday that Martinez and Mosley were assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. More than 2,200 trials over land rights commenced. His mother, Kim, only heard from her son when he needed money. Last December, an internal investigation found that Fort Hood's culture, environment, and leadership resulted in women feeling "vulnerable and preyed upon," with no reliable recourse for their very real sense of duress. They married in May 2017, and he took her name with hyphenation. When Ailina contacted the military police at Fort Hood, they told her that Fernandes was an adult, and that if he was missing, he likely didnt want to be found. The family began posting online about Guillen's disappearance and distributing "Missing" fliers. Most of the groups were aboveboard, even as they were ruled by certain strictures for meeting attendance, dress code, and how to appropriately signal respect. Yet instead of being taken into custody, Robinson was placed in a conference room on base, initially, it was said, for committing adultery, which is against the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It installed 35 firing ranges, 18 chapels, three bowling alleys, and 1,384 barracks that would house, at its peak, 95,000 soldiers, the most densely populated military base, at a cost of $35 million. The day after Guillen disappeared, Private Gavin Chambers, 21, died on base. Toxic leadership is nothing new. Thomas Berg, whose son Private Brandon Rosecrans's Jeep was found burning in May, told me not to go out after dark. Not long after Fort Hood opened, soldiers began bringing home souvenirs in the form of war brides. Killeen was named after another disappointing man: Frank Killeen, an assistant general manager to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway. (Fort Hood does not count Moore in its official casualty list, as he was a member of the National Guard.). She filled out the paperwork that is the lifeblood of the Army before heading toward the arms room, a few paces away. ), Wedel-Morales's death was not the first from the base that may have involved bike gangs. The tributaries that run through Fort Hood flow into the Leon River, where Guillens remains were later found. (Facebook) Two weeks later, Delacruz . Casteel had told Rodriguez he was getting away from the abuse.. His killers were never looked for properly and thus never found. Fort Hood soldier found dead behind barracks, investigation underway Officials identified the soldier as 26-year-old Spc. During the run, Chee, who had no preexisting health conditions, collapsed. The small Texas frontier town was also a "hotbed of Klan activity," according to Texas historian Gene Preuss of the University of Houston, so much so that when trains stopped in Killeen, Black passengersrelegated to "colored cars"knew to pull down their window shades to avoid a pelting with rocks by locals. There were no Black residents in town until the early 1950s. Jef Rouner. Barely a week later, Private Corlton Chee, 25, died during training. Is it possible Elder killed himself? That American imperialism is imploding, and the blast force radiates inward. Nelda Lee Edwards. A sergeant from Guillens division called it mandatory fun days. The additional scrutinythe congressional delegation visit, press toursmeant that soldiers had to work harder. Hazel Buck Blackwell, whose family lost their farm, homestead, barns, orchards, and adjoining land when the base took over, said the closest thing might be the unexpected death of someone you loved very much. It was a heartrending, searing experience, central Texas historian GraDelle Duncan said, leaving lifetime marks on all, and actually killing some from the psychic devastation that followed. But the only among the victims may be the institution that them all to. A U.S. Army soldier, Spc. Back in Houston, Gloria recalled a conversation with her daughter not long before, when Guillen had been home for the weekend. Last December, a Special Forces soldier and an Army veteran were found dead at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where another soldier disappeared in May and was later found murdered. "I felt a bad vibe there," Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. That gun safety is a distant concern in a community where the Second Amendment tops the Maslow charts. Frantic, she called around, to no avail. We believe that Every Life has a Story which should be told and preserved. "That is the opposite of what he's been consistently saying.". Basic details of the incident kept changing. Texas Death Records Indexes, Obituaries and Cemetery Burials by County. Why had it taken forensics 72 days to conduct a search of the arms room? If he killed himself, dont they want to know why?. Lenz was found dead at Fort Hood on Feb. 1. Wedel-Morales was thrilled to become a father. By then, the Army, it seemed, had stopped providing Wedel-Morales with a sense of purpose, and he had turned to alternate sources of meaning, namely car and motorcycle clubs, and life beyond the base. The story appears in the July/August 2021 issue of Vanity Fair.I enthusiastically recommend this article. Red White and Blue via The US Army is licensed with CC BY-ND 2.0. Two days after Staff Sergeant Anthony Lovell, 40, disappeared in 2017, his body was found, eyes pecked clean, face split in half, in a creek off Killeen's seedy main corridor called Rancier, the same street where Specialist Freddy Delacruz, 23, was shot and killed last March. . The small Texas frontier town was also a hotbed of Klan activity, according to Texas historian Gene Preuss of the University of Houston, so much so that when trains stopped in Killeen, Black passengersrelegated to colored carsknew to pull down their window shades to avoid a pelting with rocks by locals. His mother, Kim, only heard from her son when he needed money. Death Notices Famous Deaths Search Wednesday, March 01, 2023 Audrie Talmadge "A.T." Powell 10 hrs ago Services for Audrie Talmadge "A.T." Powell, 78, will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Salado. Rodriguez disputes this claim. "Is it possible Elder was murdered? Is it possible Elder was murdered? These figures eclipse American casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same year. Thomas Berg, whose son Private Brandon Rosecranss Jeep was found burning in May, told me not to go out after dark. From this inauspicious start, Killeen grew into a proper military town and is now home to six strip clubs, 18 pawn shops, 35 dollar stores, and 38 tattoo parlors. The coming months brought the suicides of Staff Sergeant Richard Harrington, 45, and then Specialist James Green, 23. Fernandess family told me they have never been interviewed. In 1941, Private Felix Hall was lynched by fellow soldiers, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Before Guillen, there had been Private LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead in a tent in 2005 in Iraq. And being mission-ready, the perpetual vigilance it requires, ensures a kind of endless possibility of war, which in turn justifies the $740 billion annual defense budget. Site Gregory Wedel-Morales' remains were found in Killeen, Texas. Chee had joined the military in part to support the young family he was starting with his high school sweetheart turned fiance. Atop these sedimentary layers of desecration, displacement, and disorientation, the War Department set out to build a base that would go on to serve as a footnote to nearly every war in modern memoryKorea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but also Grenada, Panama, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Vanessa Guillen. Staff Sergeant Devin Schuette was found dead in his pickup truck, fitted with a hose running from the exhaust pipe to the cabin, in January 2016. On August 25, a rail worker in Temple, Texas, 26 miles east of Fort Hood, saw a body hanging from a tree across from a burned-out warehouse near the tracks. I have sponsored a a Change.org listing advocating renaming the post after Oveta . In 2018, a soldier was allegedly shot and killed in her front yard by her husband at Fort Campbell, in Kentucky, which also has one of the highest rates of suicide in the Army. Such moral injury deteriorates social trust, which is then "replaced by the settled expectancy of harm, exploitation, and humiliation from others," resulting in despair and violence to self and to others.
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