Even then, it was she who had to scare up the $3,500 in bail money, and after Fort Hood sent two officers to pick up Casteel, officials refused to share information with Rodriguez. In death, she is no longer a daughter or a sister or a partner. . Dozens of Deaths at Fort Hood in 2020: Is 'Toxic Culture' at - People During the run, Chee, who had no preexisting health conditions, collapsed. He died the evening of September 2. Fort Hood - Wikipedia "I am astounded nobody is interested," the Fernandes family lawyer Lenny Kesten told me. Jennifer Anthony Lovells sister, Temple Tx. Is it possible Elder killed himself ? Later Fort Hood confirmed it was for violating quarantine. The police too told Ailina that Fernandes was an adult and that they would not report him as missing. A U.S. Army soldier, Spc. The 2020 numbers add to ongoing mysteries, including a 2016 case where a corpses hyoid, the U-shaped neck bone typically examined to determine whether strangulation has occurred, was missing. She had also missed her standing noon call with her fianc, Juan Cruz. A young soldier found dead at Fort Hood has been identified, but his cause of death remains hidden. Alvis Franklin Bentley. Later came Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese, who still run sushi and pho restaurants in Killeen. If she wanted to pursue things further, they advised, she would have to file a missing persons report with the local police. In fact, Casteel had been convinced that CIA agents were attacking him since last June. Thomas Berg, whose son Private Brandon Rosecrans's Jeep was found burning in May, told me not to go out after dark. If he killed himself, dont they want to know why?. The very next day, a Fort Hood investigation concluded that Fernandes's charges of sexual assault were unsubstantiated. Killeen was named after another disappointing man: Frank Killeen, an assistant general manager to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway. He joined the U.S. Army in March of 2017 as a combat engineer and had been assigned to . In fact, Casteel had been convinced that CIA agents were attacking him since last June. On most nights, I had nightmares. I asked him directly if he wasnt willing to speak because of position and he signaled yes, and he said, Id rather tell you in person. , Several days later, Rodriguez learned that Casteel had been committed to a hospital on base. Four days later, an anonymous tip directed investigators to an urban prairie at the end of a residential street where Penny Morales used to live. "For nothing.". Traveling in the time of plague, trying to build rapport with people from six feet away, was enervating. "You can find Osama bin Laden, but you can't find a soldier that went missing on your own base?" Nearly 200 miles away in Houston, Rogelio Guillen was entering his fourth hour of work at a nickel-plating factory when he felt a sharp spasm in his chest. On August 17, Sergeant Elder Fernandes, 23, disappeared. Morta's death comes amid intense scrutiny of Fort Hood in recent weeks. Mayra wept during the journey, already fearing the worst. The day after Guillen disappeared, Private Gavin Chambers, 21, died on base. Dozens of people were killed, died by suicide, or went missing from the Texas military base last year alone. On April 30, 2021, Fort Hood found that Guillen had indeed been sexually harassed by a soldier, but not Robinson.). Far from itthe military was operating as it had been intended. They married in May 2017, and he took her name with hyphenation. 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. Soon after, the Temple police, who led the investigation, ruled Fernandes's death a suicide. I've even lost myself." On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Guillen reported for duty at Fort Hood. None of the grunts I spoke to was surprised by the number of casualties. 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.) "She is now for the movement.". In other battles, having lost the use of his arm and later a leg, Hood had to be strapped to a horse for combat. 60.2 (births per 1,000 women 15-44 years of age) Teen Birth Rate. The dollhouse, strip club Gregory Wedel Morales frequented, Killeen Tx. Fort Hood soldier dies weeks after being shot by fellow soldier, who is 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. Before Guillen, there had been Private LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead in a tent in 2005 in Iraq. And on June 19, skeletal remains were found in a field behind a cul-de-sac of a residential neighborhood in Killeen. The family began posting online about Guillen's disappearance and distributing "Missing" fliers. Schuettes body was returned to his family wrapped like a mummy. Later that year, Private Dakota Lee Stump left his barracks to report for work less than a mile away but never arrived for formation. Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home 1615 South Fort Hood Road, Killeen (254) 634-2638 . Eleven of the deaths remain unresolvedsome legally; others for the victims' families. 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. A sergeant from Guillens division called it mandatory fun days. The additional scrutinythe congressional delegation visit, press toursmeant that soldiers had to work harder. The 2020 numbers add to ongoing mysteries, including a 2016 case . (Fort Hood) A soldier in the 1st Cavalry Division was found dead Saturday in his company area, according to a statement from. Even then, it was she who had to scare up the $3,500 in bail money, and after Fort Hood sent two officers to pick up Casteel, officials refused to share information with Rodriguez. (Ring returned to base of his own accord later that day.). What happened on that base and in the Army to cause this person who is normally very [kind] and responsive to all of a sudden leave and shut down?, When I asked soldiers at Fort Hood what they thought was the matter on base, they mentioned toxic leadership, a catholic term that seemed to encompass all: lack of care, general command climate, and so-called toxic masculinity. Despite 10,000 hours of investigation and 300 interviews, much about Guillens death remained a mystery. Rodriguez sensed something was off. I will tell you everything. Fernandes was dropped off at his friends house the next day, August 17, never to be seen again. The Truth Behind Fort Hood's History Of Violent Crime Hood was an unsuccessful battle commander; 400 men of his Texas Brigade died in a single fight, some would argue through incautious direction. Gloria had noticed her losing weight and pressed her for why. Killeen was named after another disappointing man: Frank Killeen, an assistant general manager to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway. The area, east of Killeen, was built on 109,000 acres of high bluffs, ridges, sharp slopes, and mesa-like hills covered with mesquite and chaparral. (Marine Lance Corporal Riley Schultz's death on March 15, 2019, at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, was also ruled a suicide, despite his hyoid being broken. Fernandess family told me they have never been interviewed. Around the Guillen murals in Killeen and in Houston, I met people who had lost loved ones to the military, who felt harm done, who saw in Guillen a savior. Highway renamed & dedicated to late Fort Hood soldier . His body was found nearly a month later, two miles from the barracks. I felt a bad vibe there, Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. Schuette's body was returned to his family "wrapped like a mummy." I played a small role in the story by providing some background information on Confederate General John Bell Hood.. My caution wasn't entirely unfounded. Specialist Vanessa Guillens father, Rogelio, wondered if I shouldnt carry a gun. 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. Fernandes transferred to another unit where he was called a snitch and worse. The circumstances are so strange and awful that fully understanding the events can be difficult. On May 11, however, Fernandes reported to Fort Hood abusive sexual contact from a staff sergeant, whom he alleged groped him in a supply room, according to the redacted military investigation report. 7 soldiers have died in the Fort Hood area this year Fort Hood Weather. Fort Hood is one of 800 United States military bases around the world, the third largest in the country. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. But at Fort Hood, it sometimes seemed like "mission first, equipment second," he said, highlighting the paradox of the military that in word puts the well-being of soldiers first but in deed must, by design, favor combat readiness over all else. Killeen itself sits on an especially brutal stretch of central Texas, along the Balcones Fault, which separates the high plains of the Hill Country to the west from the grand prairies and limestone plains of the east, and along which runs Interstate 35. THE MURDERS AT FORT HOOD | Vanity Fair | July/August 2021 New Market, Alabama. Home :: U.S Army Fort Hood - United States Army "That is the opposite of what he's been consistently saying.". (Fort Hood does not count Moore in its official casualty list, as he was a member of the National Guard.). (The person who called in with the tip declined to collect the reward. Five were murdered. Inside the Rash of Unexplained Deaths at Fort Hood | Vanity Fair He refused to send a selfie or get on a video chat and began using a strange and unfamiliar speech pattern. She doesnt belong to the Army anymore, AnaLuisa Tapia, a local organizer, told me. Congress launched an investigation of Fort Hood citing the deaths and other felonies that occurred on the fort between 2014-2019. . The Army's own investigation found "major flaws" at Fort Hood, leading to the firing or suspending of 14 officials. More than 90 lawmakers earlier this month called for an independent review of how the Army handled the disappearance of Spc. He ultimately murdered her when she was eight months pregnant, then set her on fire before fleeing to Mexico. After a chase along Rancier Avenue, the same street near which Lovell was found dead, Robinson shot himself and died. The Army said Friday, April 30, 2021, that it has taken disciplinary action against 21 officers and non-commissioned officers at Fort Hood, Texas, in connection with death last year of Spc.. A group of soldiers, including Robinson, greeted them. 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. At 9:30 p.m., Mayra, Cruz, Guillens other sister Yovana, and Yovanas boyfriend set out for Fort Hood. The search party arrived at Fort Hood at 3 a.m. Guillens staff sergeant told the group to come back in the morning. 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. March 1, 2023 (94 years old) View obituary. Army major kills 13 people in Fort Hood shooting spree Why is Fort Hood the Army's most crime-ridden post? It was unclear, in 2020, what American soldiers were fighting for. He got home around 2 p.m. and told his wife, Gloria, about the unusual aches. Sergeant Brad Reynolds, 37, killed himself on May 16. She pleaded not guilty. In death, Guillen has become a kind of patron saint for all those who feel wronged by the U.S. military. On most nights, I had nightmares. Last December, an internal investigation found that Fort Hoods culture, environment, and leadership resulted in women feeling vulnerable and preyed upon, with no reliable recourse for their very real sense of duress. Four days later, an anonymous tip directed investigators to an urban prairie at the end of a residential street where Penny Morales used to live. Radically transparent, low cost versions of high cost generic drugs. Five were murdered. (His sons alleged killer is in custody awaiting trial.) Women, who make up 17 percent of active-duty military, were doubly bereft, and the case files were awash with stories of the dead. That is the opposite of what hes been consistently saying.. Fort Hood was founded in January 1942 as a training ground for tank destroyers, selected for its varied terrain. In 1941, Private Felix Hall was lynched by fellow soldiers, at Fort Benning, Georgia. The rolling, semi-arid terrain is ideal for multifaceted training and testing of military units and troops. Nearly 200 miles away in Houston, Rogelio Guillen was entering his fourth hour of work at a nickel-plating factory when he felt a sharp spasm in his chest. She filled out the paperwork that is the lifeblood of the Army before heading toward the arms room, a few paces away. IMCOM is not responsible for the content of links outside home.army.mil. On June 30, a construction crew found shallow graves containing human remains that belonged to Guillen. (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.). Army disciplines 21 at Fort Hood in probe of soldier's death - Yahoo News Amarillo - see the Potter County section below Arlington - see the Tarrant County section below It was also an ancient Comanche Native American burial ground, discovered when construction workers unearthed more than 2,200 grave sites in 1998. ARMY-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION STATUS. She pleaded not guilty. (Among 1.29 million members of the U.S. military, 65,000 are immigrants, according to The Washington Post.) That an overwhelming majority of the towns economy comes from Fort Hood makes Killeen a kind of rentier state, in that most of its revenue comes through a foreign entity, which historically has led to the collapse of domestic industries, leading to increased dependence on a single source of income. More than 2,200 trials over land rights commenced. And how well will that look on your rsum?, Im 21 now, and let me tell you. Ive lost so much since Ive been in. Guillens superior confirmed she was missing. "Give me the name and I will report the bastard," Gloria told her daughter, who refused to tell her mother more for fear of worrying her, and also, Gloria later suspected, for fear of reprisal. = Link to a CAC-required sites . The Montreal Mafia Murders: Blood, Gore, Cannolis, and Hockey Bags, Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 2. 24, 2021 KILLEEN, Texas Spc. On November 5, 2009, 13 people are killed and more than 30 others are wounded, nearly all of them unarmed soldiers, when a U.S. Army officer goes on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in central. 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. That most soldiers enlist when they are still teenagers, their yet-unformed minds taught to kill. Eleven of the deaths remain unresolvedsome legally; others for the victims' families. July 2, 2022 (86 years old) View obituary Chong Thigpen November 12, 2021 (66 years old) View obituary Jaylen Tristian Bush April 3, 2021 View obituary Cecil Earl Garrison February 21, 2021 (87 years old) View obituary Daniel John Hunt January 29, 2021 (79 years old) View obituary Aage John Hoffman January 26, 2021 (86 years old) View obituary THE MURDERS AT FORT HOOD Remains of soldiers have been turning up around the Texas military base with terrifying frequency. Everything we know about the 16 soldier deaths at Fort Hood this year Five were murdered. Fort Worth (817) 293-8477 Laurel Land Funeral Home and Cemetery 7100 Crowley Road, Fort Worth . Robinson gave Guillen the serial number for a .50 caliber machine gun that needed servicing. 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. 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. Army disciplines 21 at Fort Hood in probe of soldier's death - Spokesman Dont they care as to what happened to Elder Fernandes? (Killeen Police stated they have no knowledge of anyone declining to investigate.) Fort Hood soldier found dead behind barracks amid rash of deaths and Sewell is the latest soldier to disappear from the base after a series of soldiers disappeared in the past few years. Thirteen killed themselves. At first blush, such violence at a base that calls itself "the Great Place" may seem extraordinary, inexplicable even. Why hadn't the arms room been treated like the crime scene it was? 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. Linda Schweers, whose specialist son, Justin, died in a car crash in June while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, wanted me to be careful of cartels, which she said ran the area. Barely a week later, Private Corlton Chee, 25, died during training. Yes, simply click Add a photo located underneath the main photo of the obituary then upload the photos/videos you wish to share. From here, wars are launched. The disappearance of Vanessa Guilln, a 20-year-old soldier at the sprawling Texas Army base of Fort Hood last April, captured headlines across the world. (On July 14,2020, a federal grand injury indicted Aguilar on one count of conspiracy and two counts of tampering with evidence. "And how well will that look on your resume? Texas - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The suicides, which reportedly jumped by as much as 20 percent across the military last year, work out to a rate of one soldier a month. The vast emptiness that is most of the state can make you feel inconsequential, as if you could disappear and no one would know you ever lived. Rodriguez disputes this claim. -. After 8 p.m., Guillens sister Mayra called the base. And so his disappearance was no surprise, his father told me. 20, 2021 FORT HOOD, Texas The death of Spc. Inside the rash of explained deaths at Fort Hood - HotAir 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. Maxwell Hockin, was found dead outside his company barracks on Saturday, October 9. What is behind the violence and tragedy at Fort Hood? A few hours later, Robinson, who had mostly been playing video games, escaped Fort Hood by car. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. The Idaho Murders, Part 1: How 4 College Kids Lived and Loved. This was true of many I met at Fort Hood, including press officer Major Gabriela Thompson, my tour guide on base, who told me she joined to pay off her student loans: "It was my ticket out," she said, echoing other soldiers' sentiments about how the military had rescued them from hardscrabble existences.
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