There had been a few people, then it was a group run of 11. Rodriguez disputes this claim. From here, wars are launched. (Fort Hood does not count Moore in its official casualty list, as he was a member of the National Guard.). The Idaho Murders, Part 1: How 4 College Kids Lived and Loved. Highway renamed & dedicated to late Fort Hood soldier . Later, Robinson would tell investigators that Guillen completed her task and exited the building. Club Fuego where Gregory Wedel-Morales was last seen, Killeen Tx. Five were murdered. The pursuit of happiness, or simply stability, will invariably lure people to the American military, which may be why the undocumented, the indigent, or those with a criminal record are overrepresented in its ranks. How had he managed to escapeand where had he gotten his gun? As distressing as the remains in shallow graves or the missing hyoid bone is the fatalism from soldiers and locals alike. The day after Guillen disappeared, Private Gavin Chambers, 21, died on base. Agamemnon demonstrates disrespect, vanity, and other lapses in judgment, the result of which is what clinical psychiatrist Jonathan Shay describes as "moral injury"a " (i) betrayal of what's right, (ii) by someone who holds legitimate authority, (iii) in a high stakes situation." A soldier stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, was found dead over the weekend behind a barracks, according to local media reports, adding to the rash of deaths and disappearances of soldiers. No skid marks were apparent, nor did anyone hear the crash. (According to Killeen police, no such vests were found at the scene of the crash. In the same week, Private Edward Casteel, who had been missing from Fort Hood since October 6, was found in a parish jail in Louisiana, arrested after a high-speed chase. The soldiers said that Guillen's belongings had been found in the arms room, but otherwise she had left no trace. In other battles, having lost the use of his arm and later a leg, Hood had to be strapped to a horse for combat. The base might have continued to devour its soldiers had it not been for a missing soldiers family whose rage, love, and devotion would attract the attention of the media, celebrities, and later the White House, sparking congressional and military investigations. I've lost so much since I've been in. Five were murdered. 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. 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. From here, wars are launched. 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. Rodriguez disputes this claim. She filled out the paperwork that is the lifeblood of the Army before heading toward the arms room, a few paces away. Thirteen people were determined to have committed suicide. There had been a few people, then it was a group run of 11. If she wanted to pursue things further, they advised, she would have to file a missing persons report with the local police. 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." She has become that complicated, indelible thing: a hero. Fort Hood announced that Stump had crashed his car while driving under the influence, though a toxicology report proved inconclusive. His wife, Christal, was denied her husband's mobile phone, the final investigation report, and even his corpse, until Texas Congressman Ron Wright stepped in on that front. 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. These figures eclipse American casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same year. Robinson gave Guillen the serial number for a .50 caliber machine gun that needed servicing. Fort Hood was founded in January 1942 as a training ground for tank destroyers, selected for its varied terrain. Chee had joined the military in part to support the young family he was starting with his high school sweetheart turned fiance. Family of Fort Hood soldier demands answers after military refuses to release report on his death Chase Lawrence 4 April 2021 Seventeen months have passed since Private First Class (PFC). 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. 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. Texas as of 9 July 2021; some devices had already been sold and shipped. There, Wedel-Moraless remains had been found, long ago decomposed in the Texas heat. he asks, then answers. He refused to send a selfie or get on a video chat and began using a strange and unfamiliar speech pattern. 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. At least 159 Fort Hood soldiers died out of combat between 2016 and last year, including seven homicides and 71 suicides, according to an analysis by The New York Times. 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. Shelby Tyler Jones, 20, was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound at 3:45 a.m. Sunday, March 1, 2020, outside of a convenience store on Fort Hood Street. A small minority, which bikers call "one percent" groups, and which the Department of Justice calls by the regrettable acronym OMG, or outlaw motorcycle gangs, were the people Wedel-Morales had been hanging around with. Later Fort Hood confirmed it was for violating quarantine. "She is now for the movement.". Thomas Berg, whose son Private Brandon Rosecranss Jeep was found burning in May, told me not to go out after dark. Thirteen killed themselves. Also that year, Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach was raped by her superior, which she reported. On most nights, I had nightmares. Before Guillen, there had been Private LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead in a tent in 2005 in Iraq. Victoria a friend of Gregory Wedel-Morales at the site of his remains, Killeen TX. Maxwell Hockin. And on June 19, skeletal remains were found in a field behind a cul-de-sac of a residential neighborhood in Killeen. She doesnt belong to the Army anymore, AnaLuisa Tapia, a local organizer, told me. Anthony Nevelle Peak Jr. Hogan, 19, and Peak Jr., 21, were both killed in a. Gloria had noticed her losing weight and pressed her for why. WASHINGTON (AP) The Army said Friday 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. (On July 14,2020, a federal grand injury indicted Aguilar on one count of conspiracy and two counts of tampering with evidence. As of October 20, 2022, 70 of 70 Fort Hood Independent Review Committee recommendations have been addressed by the U.S. Army's People First Task Force. (Among 1.29 million members of the U.S. military, 65,000 are immigrants, according to The Washington Post.) A soft October wind carried the first chill of the season. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. The stories are gruesome, then heartbreaking, then beyond belief. Mayra wept during the journey, already fearing the worst. Frantic, she called around, to no avail. Vanessa Guillen. Rosecrans, shot four times, was found three miles from his vehicle. Yes, flower arrangements are fulfilled and delivered by local florists from Fort Hood. The shakeup comes after after a series of suspicious deaths and disappearances that have plagued Fort Hood. That psychological trauma among veterans vastly exceeds physical wounds. He wondered if it was something he had eaten and carried on with his shift. Stump was going 82 mph in a 30-mph zone, the investigation report said, and had hit a tree on a mound. He got home around 2 p.m. and told his wife, Gloria, about the unusual aches. A U.S. Army soldier, Spc. The day after Guillen disappeared, Private Gavin Chambers, 21, died on base. Reformers would say that the military had failed its men and women. 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. 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 base was named after John Bell Hood, a Confederate general from a family that enslaved people in Kentucky, who made his name by breaking a Union line at Elthams Landing in Virginia and who, by todays standards, likely suffered from PTSD. (He was found a day later.) Alvis Franklin Bentley. Ever since returning from a deployment to Iraq in February 2019shipped off two months after basic training for a nine-month tourRing had become withdrawn, developed a drinking problem, and had been arrested for drunk driving. Dominic Criqui, who served in Vanessa Guillen's unit, says that the training had come to feel "stupid" and "pointless." 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. They returned several days later to pour concrete over the remains. Before Fort Hood was built, the land was used for grazing by some 3,000 farmers and ranchers, according to Gerald D. Skidmore, a Killeen historian. She filled out the paperwork that is the lifeblood of the Army before heading toward the arms room, a few paces away. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers vanished or died, including 13. Also that year, Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach was raped by her superior, which she reported. Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home 1615 South Fort Hood Road, Killeen (254) 634-2638 . Maxwell Hockin, the Central . He also wanted an education, and "joining the Army he knew he could take care of all of that," his sister Carma Johnson says. At least 39 Fort Hood troops died or went missing last year. "I felt a bad vibe there," Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. Tributes.com is the online source for current local and national obituary news. Congress launched an investigation of Fort Hood citing the deaths and other felonies that occurred on the fort between 2014-2019. . (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.). 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. Oct 13, 2021 An official Army photo of Spc. ), Wedel-Moraless death was not the first from the base that may have involved bike gangs. I will tell you everything. Fernandes was dropped off at his friends house the next day, August 17, never to be seen again. FORT HOOD, Texas - Fort Hood officials say they do not suspect foul play in the death of 26-year-old SPC Maxwell Hockin. = Link to a nongovernmental site. ARMY-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION STATUS. 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. But the only among the victims may be the institution that them all to. "For nothing.". There were no Black residents in town until the early 1950s. 22.4 (births per 1,000 females 15-19 years of age) Infant Mortality Rate. 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. He had also gotten married without telling his family, been evicted from his apartment, and stopped showing up to work. Driving into Killeen last fall, what greeted me was a deer, roadkill, that had been severed in half, Next I passed Club Dreams, where Specialist Shelby Jones was shot, bled out, and died last March; then Guns Galore, where Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan purchased a semiautomatic pistol that he would use to kill 13 people in 2009. Maxwell Hockin, 26, was. He had been happy enough there that in February he reenlisted for an additional four years. He ultimately murdered her when she was eight months pregnant, then set her on fire before fleeing to Mexico. On the night of August 19, Wedel-Morales went out to Club Fuego, located in a desolate strip mall about 10 miles east of Fort Hood. A few hours later, Robinson, who had mostly been playing video games, escaped Fort Hood by car. Fort Hood soldier found dead behind barracks, investigation underway Officials identified the soldier as 26-year-old Spc. Fernandes's family told me they have never been interviewed. Five were murdered. According to officials, the deaths include seven off-duty accidents; seven suicides; one combat-related death; four homicides, one of which was on the base; two of natural causes; one that was. But when Kim called the police, they dismissed her, telling Kim that her son probably just "took off." Guillen's superior confirmed she was missing. Why had it taken forensics 72 days to conduct a search of the arms room? Casteel had told Rodriguez he was getting away from the abuse.. 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. 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. When Elisabeth Finch met Jennifer Beyer in 2019, the two women forged a fiercely loyal friendship, and eventually got married. During the run, Chee, who had no preexisting health conditions, collapsed. Bill to attend technical school in Houston to work on wind turbines or oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana. "And how well will that look on your resume? Police reopen case into Fort Hood soldier's death Austin December 25, 2022 Weather View Your 7-Day Forecast Here MILITARY Family hopeful for answers after police reopen case into Fort Hood soldier's death By Olivia Levada Texas PUBLISHED 4:24 PM CT Apr. Fort Hood officials confirmed Monday that Martinez and Mosley were assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. Rodriguez sensed something was off. (The person who called in with the tip declined to collect the reward. He had messaged his sister beforehand to tell her something felt off. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. (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. On April 30, 2021, Fort Hood found that Guillen had indeed been sexually harassed by a soldier, but not Robinson.). Is it possible Elder killed himself ? The plan, Wedel-Morales told anyone who would listen, was to use the G.I. There was a deep cut above his left eye, and cuts all over his legs. On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Guillen reported for duty at Fort Hood. 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. Before Guillen, there had been Private LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead in a tent in 2005 in Iraq. 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 most nights, I had nightmares. 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. The additional scrutinythe congressional delegation visit, press toursmeant that soldiers had to work harder. The next day, Wedel-Morales failed to show up for duty, and the day after that, he was classified as absent without leave, making him one of the thousand or so soldiers who go AWOL in any given year. 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. But then certain details start illuminating the mystery: that one out of three women soldiers have experienced sexual harassment, according to a recent survey. 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. Barely a week later, Private Corlton Chee, 25, died during training. ), 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. The ancient Greeks wrote epic poems on the subject, the most famous of which is the Iliad. Ad Choices. 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. Why was Robinson not put under watch? "Is it possible Elder was murdered? None of the grunts I spoke to was surprised by the number of casualties. In 1941, Private Felix Hall was lynched by fellow soldiers, at Fort Benning, Georgia. March 1, 2023 (94 years old) View obituary. Green Beret training death special forces training soldier dies in training army training . 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. 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. Sergeant Brad Reynolds, 37, killed himself on May 16. In 1941, Private Felix Hall was lynched by fellow soldiers, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt. Fernandes transferred to another unit where he was called a snitch and worse.