Three years ago, on July 19, 2005, Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead in Balad, Iraq. Her body was found in a tent belonging to the private military contractor KBR. She had abrasions all over her body, a broken nose, a black eye, burned hands, loose teeth, acid burns on her genitals, and a bullet hole in her head. The Army labeled Johnson’s death a suicide. But her parents never believed that story. They think she was raped and murdered and are now demanding a full congressional investigation into their daughter’s death.
from Democracynow.org article- Suicide or Murder? Three Years After the Death of Pfc LaVena Johnson, In Iraq, Her Parents Continue to Call for a Congressional Investigation
An Army representative initially told LaVena’s father, Dr. John Johnson, that his daughter died of “died of self-inflicted, noncombat injuries,” but initially added that it was not a suicide. The subsequent Army investigation reversed this finding and declared LaVena’s death a suicide, a finding refuted by the soldier’s family. In an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dr. Johnson pointed to indications that his daughter had endured a physical struggle before she died – two loose front teeth, a “busted lip” that had to be reconstructed by the funeral home – suggesting that “someone might have punched her in the mouth.”
from LaVenaJohnson.com article- The cover up of a soldier’s death?
Again, thanks to aw for always keeping me in the know. Please visit the links provided and get smart on LaVena’s story.
The LaVenaJohnson.com article continues…
Astonishing as it seems, it takes that level of outrage to compel the Army to find the truth and tell it, to honor its own soldiers. No such groundswell has yet emerged in the case of LaVena; not enough voices have demanded that someone in the military, anyone, speak for her. At first glance, the contrast between the cases of Pat Tillman and LaVena Johnson seems vast, but at the core the situations are the same. In each case, the death of a young soldier in a dangerous place and time was not explained to the families they left behind, the families that gave them up so that they could serve us. An honest accounting of their passing is all the dead ask of us.
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sign the petition for justice for LaVena Johnson
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/56/justice-for-lavena-johnson
Also check the Fallen Heroes Memorial website info on LaVena- http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oif/profiles/johnsonlavenal.html
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Written from the perspective of a thirty-something African American woman, Affrodite's Adventures In Nappy Hair will make you think, laugh, cry, and take action. Check it out! Blog topics include natural hair care, African American perspectives in culture/pop culture/politics, women's empowerment, stories from Corporate America, current events, and more!
LaVena Johnson (In Memorial)
Just when you think you’ve heard it all,
Another name is slammed into a brick wall,
LaVena Johnson an Army Private First Class,
Is she the first? Certainly this PFC isn’t the last.
Is it any wonder Osama Bin Laden can’t be found?
With a criminal loose in our camp running around,
Destroying evidence, burning bodies, again & again,
Calling themselves soldiers, claiming they are men.
What a shame when the real enemy is on the same side,
Behind the color of camaraderie these cowards hide,
Punched in the face, loose teeth, she was only 5 feet 1,
The Army claims its suicide, that’s all, over and done.
How many before shooting themselves bust their own lip,
Severe enough to the point it needs more than one stitch,
Surprisingly they didn’t say she tried to saw herself in half,
Which lie would be easier to swallow? You do the math.
So, how did that chemical burn get on her private parts?
Oh yeah, maybe a tattoo, some kind of new wave art,
Why would someone waste time getting rid of DNA?
Just maybe without detection they’re free to get away.
The U.S. Army actually tried lying, hooray for her dad,
He gave that crap the smell test and oh did it smell bad,
7/19/05 her dead body found in a contractor’s tent, HBR,
Broken nose, black eye, shot in the head and body scars.
Military personnel or civilians aren’t we on the same side?
Who is the American Government protecting, why that lie?
Had to be someone with pull to get her alone, you’d think,
I don’t have to be standing next to skunk to know it stinks.
Where’s Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the infamous NAACP?
She could not have been more violated, do you not agree?
A 19-year-old honor student should be shown more respect,
But, this is how she’s being treated. Hey! What the heck?
Can’t call it racial because all women are treated the same,
Even academies and bases in the states there is this claim,
We are truly near the end of days soon God will work it out,
Vengeance will certainly be more than a punch in the mouth.
The Uniform Code Of Military Justice aka the U.C.M.J.,
But, where is this promise for LaVena, her assailant got away,
Judging by the condition of her remains, she put up a fight,
Now John and Linda Johnson are paving the road to right.
Funny thing though, seems they have a roadblock in Iraq,
It’s from the U.S. Army, who supposedly has their back,
The saying, “with friends like these who needs enemies?”
Guess the Army thinks first the perpetrator said, “please?”
Here’s a little something to me that is simply down right scary,
The hole in her head was from a pistol, which she did not carry,
Oh yeah, if you think that’s something how does this fact sound?
The fatal bullet that went through her head was never even found.
If there ever was this kind of incompetence in World War II,
Adolph Hitler or his off spring would be telling us what to do,
Oops, I don’t mean us because there’d be no Blacks or Jews,
And only if the Furor liked Mexican food maybe a Hispanic or 2.
Whomever, wherever, whatever, an injustice did occur,
We can’t make it right for others without justice for her,
Hey, White House, the most powerful office in the world,
Do you have the gonads to speak out for this Johnson girl?
A petition was signed that is over twelve thousand strong,
The Army closed the case anyway saying nothing’s wrong,
Nothing like U.S. Intelligence, it’s the reason for the attack,
If they hadn’t been storing WMD’s we wouldn’t be in Iraq.
Poems By Luke Easter
@Luke- absolutely beautiful! thanks for blessing this post with your words.
I have a young daughter. She’ll be 18 in a few months and she was considering joining the Army. We are currently reside in the Ohio area and we have already spoke with a recruiter. I just happen to be at school, when I mentioned to another student my dauther wants to go into the Army. She automatically brought up the subject ‘rape’ in the military. I then went onto the internet and I begin serching about reported rape cases in the Army, mainly in the Ohio area. I clicked on this site. After reading the story of this young girl, i am seriously reconsidering. My heart ached while reading about LaVena and I begin to shed tears as I started to image not only her last moments on earth but the broken hearts of the family and the cowordness of the military. I don’t know how my daugther will respond, but she needs to read LeVena’s story and PRAY. Thank you for sharing this with the world. May God bless you, stregthen you and keep you. You have helped me this day. And a-men.
@Anonymous-thank you so much for your comment. it is comments like yours that are the most rewarding about my choice to spend way too many hours surfing the net to find stories of interest to others. i know you and your daughter has a tough decision ahead of you so it’s always good to know as much as possible so she isn’t entering into a career naively. i am not nor have ever been in the military nor come from a military family so i cannot speak with certainty that there are still unspoken practices out there, but i am pretty sure there are from stories like LaVena’s and others like her. however, many people go forward and have a great experience. i wish you the best.
AUGUST 9,09
I HAVE TO GIVE IT UP FOR ANY WOMAN WHO HAVE FOUND THE COURAGE TO ENLIST IN MILTARY. IT TAKES COURAGE. I FEEL THEY PUT MORE ON YOU TO MAKE YOU QUIT SO YOU CAN REALIZE THAT YOU CAN’T MEASURE UP TO A MAN. I CAN IMAGINE HOW HARD THIS MUST BEEN ON LAVERN AND NOW HER DEATH IS HARD ON THE FAMILY. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE KILLED BY THE ENEMY NOT EACH OTHER.