(According to Killeen police, no such vests were found at the scene of the crash. Their minds both turned to Vanessa, whose hourly texts to family members had gone silent. As soon as I get out of the hospital, I will call you. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Spc. Fort Hood COVID-19 Information :: U.S Army Fort Hood - United States Army Army major kills 13 people in Fort Hood shooting spree 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. On most nights, I had nightmares. 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. Women, who make up 17 percent of active-duty military, were doubly bereft, and the case files were awash with stories of the dead. 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." ", 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. "Is it possible Elder was murdered? THE MURDERS AT FORT HOOD | Vanity Fair | July/August 2021 First it was a five-mile run, then it was a two-mile run. 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. Army disciplines 21 at Fort Hood in probe of soldier's death - Yahoo News (Fort Hood refused all official interview requests for this story, citing ongoing investigations. At least 39 Fort Hood troops died or went missing last year. 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. Before Guillen, there had been Private LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead in a tent in 2005 in Iraq. More than 2,200 trials over land rights commenced. Fuck Biden, Dont Tread on Me, and a Wisconsin Death Trip for Our Times. September 10, 2020. 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. It was a "heartrending, searing experience," central Texas historian Gra'Delle Duncan said, "leaving lifetime marks on all, and actually killing some" from the psychic devastation that followed. SHARE. Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home 1615 South Fort Hood Road, Killeen (254) 634-2638 . Far from itthe military was operating as it had been intended. Army investigating after soldier, 26, found dead in latest in string of unexplained deaths at Fort Hood barracks Fort Hood officials have not released the cause of death for Maxwell. 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. He also wanted an education, and joining the Army he knew he could take care of all of that, his sister Carma Johnson says. Maxwell Hockin. There had been a few people, then it was a group run of 11. ), Wedel-Moraless death was not the first from the base that may have involved bike gangs. Casteel had been stationed at Fort Hood since the end of June, where hed been bullied for a spinal injury that consigned him to desk duties. Texan sentenced to 20 years following drug-related death of Fort Hood soldier. Hoover, Alabama. Escorts should be arranged in advance to allow for coordination with the organization receiving coverage. Fort Hood soldier found dead behind barracks, investigation underway Alvis Franklin Bentley. Who were the soldiers who had testified to seeing Guillen leave the arms room the day she disappeared? So when, the following spring, Fort Hood offered a $15,000 reward for information about Guillen, then raised it to $25,000 in June, Kim called to demand the same. 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. "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. He had messaged his sister beforehand to tell her something felt off. As publication approached, it stopped responding to emails pertaining to both specific questions about individual cases as well as broader queries about the base.). A soft October wind carried the first chill of the season. But the only among the victims may be the institution that them all to kill. Maxwell Hockin, 26, was. 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. Inside the Rash of Unexplained Deaths at Fort Hood by May Jeong First it was a five-mile run, then it was a two-mile run. The death was ruled a suicide despite the fact that the blanket stuffed around the window to hold the pipe in place had been doused in Schuette's own blood, and Schuette was found with nine stab wounds across his body, including his forearm and his left hand. Guillen's youngest sister, Lupe, says. "You can find Osama bin Laden, but you can't find a soldier that went missing on your own base?" It rained that night, and the drive, which should have taken three hours, was slow going. Their minds both turned to Vanessa, whose hourly texts to family members had gone silent. The stories are gruesome, then heartbreaking, then beyond belief. 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. The dollhouse, strip club Gregory Wedel Morales frequented, Killeen Tx. These figures eclipse American casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same year. Casteel had told Rodriguez "he was getting away from the abuse.". Guillen confessed that she was being harassed by another soldier. Traveling in the time of plague, trying to build rapport with people from six feet away, was enervating. Thirteen people were determined to have committed suicide. 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. Matthew Disney, 20, of Aberdeen, Maryland, were pronounced dead on the scene by emergency medical personnel at the North Carolina military. Fort Hood concluded Chee had died in training. Fort Hood informed Rodriguez that he had asked for this. Reformers would say that the military had failed its men and women. 60.2 (births per 1,000 women 15-44 years of age) Teen Birth Rate. Fort Hood is the Army's premier installation to train and deploy heavy forces. On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Guillen reported for duty at Fort Hood. Not long after Fort Hood opened, soldiers began bringing home souvenirs in the form of war brides. Bill to attend technical school in Houston to work on wind turbines or oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana. (Among 1.29 million members of the U.S. military, 65,000 are immigrants, according to The Washington Post.) At the Dollhouse, he got to know Penny Morales, a dancer and mother of two. The corpse had been dead for a while, though it was impossible to determine exactly how long. Atop these sedimentary layers of desecration, displacement, and disorientation, the U.S. War Department set out to build a base that would go on to serve as a footnote to nearly every war in modern memory. On April 29, it was Private Joshua Barnwell, 19. They returned several days later to pour concrete over the remains. Fernandes transferred to another unit where he was called a snitch and worse. Specialist Justen Ogden's 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. 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. That an overwhelming majority of the town's 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. 24, 2021 KILLEEN, Texas Spc. FORT HOOD, Texas - Fort Hood officials say they do not suspect foul play in the death of 26-year-old SPC Maxwell Hockin. Fort Hood's Vanessa Guillen Tragedy Leads to Army-Wide Overhaul of On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Guillen reported for duty at Fort Hood. Casteel had told Rodriguez he was getting away from the abuse.. From the age of 18, the only thing I knew how to do was kill people, Ring wrote on the website of his fathers veterans rights organization. The U.S. Army identified a soldier found dead behind his company barracks at Fort Hood last week as 26-year-old Spc. 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. The U.S. Army on Tuesday announced the removal . October 14, 2021 Ryan Morgan. 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. Fort Hood soldier found dead behind barracks - Militarytimes.com (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.). Family of Fort Hood soldier demands answers after military refuses to In 1941, Private Felix Hall was lynched by fellow soldiers, at Fort Benning, Georgia. 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. Fort Hood - Wikipedia Texas Death Records, 1890-1976 includes scanned copies of the death certificates Texas Death Records, 1977-1986 includes digitized copies of the death certificates; not yet complete.