Traveling in the time of plague, trying to build rapport with people from six feet away, was enervating. Those remains, it turned out, belonged to yet another soldier, Private Gregory Wedel-Morales, who had gone missing the previous summer. On May 18, Brandon Rosecranss burning Jeep was discovered in a hilly suburb east of Fort Hood. 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. 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. That American imperialism is imploding, and the blast force radiates inward. All this has been true since the founding of the American military, but a sense of disorientation has increased in recent years, as wars that were never good to begin with began to lose moral shine. ), On July 3, a fortnight after Wedel-Moraless 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. She had also missed her standing noon call with her fianc, Juan Cruz. 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. 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. 22.4 (births per 1,000 females 15-19 years of age) Infant Mortality Rate. 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. ARMY-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION STATUS. By. From here, wars are launched. Ive lost brothers and sisters in arms, a marriage, Ive lost family, Ive lost friendships that were supposed to be forever. "You can find Osama bin Laden, but you can't find a soldier that went missing on your own base?" Hockin was found dead behind his company barracks. They are part of Killeen's population of 151,000, many transient and very young, two thirds of whom have military ties. 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. Tributes.com is the online source for current local and national obituary news. Later, Robinson would tell investigators that Guillen completed her task and exited the building. (Facebook) Two weeks later, Delacruz . 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. Without any sense of purpose, the suffering at Fort Hood had started to lose its meaning. This memory now refreshed, Gloria began asking around for a name and soon learned it through Guillens friend: Aaron Robinson, the last person to have seen her daughter. Amarillo - see the Potter County section below Arlington - see the Tarrant County section below 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. All are former soldiers. Because what the military asks of its men and women is so antisocial, it must co-opt the rhetoric of the family. 60.2 (births per 1,000 women 15-44 years of age) Teen Birth Rate. Here are some of the tragic deaths that have plagued the base in recent months: Pvt. You can click this link to create an obituary. In fact, Casteel had been convinced that CIA agents were attacking him since last June. The military, Rodriguez said, had known about this but had refused to treat him. But when Kim called the police, they dismissed her, telling Kim that her son probably just "took off." There, Wedel-Morales's remains had been found, long ago decomposed in the Texas heat. A soft October wind carried the first chill of the season. 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. On August 17, Sergeant Elder Fernandes, 23, disappeared. He had also gotten married without telling his family, been evicted from his apartment, and stopped showing up to work. Despite 10,000 hours of investigation and 300 interviews, much about Guillen's death remained a mystery. Fernandes was dropped off at his friends house the next day, never to be seen again. After 8 p.m., Guillen's sister Mayra called the base. 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. Spc. He died in 1879, leaving a troubled legacy that is only now beginning to be questioned. Why had it taken forensics 72 days to conduct a search of the arms room? In death, she is no longer a daughter or a sister or a partner. 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). 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. Texan sentenced to 20 years following drug-related death of Fort Hood soldier. Chee, like Yazzie, was a member of the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation community, and was new to the base. On most nights, I had nightmares. First it was a five-mile run, then it was a two-mile run. Specialist Vanessa Guillens father, Rogelio, wondered if I shouldnt carry a gun. 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. Mayra wept during the journey, already fearing the worst. Many complained specifically of being made to cut grass to ready for such official visits. No skid marks were apparent, nor did anyone hear the crash. Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, . 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. But when Kim called the police, they dismissed her, telling Kim that her son probably just took off. (Killeen Police stated they have no knowledge of anyone declining to investigate.) Casteel had been stationed at Fort Hood since the end of June, where he'd been bullied for a spinal injury that consigned him to desk duties. Traveling in the time of plague, trying to build rapport with people from six feet away, was enervating. But then certain details start illuminating the mystery: that one out of three women soldiers have experienced sexual harassment, according to a recent survey. 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. Five were murdered. Ive lost so much since Ive been in. Anthony Nevelle Peak Jr. Hogan, 19, and Peak Jr., 21, were both killed in a. The search party arrived at Fort Hood at 3 a.m. Guillen's staff sergeant told the group to come back in the morning. (Fort Hood refused all official interview requests for this story, citing ongoing investigations. Wedel-Morales was thrilled to become a father. Those remains, it turned out, belonged to yet another soldier, Private Gregory Wedel-Morales, who had gone missing the previous summer. Rosecrans, shot four times, was found three miles from his vehicle. I felt a bad vibe there, Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. 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. 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. On August 13, Staff Sergeant Bradley Moore died during a land navigation exercise on the base. A few days later, they spoke again, for the last time. On April 29, it was Private Joshua Barnwell, 19. Fort Hood is one of 800 United States military bases around the world, the third largest in the country. 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. (The person who called in with the tip declined to collect the reward. When Kim called Fort Hood inquiring after her son, she was told the case was the remit of the Killeen Police Department as Wedel-Morales had gone missing off base. Stump was going 82 mph in a 30-mph zone, the investigation report said, and had hit a tree on a mound. 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. Fort Hood might not even stand out were it not for a particularly bad year among many. Don't they care as to what happened to Elder Fernandes? Schuette's body was returned to his family "wrapped like a mummy." Fort Hood informed Rodriguez that he had asked for this. But the only among the victims may be the institution that them all to kill. He also wanted an education, and joining the Army he knew he could take care of all of that, his sister Carma Johnson says. The police too told Ailina that Fernandes was an adult and that they would not report him as missing. (His sons alleged killer is in custody awaiting trial.) Washington CNN The Army announced Tuesday that 14 senior officers will be punished following a probe that was initiated after the murder of a soldier and several other deaths at the Army's. Reformers would say that the military had failed its men and women. 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. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. Robinson gave Guillen the serial number for a .50 caliber machine gun that needed servicing. Vanessa Guillen and a number of other soldiers at Fort Hood sparked outrage across the country, leading to an independent review of the command climate and culture on the military post. Eleven of the deaths remain unresolvedsome legally; others for the victims' families. Since being stationed at Fort Hood in November 2016, Wedel-Morales had frequented the Dollhouse, a strip club not far from where his remains would eventually be found. 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. 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. Chee, like Yazzie, was a member of the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation community, and was new to the base. Later that year, Private Dakota Lee Stump left his barracks to report for work less than a mile away but never arrived for formation. On June 30, a construction crew found shallow graves containing human remains that belonged to Guillen. The plan, Wedel-Morales told anyone who would listen, was to use the G.I. Today, Reform Austin is attempting to put the entire chain of events into a concise timeline for our readers. The base might have continued to devour its soldiers had it not been for a missing soldier's 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 am astounded nobody is interested, the Fernandes family lawyer Lenny Kesten told me. On August 17, Sergeant Elder Fernandes, 23, disappeared. PUBLISHED 10:53 AM CT Mar. Thomas Berg, whose son Private Brandon Rosecranss Jeep was found burning in May, told me not to go out after dark. The 20-year-old small arms specialist, then a private first class, was supposed to be off that day, so she showed up in civilian clothesblack tee, purple leggings, and a fanny pack. Fernandes wouldn't share much, nothing about what had caused him to be hospitalized, and said that he was using an insecure base hospital line. September 10, 2020. Guillen confessed that she was being harassed by another soldier. [2] Casteel had told Rodriguez he was getting away from the abuse.. 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. 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. After he returned to Fort Hood, Rodriguez managed to get Casteel on a video call. They married in May 2017, and he took her name with hyphenation. "He seemed weird," Rodriguez said. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. It's possible. . "I asked him directly if he wasn't willing to speak because of position and he signaled yes, and he said, 'l'd rather tell you in person.' 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. Soon after, the Temple police, who led the investigation, ruled Fernandes's death a suicide. Fort Hood soldier found dead behind barracks, investigation underway Officials identified the soldier as 26-year-old Spc. 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." (Among 1.29 million members of the U.S. military, 65,000 are immigrants, according to The Washington Post.) 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. ), 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. I have sponsored a a Change.org listing advocating renaming the post after Oveta . US Army Since then, Vanessa's family and their attorney Natalie Khawam have tried to shine a spotlight on a string of deaths at the central Texas installation. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. Fort Hood also stated that it had completed an exhaustive search for Fernandes, and that it had interviewed all relevant parties, including the family. Not long after Fort Hood opened, soldiers began bringing home souvenirs in the form of war brides. 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. On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Guillen reported for duty at Fort Hood. Maxwell Hockin. That morning, Guillen had left her third-floor barracks and headed downstairs to her work station at the motor pool, a vast garage for military vehicles. (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. At the Dollhouse, he got to know Penny Morales, a dancer and mother of two. We believe that Every Life has a Story which should be told and preserved. Spc. Five were murdered. Fort Hood might not even stand out were it not for a particularly bad year among many. 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. 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. 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. Victoria a friend of Gregory Wedel-Morales at the site of his remains, Killeen TX. Inside the rash of explained deaths at Fort Hood. Ad Choices. Bill to attend technical school in Houston to work on wind turbines or oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana. Vanessa Guilln, who was missing for about two months before her remains were found. Radically transparent, low cost versions of high cost generic drugs. More than 2,200 trials over land rights commenced. 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. Maxwell Hockin, 26, joined the U.S. Army in 2017. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Fernandes had just been stationed at Fort Hood in January. At first, Aguilar told investigators, they cut her up using a machete. He died the evening of September 2. Five were murdered. The soldiers said that Guillens belongings had been found in the arms room, but otherwise she had left no trace. How had he managed to escapeand where had he gotten his gun? 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. -. Basic details of the incident kept changing. Just before noon, Guillen left her keys, Army ID, and bank cards in one arms room and entered another adjacent arms room, separated by a hallway. Eric Christopher Hogan and Pfc. Their minds both turned to Vanessa, whose hourly texts to family members had gone silent. It was ruled a suicide until her father noticed her broken nose, black eye, loose teeth, and burns on her genitals. I will tell you everything." 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. (Among 1.29 million members of the U.S. military, 65,000 are immigrants, according to The Washington Post.) Had one of them stood in for Guillen during roll call? SHARE. Chris and Moses friends of Gregory Wedel-Morales at the site of his remains, Killeen TX. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. 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. Fort Worth (817) 293-8477 Laurel Land Funeral Home and Cemetery 7100 Crowley Road, Fort Worth . 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." = Link to a CAC-required sites . He died in 1879, leaving a troubled legacy that is only now beginning to be questioned. But with each encounter, it was becoming clear that the military had not failed its soldiers at all. He got home around 2 p.m. and told his wife, Gloria, about the unusual aches. In other battles, having lost the use of his arm and later a leg, Hood had to be strapped to a horse for combat. Why was Robinson not put under watch? The family began posting online about Guillen's disappearance and distributing "Missing" fliers. As soon as I get out of the hospital, I will call you. 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. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt. These figures eclipse American casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same year. Fort Hood has come under serious fire in recent years, as the incident follows the heartbreaking death of Vanessa Guilln. Call (254) 287-9993 or (254) 287-0106 to request a PAO escort. By then Wedel-Morales had grown distant from his family in Oklahoma, who had not been told of the marriage. One of the first times she stepped onto the base, a rosary she had been carrying in the palm of her hand tore apart, its beads scattering over the concrete ground. ), Wedel-Moraless death was not the first from the base that may have involved bike gangs. 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. After hours, media should call the Emergency Operations Center at (254) 287-2054 and ask for the on-call PAO. "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? 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? The circumstances are so strange and awful that fully understanding the events can be difficult. But advocates for. 16 Apr 2021 Military.com | By Matthew Cox The Army 's People First Task Force on Friday unveiled sweeping actions underway to transform the service's sexual harassment and assault prevention. The author knocks on the doors bearing the darkest symbols, behind which lie guns, ammo, antisemitism, antiabortion dogmaand a belief in the coming civil war. He had also gotten married without telling his family, been evicted from his apartment, and stopped showing up to work. "From the age of 18, the only thing I knew how to do was kill people," Ring wrote on the website of his father's veterans' rights organization. "For nothing.". Fort Hood hurriedly put up a $25,000 reward for Wedel-Morales as well. 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. Later came Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese, who still run sushi and pho restaurants in Killeen. The Armys own investigation found major flaws at Fort Hood, leading to the firing or suspending of 14 officials. Green Beret training death special forces training soldier dies in training army training . The 20-year-old small arms specialist, then a private first class, was supposed to be off that day, so she showed up in civilian clothesblack tee, purple leggings, and a fanny pack. 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. On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Guillen reported for duty at Fort Hood. What is behind the violence and tragedy at Fort Hood? At least 39 Fort Hood troops died or went missing last year. Texas Death Records Indexes, Obituaries and Cemetery Burials by County. The discovery in 2020 of the dismembered and burned remains of Vanessa Guillen, a Fort Hood soldier who disappeared on April 22, 2020, sparked outrage from central Texas to . Then they tried burning the body. He told his sister there were three white soldiers who did not like him. On August 28, Chee was called into a training run. Courtesy | Margie Taylor Spc.. More than 90 lawmakers earlier this month called for an independent review of how the Army handled the disappearance of Spc. The plan, Wedel-Morales told anyone who would listen, was to use the G.I. (Fort Hood does not count Moore in its official casualty list, as he was a member of the National Guard.). Gloria had noticed her losing weight and pressed her for why. Sewell is the latest soldier to disappear from the base after a series of soldiers disappeared in the past few years. It was ruled a suicide until her father noticed her broken nose, black eye, loose teeth, and burns on her genitals. The tributaries that run through Fort Hood flow into the Leon River, where Guillens remains were later found. Visit this link to create a free obituary then read the advantages of creating an obituary on Echovita and either click Start now or Create an obituary for your loved to begin. The Lovell case was ruled an accident despite the fact that a rival club's biker vest, or kutte, was found hanging neatly from a tree near the crash site, while his motorcyclemirror, taillightswas found intact. At first, Aguilar told investigators, they cut her up using a machete. Back in Houston, Gloria recalled a conversation with her daughter not long before, when Guillen had been home for the weekend. In a press statement, Fort Hood officials said Hockin, 26, was initially found unresponsive outside of the barracks and was subsequently pronounced dead.