Pfc. LaVena Johnson » Media

SBS Dateline on LaVena Johnson

Philip Barron — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:54:31 +0000

This week, the Australian network SBS brings its focus to the death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson and the issue of sexual assault in the US military in a Dateline story by journalist Ginny Stein. The feature, “Dark Secrets,” is scheduled to air on May 29, but the video is available now to watch online.

From the Dateline website:

[Sexual assault] is a pervasive problem, with Veterans Affairs statistics showing nearly one in three female soldiers are sexually harassed while serving their country, and for some the consequences are devastating.

Private LaVena Lyn Johnson was just five weeks into her tour of Iraq when she was found dead in a contractor’s tent. The US Army concluded the 19-year-old committed suicide after firing her M16 rifle into her mouth.

However, her father, who worked in the military as a civilian specialist in psychology, refuses to believe his daughter committed suicide.

For the past three years, Dr John Johnson has studied almost every aspect of his daughter’s death. He now believes LaVena was raped and murdered by someone in her camp, and accuses the army of covering up a soldier on soldier slaying.

Dr Johnson says he will keep fighting for justice until the army changes “their attitude about how they treat women in the military”.

Stein is an award-winning journalist who previously spent four years in Southeast Asia reporting for the ABC. Her stories for SBS have taken her from Indonesia to Zimbabwe, from Rwanda to the United States.

LA Times profiles LaVena’s story

Philip Barron — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:59:30 +0000

The Los Angeles Times has published a story by David Zucchino on Lavena Johnson, her death in Iraq, and her family’s ongoing struggle to repudiate the Army’s claim that she took her own life. It

Reporting from Florissant, Mo. — Inside the tidy suburban St. Louis home of John and Linda Johnson, no photos of their eldest daughter grace the walls. Army Pfc. LaVena Johnson was just 19 when she died in Iraq in 2005; to this day her parents cannot bear to display reminders of her life.

John Johnson does possess other photos of his daughter — explicit color shots of her autopsy and death scene. He shows them to a visitor. They are horrifying: LaVena in a pool of blood. LaVena’s corpse on a coroner’s table. [...]

There was no suicide note, no recovered bullet and no significant gunshot residue on her hands. But the Army cited fellow soldiers’ reports that she was depressed and had spoken of killing herself.

Johnson maintains that his daughter was raped and killed, and that her death scene was staged to make it appear as if she shot herself. He accuses the Army of covering up for a killer or killers to conceal a soldier-on-soldier slaying, explaining that military personnel would have had unrestricted access to the area where his daughter died and therefore would not have attracted undue attention.

If LaVena’s death were investigated as a homicide, Johnson added, it would raise questions about base security and discourage women from enlisting.

The Zucchino story, written with both clarity and sensitivity, relays the pain that LaVena’s family has dealt with every day since LaVena’s death, a pain shared by other military families in similar straits:

Like the Johnsons, other families have questioned the military’s suicide findings in the deaths of their daughters in Iraq or Afghanistan. They too accuse the military of jumping to conclusions and ignoring evidence of murder.

But these grieving families have discovered that there are no clear answers and few conclusive facts, only murky evidence that can be interpreted more than one way. The result is a climate of mistrust and suspicion that leaves the military on the defensive and the families feeling deceived.

The families have had an determined advocate in retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, who has been quoted many times in this website.

Wright accuses the military of withholding evidence pointing to sexual assaults and other attacks on female service members.

She contends that the military has been too quick to close the cases of some women’s deaths as suicides without conducting thorough homicide investigations. She accuses the military of stonewalling families who question its findings.

“What the military is doing is egregious,” she said. “In many cases, they have the information the families want but refuse to release it. These families are really fighting upstream.”

Zucchino’s story is well-written, and highly recommended for anyone unfamiliar with LaVena Johnson.

Black Talk Radio interviews LaVena’s father

Philip Barron — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:22:30 +0000

LaVena’s father, Dr. John Johnson, will be interviewed by Scotty Reid of the Internet-based Black Talk Radio Network on Monday, January 19, at 8pm Eastern:

PFC LaVena Johnson lost her life in Iraq on July 19, 2005. Although the U.S. Army has ruled her death a suicide, the evidence would suggest that this was not the case. The family of PFC LaVena Johnson has worked tirelessly to have the case re-opened and properly investigated.

LaVena’s father, Dr. John H. Johnson will join Black Talk Radio on Jan 19, 2009 at 8pm ET, 7pm CT and 6pm PT. He will update us on the efforts to reveal the the truth about how his daughter was brutally raped, assaulted and murdered and have the case re-opened.

Note: Listeners are invited to call in with questions and comments; the call-in number is (347) 826-9112.

The program can be accessed at the appropriate time via the audio player below, which can be easily embedded on your own website and shared in formats such as Facebook.

Interviewer Scotty Reid is the president of the Black Talk Media Project, a non-profit education and media company incorporated in North Carolina. Reid is a father, veteran and has hosted an Internet radio show for almost two years. The project’s mission is the promotion of media relevant to the Black community, and value-based programming that is ethical and family-friendly. The Black Talk Radio Network was created in July of 2008 and has steadily grown since its conception; the Black Talk Media Project was incorporated in December of 2008.

The Fayetteville Observer on domestic violence in the military

Philip Barron — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:37:47 +0000

From an article by activist and retired Army Colonel Ann Wright in Truthout:

The October 14, 2008 editorial in the Fayetteville, NC Observer “Our View: Military Domestic Violence Needs More Aggressive Prevention,” focused on the murder of four military women in North Carolina and contained a startling comment: “In a way, it’s surprising that there aren’t more bodies piling up at military bases all over this nation.” The Observer is the newspaper that serves Fort Bragg, one of the military’s largest bases.

The editorial was in response to the vigil held on October 8 at the gates of Fort Bragg to commemorate the murder of four US military women in North Carolina in the past nine months, and to call for action to prevent more murders by members of the US military.

In a nine-month period from December 2007 to September 2008, four US military women were killed by military men near the Army’s Fort Bragg and the Marine Corps’s Camp Lejeune, two military mega-bases in North Carolina.

Col. Wright: “The Observer editorial was remarkable in its clarity on the causes and connections of domestic and state-sponsored violence.” From the editorial:

It’s an old argument. We train men, and now women, to wage war, then we are baffled when they do that to each other. It is driven in times of war by a national culture that can extol violence, conflating it with patriotism. And don’t overlook the general population raised on a steady diet of malevolence disguised as entertainment. In a way, it’s surprising that there aren’t more bodies piling up at military bases all over this nation. We are certain, nevertheless, that the demonstrators (at the gates of Fort Bragg) were on to something that we as a community need to address. This may become an epidemic that threatens us all. It is a problem we, as a community, military and civilian, can’t ignore. It is also a problem that we have not, so far, effectively solved.

An bold editorial from a military-town newspaper, and well worth reading. Thanks to Col. Wright, and to Deborah Newell Tornello of litbrit for the heads-up on the Truthout article.

Philip Barron — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:35:28 +0000

Gregg Reese, contributor to the Los Angeles-based Our Weekly, has written on the case of PFC LaVena Johnson. The article provides an informative snapshot of the background behind LaVena’s death, autopsy findings and official statements, accounts of Congressional efforts that have thus far fallen short of results, and a broader look at the issue of

The Jim Bohannon Show visits LaVena’s case

Philip Barron — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:23:09 +0000

The parents of PFC LaVena Johnson, John and Linda Johnson, are scheduled to be interviewed on The Jim Bohannon Show on Monday night, September 8, during the 11 pm hour. Also scheduled, during the second half of the hour, is Coz Carson of US Talk Network, who interviewed John and Linda in August. Carson will speak about media coverage on LaVena’s story, particularly the role of alternative media outlets.

(Note: Coz Carson will return to LaVena’s story on US Talk Network with an interview of LaVena’s uncle, Joseph Johnson, at 2 pm Eastern on Friday, September 5. Carson plans to host someone connected with this story each week.)

You can find an affiliate near you that carries The Jim Bohannon Show by using the Bohannon site’s station finder. Alternatively, the program is available as a podcast; the URL and instructions are also posted at the website.

The Jim Bohannon Show is aired weeknights over the Westwood One radio network. Bohannon, a Vietnam veteran, is also the host of the weekday America in the Morning and the Sunday program America This Week.

NPR’s Tell Me More interviews LaVena’s father

Philip Barron — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:02:48 +0000

The father of Pfc. LaVena Johnson, John Johnson, was interviewed last Friday by Michel Martin, host of the NPR program Tell Me More. Also on hand was activist and retired Army Colonel Ann Wright.

Soldier’s Family Challenges Army Suicide Report

Tell Me More, August 11, 2008

LaVena’s parents on US Talk Network

Philip Barron — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:13:00 +0000

Coz Carson, one of the hosts of the Internet-based media station US Talk Network, recently interviewed John and Linda Johnson about their daughter, LaVena. Carson is a former program director at 1690 WVON – The Talk of Chicago, and has been a frequent contributor on CNN Newsroom and CNN Headline News. The link to the interview (WMA format) is currently posted on the US Talk Network home page, as is a song in tribute to LaVena titled “LaVena Johnson – We Got Your Back” (MP3 format).

LaVena’s parents on Democracy Now!

Philip Barron — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:00:00 +0000

John and Linda Johnson, parents of Pfc. LaVena Lynn Johnson, were interviewed on Democracy Now! by host Amy Goodman on July 23. Activist and retired Army colonel Ann Wright was also part of the discussion; as detailed at DN!, Col. Wright spent twenty-six years in the US Army/Army Reserves and was a diplomat in the State Department for sixteen years before resigning in March 2003, protesting the then-impending invasion of Iraq. The segment was broadcast over television networks as well and the Pacific Radio network which is home to the program.

Suicide or Murder? Three Years After the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq, Her Parents Continue Their Call for a Congressional Investigation

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

New Zealand Herald column on LaVena

Philip Barron — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:42:00 +0000

The New Zealand Herald has published an article on LaVena Johnson, written by contributing columnist Tracey Barnett who interviewed LaVena’s parents, John and Linda:

“I’m telling you there is no pain like it – there is no pain like it in this world. My daughter, the way they took her and what they did to her – it’s inhuman. I did not believe my daughter was placed among a group of predators. They treated her like an animal … ” Linda Johnson said, then added quietly: “And she was fighting for this country.”

The article looks beyond the particulars of LaVena’s death in Iraq to the wider issue of sexual assault in the military.

This is no single aberrant case. John Johnson has discovered far more stories that have matched his daughter’s than he ever wanted to know. Ten other families of “suicide” female soldiers have contacted him. The common thread among them – rape.

Meet today’s US military – sign up for the armed services and become almost one in three women who are raped or sexually assaulted by their own colleagues, according to Department of Defence statistics. Not exactly the kind of recruitment slogan that fills empty boots.

Barnett’s article is also posted at her own weblog – currently in the Recent category, and after this week to be categorized under Politics. Many thanks to the columnist for bringing LaVena’s story to the headers of the Herald.

Note: The promised video from the Black & Green panel discussion on Lavena will appear…soon! Having some issues processing it, but I’ll resolve those as quickly as possible.