Pfc. LaVena Johnson » Official Interest

Second Oversight hearing on military sexual assault

Philip Barron — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:38:59 +0000

A second hearing on sexual assault in the military is being held today by the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, a branch of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The hearing will be held in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building and was to begin at 10:00 am Eastern. Slated to appear before the subcommittee is Dr. Kaye Whitley, chief of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office of the Department of Defense. Whitley had been subpoenaed to appear for the first hearing, but had been prevented from appearing by Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Michael Dominguez. The panel’s reaction to that earlier interference by Dominguez:

Full committee Chairman Henry Waxman called the DoD

Danielle Vyas calls for justice

Philip Barron — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:58:43 +0000

Danielle Vyas, an activist and the author of ModernMusings.com, first learned of the story of LaVena Johnson via Electronic Village and immediately set about spreading the word. She submitted the story to the Care2 network of activists and added it to stumble, and digg, casting for the widest audience possible. After learning of the original petition to the two Armed Services Committees calling for a renewed investigation of LaVena’s death, Vyas decided to take similar direct action. She launched a petition of her own – her very first – based at the Care2 petition site. Addressed to both houses of Congress and President Bush, the petition calls for a re-investigation of the LaVena Johnson case and full disclosure. Below, the text of the petition appeal:

We the undersigned, urge you to reopen an investigation on the death of Ms. LaVena Johnson. Ms. Johnson, a 19 year old private stationed in Iraq died in July of 2005. Upon her death, the army declared that Ms. Johnson’s death was self inflicted.

Due to the dedicated investigation of Dr. J. Johnson, further evidence has been found from the autopsy of Ms. Johnson’s body and from the barracks where her body was found.

This evidence includes a blood trail leading toward where her body was found, signs that a perpetrator attempted to burn both the barracks and her body, signs of physical struggle in the form of two loose front teeth as well as a bruised lip which had to be reconstructed by the funeral home which attended to her body.

When Dr. J. Johnson presented this new evidence the response he received from the military is that the case is closed.

We urge you, in the name of democracy, in the name of justice, in the name of civic honor to reopen the investigation of Ms. Johnson’s death and fully disclose all findings.

Ms. Johnson was an honor roll student, who straight from high school enlisted herself voluntarily into the army. If her sacrifice is to be honored in action, her death must be thoroughly investigated and if it is found that Ms. Johnson was murdered that the perpetrator be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Rebuilding the morale of our military, of our citizens and our country demands real answers.

We thank you, in advance, for your focused consideration and commitment to justice.

Dyas has set an original goal of 1,000 signatures for the effort, but that target was so swiftly reached that she revised the goal upwards to 3,000 names. Again, that goal has been exceeded; as of this writing, the number of signatories to the Vyas petition stands at 3,197.

The goal more than achieved, Vyas is now arranging a meeting with Rep. Shelley Berkley in which the petition will be presented. She calls for concerned citizens to sign the ColorofChange-sponsored petition to Rep. Henry Waxman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Note: A few words from Danielle Vyas herself!

I found out about the tragedy surrounding the death of Private Ms. LaVena Johnson for the first time from my good friend and fellow net activist Wayne Hicks of the Electronic Village. I was outraged at the military deeming Ms. Johnson’s death a suicide when there was so much physical evidence to the contrary. Broken teeth, bruised lips, blood trails, evidence of arson and even rape warrants an in depth investigation surrounding the loss of potential that 19 year old LaVena undeniably had to offer the world.

I, immediately, began researching deeper and came upon Philip Barron’s independent efforts toward achieving accountable justice for Ms. Johnson and noted that his successful petition had closed. Putting two and two together, with an increase of attention given to Ms. Johnson’s death and no active petition at that time decided to write and promote my first petition. I had to turn my outrage into action.

Many of us on the internet and blogging have gathered “friends” in various social networks. I decided to take advantage of my connections to both share Ms. Johnson’s case and the petition. Thanks to others who used the power of their voice, we met the first goal of 1000 signatures in a few weeks. I then increased the goal due to the great response to 3000 signatures.

Last week, we exceeded our goal of 3000 signatures and to date have 3,250 collected signatures. I instantly thought what next, how will I use the power of over 3000 people and have decided to arrange a meeting with my Representative Shelley Berkley of Nevada and hand deliver the signatures along with a small crew of local activists. When the meeting occurs we will be recording the event and will spread it virally through the internet.

Gabriel Rey- Goodlate of the organization Color of Change caught the increased buzz surrounding the Justice for LaVena Johnson campaign and started their own campaign sending out an email to their members and have gathered over 50,000 signatures.

This has been an amazing personal journey. I have learned without a doubt that we must turn our outrage into action. I am not a professional activist. I have never made a petition before and have never even met my Representative in person. If I am able to do it, anyone can.

Ms. LaVena Johnson deserves to be honored with a reinvestigation into the circumstances of her death which is the ultimate goal.

I sincerely thank Philip Barron, Wayne Hicks, Gabriel Rey- Goodlate and everyone who signed and forwarded the petition and to those who spread the campaign to their audiences.

Danielle Vyas
ModernMusings.com

Oversight subcommittee hearing on sexual assault in the military

Philip Barron — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:15:00 +0000

The parents of PFC LaVena Johnson believe that their daughter was murdered in Iraq – contrary to Army claims of suicide – and suspect that she may have been victim to a sexual assault. The Army has resisted calls for reinvestigation of the matter; public and Congressional attention are required in order to change military minds. Gina at What About Our Daughters? has alerted readers to an opportunity to bring LaVena’s case to legislators – a public hearing on sexual assault in the military held by a sub- of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:

On Thursday, July 31 at 10:00 am, [the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs] will hold a hearing entitled,

LaVena in proposed Oversight Committee report

Philip Barron — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:57:00 +0000

The death in Iraq of PFC LaVena Johnson – ruled a suicide by the Army and vigorously disputed by her family – finds a brief mention in a proposed report recently released by the House Oversight and Governmental Reform Committee: Misleading Information from the Battlefield: The Tillman and Lynch Episodes. As the title indicates, the main subjects of the report are the death of Corporal Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture of Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq. LaVena’s case is mentioned in Section IX: Other Cases Brought to the Committee’s Attention, as is the suspicious death of Specialist Jesse Buryj of Canton, Ohio.

The Committee

A reminder…

Philip Barron — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:44:00 +0000

Even though the petition to the Armed Services Committees of the Senate and the House closed on May 24, constituents of the members of the two committees can still lend their voices to the effort to prompt a new investigation of LaVena’s death by contacting those legislators directly. Reprised below is contact information for those legislators: links to their contact pages, and pop-up links to their numbers and addresses. If any of the information provided is out of date, please reach me via the contact page, and I’ll correct it. Thanks.

Thanks to Congressman Clay

Philip Barron — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:49:00 +0000

Representative William Lacy Clay of Missouri’s First District brought LaVena Johnson’s story to national attention in his opening statement at yesterday’s Pat Tillman/Jessica Lynch hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. If you would like to send him a word of thanks, you may use the information on this contact page. Please note that the email form only allows use by constituents living in Rep. Clay’s district. No such limit applies to phone, fax, or postal mail messages, however.

Rep. Clay speaks about LaVena at Tillman/Lynch hearing

Philip Barron — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 23:53:00 +0000

The case of Pfc. LaVena Johnson finally edged into official light today at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on Cpl. Pat Tillman and Pvt. Jessica Lynch. Representative William Lacy Clay of Missouri’s First District spoke briefly about LaVena’s death, the unsatisfactory investigation by Army officials, the refusal by the Army to revisit the case. To my knowledge, it is the first time that any member of any congressional body has spoken LaVena’s name before the public and the wider press, and certainly the first time that her family’s struggle to force a a new investigation of LaVena’s death has been officially linked to the wider topic of deception by the military.

There was some question of when Congress would finally bring any sort of attention to the case of Pfc. Johnson; now we see that the search for justice for one military family just may bring light to others as well. Rep. Clay’s remarks, welcome as they are, represent only the barest beginning of the kind of official attention that is required to prompt a reinvestigation of LaVena’s death…but it is a beginning nonetheless.

UPDATE: This is the text of the opening statement made by Rep. Clay:

Mr. Chairman, honorable colleagues, good morning.
Throughout history, it has often been said that “the first casualty of war…is the truth.”

That has certainly been the case in Iraq and Afghanistan. And this morning’s testimony will demonstrate the depth of that problem.

Private Lynch, I want to thank you for being here today. Your courage and dedication to duty, both while under enemy fire and then as a wounded P.O.W. are heroic. And your commitment to making certain that the truth about what happened to you and your unit finally emerged is equally heroic. It honors the memory of your fallen comrades and is in the best tradition of our armed forces.

Mrs. Tillman, as a parent, I want to express my sincere condolences to you on the loss of your brave son, Patrick. And I want to commend you for having the courage to pursue the truth about your son’s death, while bearing the terrible burden of losing a child.

We know now that your painful loss was compounded by having had to confront a pattern of deception, misleading information, and in some instances, deliberate misinformation.

And unfortunately, that pattern of misinformation and deception is not limited to just your son’s case.

Back in my district in St. Louis, I had a brave young constituent by the name of Private LaVena Johnson. And sadly, in July of 2005, at the age of 19, she became the first female soldier fro Missouri to be killed in Iraq.

Just like Corporal Tillman, Private Johnson was an exceptional young American. She was an honor student, a gifted musician, and very active in her church and community. And just like Corporal Tillman, after 9-11, she was inspired to join the Army to help protect her country.

Private Johnson came from a proud military tradition. Her father, Dr. John Johnson, is an Army veteran and worked for the Department of the Army for 25 years. Her two uncles served in Vietnam. And her grandfather served in World War II.

For almost two years, Dr. and Mrs. Johnson have been trying to get at the truth about what happened to their daughter. And my office has tried to assist them in that effort.

Unfortunately, they have been met by a wall of disrespect, evasion, and a failure to provide them with the answers that the parents of any fallen soldier deserve.

I am thankful that this committee is taking action to get them the information they have requested.

Private LaVena Johnson gave her life for her country. And her country has a responsibility to tell her family the whole truth about how she died.

Thank you.

The specific information of which Rep. Clay spoke – particular documents relating to the investigation of LaVena’s death – was requested on behalf of the Johnsons by Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Representative Clay in his capacity as chair of the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Affairs. Their letter, addressed to Acting Secretary of the Army Pete Geren, is available for download.

Item of interest

Philip Barron — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 16:30:00 +0000

This weblog has been visited at least 14 times today by staffers at the House of Representatives.

This is a sign that someone in the House is at least familiar with the matter of LaVena Johnson.

It is to be hoped that this familiarity will be followed up with action on behalf of the Johnson family.