LaVena Johnson
Pictured above is LaVena Johnson, born on July 27, 1985. She grew up with three older brothers and a younger sister, all of whom attended Hazelwood Central High School – ‘Home of the Hawks’ – in Florissant Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis. A “cheerful, honest, and full of life person” who “made an impact on everyone that she came in close contact with,” LaVena played the violin, donated blood, and volunteered for American Heart Association walks. For her volunteer work and grades, she “received commendations from members of the Missouri Senate and Congress.” She was an honor roll student who earned straight A’s her senior year, graduating in 2004 as a “top-notch” student.
Her aspirations didn’t vary from that of her three older brothers, who graduated from Central and went on to college. She wanted to travel and go to college, but when her parents told her that they could come up with the money for school, she said, “No, I want to do this on my own.”
In the main entrance of her high school is a plaque “in memory of the Hazelwood graduates who died serving their country.” I doubt LaVena expected that plaque to also apply to her before her twentieth birthday.
Instead of being a junior in college, or anything else, LaVena now resides in South St. Louis County at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Among over 150,000 others on the 331 acre site, her burial place is marked with a cross and these words:
LaVENA LYNN
JOHNSON
PFC US ARMY
PERSIAN GULF
IRAQ
JUL 27 1985
JUL 19 2005
LOVING DAUGHTER
WE WILL MISS
YOUR SMILE
AND HUMOR
When her father left the army after three years of service, the army helped pay for some of his college education. And after that, he didn’t have to make a down payment on his first home. The recruiting brochure found in LaVena’s room said that through the Army, she could “earn $25,000 toward college.” And she was told it was ‘highly unlikely’ she’d end up in Iraq, so it only made sense to join the Army before continuing her education and starting her life. Recruiters got her contact information as part of No Child Left Behind, apparently the only aspect of that law that functions. When her younger sister became a senior, recruiters started calling for her too, despite LaVena already having been killed.
Despite what recruiters told her, LaVena Johnson was sent to Iraq immediately after basic training. Her military aptitude test performance led to her initial assignment being that of a chaplain’s assistant. And despite failing her ‘wet fire’ test in basic training, her lack of a driver’s license caused a reassignment to weapons supply manager for the 129th Corps Support Battalion.
There was no reason for LaVena to be in Iraq. She was told she wouldn’t be sent there. She had poor aptitude as a killing machine. She was female. She was human. Nobody should be sent to Iraq, and certainly not someone like Private First Class Johnson.
We hear every day about Al Qaeda fighters in Iraq, although they account for only one or two percent of the violence. We hear every day about fanatical Arab extremists or islamofascists or whatever they’re called this week. And we hear every day about deaths caused by Improvised Explosive Devices. But how often have you heard about violence and death originating from within our armed forces?
The mother of Pat Tillman (safety for the Arizona Cardinals who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, and whose death was muddled by the Army’s denial and fabrication) wrote:
“This is how they treat the family of a high-profile individual.
How are they treating others?”
LaVena’s body was found in her tent on July 19, 2005. She had an M-16 bullet wound to her left temple. Her nose was broken. One of her lips was badly battered. Two of her teeth were loose. Her shoulder or elbow was dislocated. There were signs that she was set on fire. There were signs her tent was set on fire. There was a blood trail outside her tent. She recently had a physical exam to be checked for an STD after a sexual assault, where her father believes she named the assailant.
The army’s resolution of these events was sadly predictable. Its report is that LaVena died of a self-inflicted suicide gunshot wound even though she was right-handed, 5′1″ tall, the weapon is 40″ long, and she had no weapon residue on her hands. The autopsy doesn’t mention any physical trauma apart from the shot to her temple, and the investigation is closed.
Back in basic training, LaVena Johnson told her friend, “You know girl, sometimes I get a bad vibe about being in the military, but I know that God will see me through.”
Philip Barron (Waveflux of Shakespeare’s Sister) has created a petition to reopen the Army’s investigation. His continued blogging effort and the one-time coverage of this story by Channel 4 KMOV and Channel 5 KSDK of St. Louis are pretty much the only primary sources of information for this story as it is being ignored by the national mass media.
I just don’t know what grand thing to say about this. I’m not very optimistic that the Army’s treatment of our soldiers will improve, especially that of unknown female minority soldiers murdered by their own peers. I can’t figure out how to segue into these next two articles, but they’re important to read: First is an article about the general failure to treat veterans properly. Second is a disturbing look at what women go through in today’s military.
Sources:
lavenajohnson.blogspot.com
waveflux.net
www.kmov.com
www.ksdk.com
www.fallenheroesmemorial.com
en.wikipedia.org
maps.google.com
www.hazelwood.k12.mo.us
welcome-to-pottersville.blogspot.com
mirroronamerica.blogspot.com
www.alternet.org
www.alternet.org
www.alternet.org
iraq.pigstye.net
www.stlamerican.com
www.truthout.org
en.wikipedia.org
September 30th, 2008 at 10:24 am
LaVena Johnson (In Memorial) Where Is The Justice?
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.
Being right handed, she shot herself in the left side of the head,
Moved her body from 1 place to another “after†she was dead,
From the size of the exit wound when the trigger was released,
There was no breath left because she was immediately deceased.
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?â€
Guess the Army thinks first the perpetrator said, “please?â€
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.
I saw something on the Internet much sadder than sad,
Her mom distraught, shedding tears, clutching her dad,
Soldiers carrying LaVena’s body almost made me mad,
Draped over her lifeless casket was an American flag.
Apparently the stars and stripes blows in two directions,
There is one for neglect, another for promised protection,
As it laid over her body on that particular sun filled day,
Was it 1 of protection or 1 allowing the perp to get away?
Beware this incident is not about colors, Black or White,
Remember it’s a statement in the arena of wrong vs. right,
I wonder if her recruiter bothered to make LaVena aware,
The same injustice suffered here is also allowed over there.
And here’s a timeless saying, which is entering my mind,
There’s even a movie with the title, “Behind Enemy Lines,â€
Now that the light is shining on a lie that 3 years rang true,
Who will step in & accomplish what the enemy refused to do?
For every ranking Army official who signed off on this case,
Nothing less than a court martial is what each 1 should face,
Upon their conviction exactly where should they have to go?
What about life in a cell behind barb wire fences at Gitmo.
Poems By Luke Easter