Milltary Covers Up Rape and Murder of Black Woman in Iraq
By Casey Gane-McCalla March 4, 2009 11:16 am
By David Love, The Black Commentator
Have you heard the story about LaVena Johnson?
LaVena Johnson, a high school honor student, decided to enlist in the Army to pay for college. On July 19, 2005, after serving eight weeks in Iraq, she was killed, eight days short of her 20th birthday.
Pvt. Johnson — she was posthumously promoted to private first class — was found dead on a military base in Balad, Iraq, in a tent belonging to military contractor KBR, a spinoff and former subsidiary of Halliburton, Dick Cheney’s company. She was the first woman from Missouri to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Watch a Video on LaVena Johnson
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RanTwin3-16-2009 3:11 pm
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masculine313-11-2009 1:19 am
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Militarysexualtrauma3-9-2009 7:06 pm
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MzHottChoc3-9-2009 1:10 pm
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« Previous 1 2 3 4I agree wit masculine31, stop fightin wars for these old white men, WWII was the closest thing to a justified war, and notice s**t only got serious when they bombed Hawaii and the Jewish people got bagged
Blk folk gotta learn to stop fighting this white mans war…no need 4 us to participate in fighting a war
These kinds of things happen too often in the military.
The Military gets away with this most all the time, which is unfortunate.
The family came to me when this happened, but I only work with rape victims, not murder victims, and have 2000+ clients.
Ann Wright is working with this family, and the others who have lost their daughters to rape and a murder to cover this up.
PLEASE – if you are considering joining the military UNDERSTAND that this IS real. There are more MEN Raped in Service than Women.
The chances of being raped are higher than the chances of being shot, or killed in Iraq.
The chances of being killed by “our own troops” is higher than normal during this war.
The military already covered up the dozen or so women who would not drink water during the day, and died of dehydration. They would not drink water in 130 degrees, so they would not have to go to the latrine at night – for fear of being raped.
Though there still is some racism in the military, it is not as strong as sexism, or the need to perpetrate crimes against each other.
The thing about the military is that you have NO recourse for help because they essentially “own” you for the time you are signed up.
Learn from this tragedy. Talk about it with your friends and family.
Keep yourself safe. There are other ways to get money for college, and better people to work with.
Not everyone in the military is bad, but I believe after serving, and working with victims that the numbers are higher than we want to believe.
Susan –
smith715@comcast.net
Help for Military Sexual Trauma
http://www.vetwow.com
Thats a damn shame. My heart goes out to her family. Girl was just trying to pay for college and got raped and murdered. All I can say is wow unbelievable.
I am so hurt by what I heard…. I really have nothin to say but that my heart and prayers go out to her family….I really don’t understand why people are the way that they are not why they do the things that they do it makes no sense to me at all…
Deeply heart for the great loss of our young sister in very unjust ways . GOD the almighty will punish those responsible for as alfa and omega-sees and indeed knows all, to her family may GOD protect you and bless you in some other way so that you cherish the good times with her short life with pride.
It was murder and rape. Private security firms are hiding behind the Patriot Act to practice good old fashion racisim in every way. No self inflicted gunshot wound would give you a broken nose and dislocated shoulder and amazingly start a fire.
Answer me this! How can a suicide victim break her own nose? How can a suicide victim try; you hear try to set herself on fire? How can a suicide victim rape herself? This is a military cover up, of a man or men that they don’t want to come to the light, but it will. The only obvious reason they are covering it up is for protection of theirselves and other men in the US military that have committed the same act or something similar and need not for it to be leaked, due to their spotlight in the publics eye, and their families. Its a shame when the people who know about the detailsof her death can’t sleep at night because I know it’s eating them up to take a girl so young and have her body tooken by sick individuals, they took her ody but they damn sure didnt take her soul. God Bless her family she’s never forgotten, and neither are the people who did it. God got something special for ya’ll even if the military didn’t!
And the sad but true part about it is aint a damn thing gone be done about it
My condolences to her family and battle buds, I call myself a news hawk and this is the first time I’ve heard of this heartless tragedy, I wonder how much effort the DOD will exert to bring light to this dark time, but I have to wonder; is this again the cat watching the canary, I’m still listening for a reopening of Ron Brown’s murder, the higher powers staged an elaborate scheme to do away with an upstanding and popular Black star in the political arena.
I served 8 years in the Marines as a Grunt and have seen tings that encompassed the whole range of emotions, but since this operations beginnings “in the name of fighting terror”, Every Armed forces personnel who lost their life or wounded, give me a personal feeling of loss as well, and for the guilty person(s) heartless act of barbarianism, and investigating abomination of justice make my blood boil.
And again to the Family and Friends of My Sister at Arms Lavena Johnson, Stay strong, fight the good fight, and
God Bless and the Lord will keep you in His Light.
Respectfully Submitted
JMK
USMC 84-92
Im very sad to hear about this young lady.Who never got a chance to really live her life.I hope that some good come out of this for her and her family because whats done in the dark will come to the light.Who ever done this to her is pure evil and nothing good will come to them.All she wanted was to make something good out of her life and that was taking from her.GOD BLESS her soul. AND to her family stay strong you will find out what really happen to you’r baby girl.
When I read this story I was absolutely horrified. This was an awful thing to be done to a human being. The army know they are covering things up. But the unjustice never prosper and the murderer will be caught. God bless her soul and her family
as a army soldier, black male and stationed on that same base when i was there, its crazy what comes over people. it should never be that serious to get a nut off, i mean come on. man im truly at a loss for words.
All I know is whom ever had even the slightest bit to do with this will burn in hell with the rest of the demons.
THAT’S F**KED UP! EXCUSE MY LAGUAGE,BUT IT IS. THEY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO JOIN THE ARMY, AND WHEN YOU DO THIS IS THANKS WE GET FOR JOINING.THEY NEED TO GO THROUGH THAT MF AND WIPE EVERYBODY OUT. ITS OUR OWN KIND(AMERICAN)THAT DID THIS. THEM HORNY,DISEASE INFESTED MEN OVER THERE DID THIS TO HER CAUSE SHE DID WANT TO GIVE UP HER GOODIES. SOMEBODY NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS. THATS SOME BS!
definite cover up!!! sickening
wow, this story is heartbreaking. my prayers go out to her family. i really hope they find justice.
damn….wtf…damn shame.
come on!!! its a obvious cover up! Her pops said someone tried to set her on fire!?!?!? and she had a broken nose?!?!?
now they disrespect her further saying she killed herself.
I feel that who ever done this horrible crime to LaVena should be caught and never see the light of day ever again.And for the United States Army they did not do the job that they were supposed to have done,The case should be reopened.
I REALLY PRAY THAT THE LORD WILL PLACE HIS GRACIOUS HANDS ON THIS FAMILY,AND GIVE THEM THE STRENGTH TO LIVE LIFE AGAIN,AND BE PATENT TO KNOW THIS BASTARD WILL BE FOUND.MAY GOD BLESS THIS FAMILY ABUNDTLY…
…Have you heard of her? The question is did we forget her? This case was put out in the open one moment then just a memory the next. “WE” can’t let things of this magnitude slide. If “WE” don’t take care of our own who will? Clearly not the government. Something has to be done. Pass the topic of this issue within your community, and I too agree with THEONE235; military is no place for “US”.
I WENT TO HIGHSCHOOL WIT HER AND MET HER FATHER WHO IS A ASSET TO THE COMMUNITY IN STL AND I THINK ITS JUS SHOWS WHAT CHANGE NEEDS TO OCCUR THROUGHOUT THE NATION… ANDI WONDER IF THEY WILL TRY TO LOOK INTO IT FURTHER NOW THAT OBAMA IS IN OFFICE AND ALOT OF THINGS HAVE CHANGED AS FAR AS PEOPLE IN POWER
She is a beautiful woman. It is shameful that this has happened. I have a close relative who just shared with us that she was raped while in the military. This is MANY years later. Some victims of rape may think that if it was something that didn’t do, say or feel, that it’s their fault. Whether you went on a date or allowed this person in your home, rape is wrong and it’s wounds spread far past years or relationships. It is just one person exerting control of another that they don’t have in their own sorry lives. My prayers are with the Johnson family and all rape and abused women.
See me forum’ing’ on BP groups SingleParentBlackFamilies and Arize Womanonline and Bulletins.
Why defend a country that will treat you worse than the enemy will? Thats why I stayed my black @$$ out of any branch of the military. But I do applaud those who are in active service.
For the people saying that the military is no place for “us”….we are just as much a part of this country as any other race….As a future military officer I’m glad to be serving my country…yes what happened to this young lady is tragic but this event is not a stone depiction of what the military is like…