One of Lew’s comrades was charged with cruelty and maltreatment, the newspaper reported.
The Army’s efforts to reduce suicides include a monthly meeting in which Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the service’s vice chief of staff, speaks with officials from all of the Army’s major bases to review cases. But there has been no sea change in the suicide rate.
Speaking through a family friend acting as an interpreter, the mother of Danny Chen talks about how she feels after news broke that the Army has charged 8 soldiers in connection with her son's death.
Eight U.S. soldiers have been charged in the death of Danny Chen, a Chinese-American who apparently shot himself in Afghanistan after being subjected to what a community activist said were assaults and ethnic taunts from his comrades. (Dec. 21)
Faces of the Fallen
Through the end of November, the Army reported 154 possible suicides of active-duty service members this year, slightly ahead of last year’s pace; 159 active-duty soldiers took their own lives in 2010. The number of suicides in the Army Reserve and National Guard has fallen significantly this year.
OuYang, the president of the New York chapter of OCA, an Asian American advocacy group, said that the case “could have easily been swept under the rug” had OCA not pushed the Pentagon to act. Three weeks after Chen was found dead, she sent a letter to the secretary of the Army asking for a meeting to discuss the case as well as concerns that Asian American soldiers face discrimination from comrades.
“The community, elected officials and the media demanded the truth,” she said. “That all played an important role in obtaining justice in this case.”
Chen and the eight defendants were assigned to C Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Sgt. 1st Class Alan G. Davis, a military spokesman, said the accused have been transferred from their post in Kandahar to a different military base and relieved of their official duties. He said they are under “increased supervision” but are not being detained. Davis said they will probably be prosecuted in Afghanistan.
Van Bockel, Halcomb, Hurst, Curtis and Offutt were charged with involuntary manslaughter, assault consummated by battery, negligent homicide and reckless endangerment, according to the statement by the NATO command.
Schwartz, the only officer among the defendants, was charged with dereliction of duty. Dugas was charged with dereliction of duty and making a false statement. Carden was charged with assault and maltreatment.
Chen’s death and the reports that he had been mistreated incensed Asian American activists in New York, who called on the military to carry out a swift investigation. Hundreds attended a vigil in Manhattan last week to demand answers.
OuYang said Chen, who was born in the United States, had been subjected to ethnic slurs and physical abuse by superiors shortly before he died. Referring to an account that military officials provided to the Chen family, she said the physical abuse left marks on his back. Fellow soldiers once forced Chen out of bed and dragged him across the floor to punish him for failing to turn off a water heater, OuYang said. The alleged mistreatment was reported by the New York Times on Oct. 30.
Chen, the son of immigrants who live in New York’s Chinatown and speak little English, indicated to his parents that he was being bullied but also told them that such treatment was “to be expected,” the Times report said.
OuYang said Chen’s diaries and e-mails show a pattern of harassment that began at Fort Benning, Ga., during basic training this year. “He was taunted several days,” she said. “Some of it was ignorance, some of it was outright taunting.”
Reached Wednesday afternoon by phone, Chen’s mother said: “We are always missing our son. That’s what’s on our minds.”
Davenport reported from Washington. Staff researcher Jennifer Jenkins and staff writers Greg Jaffe, Debbi Wilgoren and Doris Truong contributed to this report.
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