That most soldiers enlist when they are still teenagers, their yet-unformed minds taught to kill. American military bases, once established, seldom shutter, and Fort Hood, which started operating during World War II, has remained open for business, its 218,000 acres spreading across two counties in central Texas near an otherwise unremarkable town called Killeen. His killers were never looked for properly and thus never found. Schuettes body was returned to his family wrapped like a mummy. Later that year, Private Dakota Lee Stump left his barracks to report for work less than a mile away but never arrived for formation. If he killed himself, dont they want to know why?. You can find Osama bin Laden, but you cant find a soldier that went missing on your own base? Guillens youngest sister, Lupe, says. If not, what explained the false accounting? 20, 2021 FORT HOOD, Texas The death of Spc. Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home 1615 South Fort Hood Road, Killeen (254) 634-2638 . Sgt. Rodriguez disputes this claim. Their minds both turned to Vanessa, whose hourly texts to family members had gone silent. Army investigating after soldier, 26, found dead in latest in string of unexplained deaths at Fort Hood barracks Fort Hood officials have not released the cause of death for Maxwell. Thirteen killed themselves. Also that year, Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach was raped by her superior, which she reported. The base was named after John Bell Hood, a Confederate general from a family that enslaved people in Kentucky, who made his name by breaking a Union line at Elthams Landing in Virginia and who, by todays standards, likely suffered from PTSD. Soon after, the Temple police, who led the investigation, ruled Fernandes's death a suicide. The death was ruled a suicide despite the fact that the blanket stuffed around the window to hold the pipe in place had been doused in Schuettes own blood, and Schuette was found with nine stab wounds across his body, including his forearm and his left hand. (Fort Hood refused all official interview requests for this story, citing ongoing investigations. As publication approached, it stopped responding to emails pertaining to both specific questions about individual cases as well as broader queries about the base.). But the only among the victims may be the institution that them all to. Rosecrans, shot four times, was found three miles from his vehicle. September 10, 2020. They married in May 2017, and he took her name with hyphenation. October 13, 2021 04:48 PM. Site Gregory Wedel-Morales' remains were found in Killeen, Texas. Morta's death comes amid intense scrutiny of Fort Hood in recent weeks. The Army said Friday, April 30, 2021, that it has taken disciplinary action against 21 officers and non-commissioned officers at Fort Hood, Texas, in connection with death last year of Spc.. He had been happy enough there that in February he reenlisted for an additional four years. Rosecrans, shot four times, was found three miles from his vehicle. But when Kim called the police, they dismissed her, telling Kim that her son probably just took off. (Killeen Police stated they have no knowledge of anyone declining to investigate.) At first, Aguilar told investigators, they cut her up using a machete. The Montreal Mafia Murders: Blood, Gore, Cannolis, and Hockey Bags, Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 2. "He seemed weird," Rodriguez said. He ultimately murdered her when she was eight months pregnant, then set her on fire before fleeing to Mexico. That psychological trauma among veterans vastly exceeds physical wounds. The numbers are distressing. One of the first times she stepped onto the base, a rosary she had been carrying in the palm of her hand tore apart, its beads scattering over the concrete ground. The numbers are distressing. On August 25, a rail worker in Temple, Texas, 26 miles east of Fort Hood, saw a body hanging from a tree across from a burned-out warehouse near the tracks. Hazel Buck Blackwell, whose family lost their farm, homestead, barns, orchards, and adjoining land when the base took over, said the closest thing might be the unexpected death of someone you loved very much. It was a heartrending, searing experience, central Texas historian GraDelle Duncan said, leaving lifetime marks on all, and actually killing some from the psychic devastation that followed. That gun safety is a distant concern in a community where the Second Amendment tops the Maslow charts. A U.S. Army soldier, Spc. Jef Rouner. The base might have continued to devour its soldiers had it not been for a missing soldier's family whose rage, love, and devotion would attract the attention of the media, celebrities, and later the White House, sparking congressional and military investigations. She has become that complicated, indelible thing: a hero. A sergeant from Guillens division called it mandatory fun days. The additional scrutinythe congressional delegation visit, press toursmeant that soldiers had to work harder. But the only among the victims may be the institution that them all to kill. I asked him directly if he wasnt willing to speak because of position and he signaled yes, and he said, Id rather tell you in person. , Several days later, Rodriguez learned that Casteel had been committed to a hospital on base. The author knocks on the doors bearing the darkest symbols, behind which lie guns, ammo, antisemitism, antiabortion dogmaand a belief in the coming civil war. On August 13, Staff Sergeant Bradley Moore died during a land navigation exercise on the base. Courtesy | Margie Taylor Spc.. They married in May 2017, and he took her name with hyphenation. The Armys own investigation found major flaws at Fort Hood, leading to the firing or suspending of 14 officials. But with each encounter, it was becoming clear that the military had not failed its soldiers at all. Later Fort Hood confirmed it was for violating quarantine. For nothing.. How had he managed to escapeand where had he gotten his gun? Highway renamed & dedicated to late Fort Hood soldier . "She doesn't belong to the Army anymore," AnaLuisa Tapia, a local organizer, told me. There had been a few people, then it was a group run of 11. IMCOM is not responsible for the content of links outside home.army.mil. That September, Wedel-Morales, who was from rural Oklahoma, was due to be honorably discharged from the military. At the Dollhouse, he got to know Penny Morales, a dancer and mother of two. The area, east of Killeen, was built on 109,000 acres of high bluffs, ridges, sharp slopes, and mesa-like hills covered with mesquite and chaparral. (Fort Hood) A soldier in the 1st Cavalry Division was found dead Saturday in his company area, according to a statement from. The area, east of Killeen, was built on 109,000 acres of high bluffs, ridges, sharp slopes, and mesa-like hills covered with mesquite and chaparral. The figures coming out of the deaths at Fort Hood are depressing, as reported in Vanity Fair. The suicides, which reportedly jumped by as much as 20 percent across the military last year, work out to a rate of one soldier a month. ARMY-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION STATUS. Schuette's body was returned to his family "wrapped like a mummy." Last December, an internal investigation found that Fort Hoods culture, environment, and leadership resulted in women feeling vulnerable and preyed upon, with no reliable recourse for their very real sense of duress. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. The rolling, semi-arid terrain is ideal for multifaceted training and testing of military units and troops. (On July 14,2020, a federal grand injury indicted Aguilar on one count of conspiracy and two counts of tampering with evidence. Spc. A sergeant from Guillen's division called it "mandatory fun days." March 1, 2023 (94 years old) View obituary. Most of the groups were aboveboard, even as they were ruled by certain strictures for meeting attendance, dress code, and how to appropriately signal respect. On May 11, however, Fernandes reported to Fort Hood "abusive sexual contact" from a staff sergeant, whom he alleged groped him in a supply room, according to the redacted military investigation report. And yet: The data is not really out of the ordinary for U.S. military bases. In 2007, also in Iraq, Specialist Kamisha Block's death was ruled an accident by a single shot of friendly fire before the family received the body and saw that she had five gunshot wounds, including one to the head. It rained that night, and the drive, which should have taken three hours, was slow going. On May 19, military investigators went through Robinson's phone and learned that he had called his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, multiple times on the night of April 22, as late as 3:30 a.m., from a town 20 miles east of Fort Hooddespite his claim he had been with Aguilar that night. On May 19, military investigators went through Robinsons phone and learned that he had called his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, multiple times on the night of April 22, as late as 3:30 a.m., from a town 20 miles east of Fort Hooddespite his claim he had been with Aguilar that night. FORT HOOD, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - U.S. Army officials at Fort Hood have identified the soldier who was found dead Saturday, Oct. 13 behind his company barracks. The sense of dehumanizing alienation soldiers complained about was not a symptom of a malfunctioning system, it was its original design. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. During the day, though, it was still hot enough that if you dropped a beer bottle, the contents appeared to dry on contact. I felt a bad vibe there, Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. (His sons alleged killer is in custody awaiting trial.) Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. The military, Rodriguez said, had known about this but had refused to treat him. Not long after Fort Hood opened, soldiers began bringing home souvenirs in the form of war brides. He refused to send a selfie or get on a video chat and began using a strange and unfamiliar speech pattern. Martinez joined the Army in April 2018 as a cannoneer, according to base officials. "And how well will that look on your resume? Many complained specifically of being made to cut grass to ready for such official visits. "I guess my point is," Rodriguez told me, "if everything was 'fine,' the way Fort Hood officials would lead us to believe, then why would this soldier, out of character, leave base without permission, and [why] did he not feel comfortable enough to call his captain or anyone on that base once he was arrested for speeding? He joined the U.S. Army in March of 2017 as a combat engineer and had been assigned to .