8 U.S. troops charged in fellow soldier's death
NEW YORK - Eight U.S. soldiers have been charged in the death of a fellow GI, 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.
Pvt. Danny Chen, a 19-year-old from New York's Chinatown neighborhood, was found in a guard tower in Kandahar province Oct. 3 with what the Army said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In a statement, the Army said Wednesday that eight soldiers in his company were charged with crimes ranging from dereliction of duty to negligent homicide and manslaughter.
Military officials gave no details on exactly what role the soldiers are alleged to have played in Chen's death. But a community activist raised the possibility that their bullying drove him to suicide.
Chen's fellow soldiers dragged him across the floor, threw stones at the back of his head, forced him to hold liquid in his mouth while upside down as part of an apparent hazing, and called him "Jackie Chen" in a mocking accent in a reference to the action star Jackie Chan, according to Elizabeth OuYang, president of the New York chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans.
Su Zhen Chen, mother of Pvt. Danny Chen, weeps while speaking during a news conference in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011.
/ AP Photo/Seth WenigThe details of his alleged hazing came from Facebook and email messages, discussions with cousins and a few pages of Chen's journal released by the Army, OuYang said at a Chinatown news conference.
"Whether suicide or homicide, those responsible for mistreating Danny are responsible for his death," she said.
Chen's relatives said they were encouraged by the charges.
"We realize that Danny will never return, but it gives us some hope," said Yen Tao Chen, his father, speaking through a translator. Chen's parents are immigrants from China.
Community activists said the Army still has not fully explained the circumstances of Chen's death. They are meeting with Pentagon officials Jan. 4.
"We need to know the whole truth," Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., said. She added: "Racial discrimination and intolerance have no place in today's military."
At the time of his death, Chen's mother told WCBS' Cindy Hsu through a translator that her son had always dreamed of serving in the military. He wanted to serve in the military and then join the NYPD. He enlisted in the Army early this year despite his family's objections - Danny was their only son, and they were concerned about him.
Once serving abroad, things seemed to go horribly wrong. The family was told Chen was "harassed and beaten" by fellow soldiers. Chen's parents became concerned it might've been a racial issue.
"[Chen's parents] asked the question, specifically, 'Are you discriminated against because you're Chinese or whatever.' Danny said 'I would rather not answer that question,'" the translator told Hsu.
The Army announced earlier it is investigating Chen's death.
Chen was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
The Army identified the soldiers charged as 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas, Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel, Sgt. Adam M. Holcomb, Sgt. Jeffrey T. Hurst, Spc. Thomas P. Curtis, Spc. Ryan J. Offutt and Sgt. Travis F. Carden. Their hometowns were not released.
VanBockel, Holcomb, Hurst, Curtis and Offutt were charged with the most serious offenses, including involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, and assault and battery.
Schwartz, the only officer among the accused, was charged with dereliction of duty.
The soldiers are still in Afghanistan but have been assigned to a different base, removed from their duty positions and placed under closer supervision, the military said.
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WRONG!!!! Nees to read, "ANY discrimination and intolerance have no place in today's military."
And of course there are some types of discrimination that should be allowed in the military. People who are fat and out of shape should not be allowed to serve at the front lines. People who are not holding their own weight should be singled out so they try harder. Obviously no one should be singled out to the extent of abuse, but people's lives are on the line. If you can't be relied upon to protect your comrades in arms you should not be there in the first place.
Don't be so hyperbolic. Generalizing all discrimination to be bad is just ignorant
And not one soldier reported this to anyone??? They all should be either arrested, kicked out the military or both....
Obviously this statement is wrong. Racial discrimination and intolerance DO have a place in today's military and this story is proof of it!
I bet if you go behind closed doors you'll hear a lot of the leaders in the military making racist comments and probably directly to Chinese soldiers. Not only that, you'll hear other people laughing along.
This is the American spirit. The spirit of bullying and teasing that happens to be because of race in this case. It shows you that this must be something that isn't just an isolated case because there were 8 people involved. This is just one case that ended in tradegy. There are a lot of American people that love to tease and bully people and that's at least part of the reason why this happened. That's also why it hasn't been stopped by our legal system. Too many people, even in the legal system like to do it. If you get rid of people that are biased towards these type of actions in our legal system, then maybe we can put a stop to it.
As a matter of fact, in the legal system, they call it male on male horseplay when it occurs in the workplace. And they don't deem it as wrong. If these actions would have happened in a work place, the courts probably would say that they don't make a discrimination lawsuit. So obviously they want to allow this kind of stuff.
I say we stop it and therefore stop the grief of parents who lose children like in this case. But most Americans don't care about others. When someone is teasing someone, other people join in usually in America. That's the American spirit. It's not brave, it's stupid, just like the soldiers that were doing this are.