Slain Soldier's Husband Faces Arson Charge

(AP)  The husband of a slain Fort Bragg soldier whose remains were found in a brush fire near Camp Lejeune has been charged with first-degree arson.

John Wimunc is a 23-year-old Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune. His wife is Army 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc, a nurse from Iowa who has been missing since a fire burned through her apartment in Fayetteville.

In an e-mail statement provided to WRAL-TV in Raleigh, Jesse James, the father of Holley Wimunc, said his family had been told by authorities that Wimunc is dead.

Wimunc has been missing since a fire was discovered Thursday at her apartment in Fayetteville.

"It is with profound sadness that our family just received the news from authorities that our beloved daughter Holley is dead," James, of Dubuque, Iowa, said in the statement. "Since last Thursday's shocking news about Holley's burned apartment and her missing person status, our family through the country has nonetheless been holding on to a thin thread of hope that she would be found alive.

"Today, that thread of hope broke as her body was discovered."

District Attorney Dewey Hudson had said Sunday that the remains might have been Wimunc.

"Because of the evidence discovered at the scene, I have strong suspicions that the body found belongs to Holley Wimunc," he said.

The body appeared to have been burned prior to the brush fire, he said.

Division of Forest Resources personnel found the remains when they responded to a fire in the Sneads Ferry area near the southern border of Camp Lejeune late Sunday afternoon.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said the fire appeared to have been set in an effort to cover up the crime.

Also charged with arson is another Marine, 22-year-old Kyle Ryan Alden. Both are being held in the Cumberland County jail and are scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday morning.
.

[jn122736]

I am in the military and this is not a "military thing". All you have to do is open the news paper or turn on the TV and there is violence. It is reported more if a military person is involved.

Compare the amount of crime to the number of people in the military and I know for a fact the precentage of crime commited by military members is very small.

It''''s not the training or the war. It''''s human nature and the last time I checked we all suffered from that no matter what your job may be.

Posted by SASSALIN at 02:56 PM : Jul 14, 2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SASSALIN;

This article and most comments here are about murder, not just any crime.

It would be more relevant if you compared the percentage of this type of murder in the military to the same type of murder by the over 300 million civilians in America. Especially when you consider the fact that, until recently at least, volunteers for the military were screened and limited to those of good moral character.

Most of us commenting here respect our soldiers and are simply expressing our sincere concern for the stress today%u2019s soldiers are under having to face an enemy that for the most part is unrecognizable until AFTER they have attacked.

I can%u2019t imaging a more stressful situation than having to wait until an enemy actually fires at you because you may very well be charged with murder for killing a civilian by mistake if you fire first and happen to be honestly mistaken.

[flreason]

This is the third incident involving military women and their spouses/lovers in less than a year. Is there a copy-cat element? Perhaps a buddy call-in system would be a good idea for the enlisted women so that if the buddies aren''t heard from daily, someone is aware and following up.

[sassalin]

I am in the military and this is not a "military thing". All you have to do is open the news paper or turn on the TV and there is violence. It is reported more if a military person is involved.

Compare the amount of crime to the number of people in the military and I know for a fact the precentage of crime commited by military members is very small.

It''s not the training or the war. It''s human nature and the last time I checked we all suffered from that no matter what your job may be.

[xiola1977]

"The sentiment on this board really reminds me of Vietnam era anti-G.I. sentiment, e-spit if you will."

I argue that we should focus not on the G.I.s as individuals, as it will be perceived, as Cinger7 claims, as "anti-G.I. sentiment." I believe--and hope--that this is not the intention of many of these comments. Instead, the focus of anger and frustration and disgust should be on the U.S. military for training these soldiers this way, for sending them to an unjust occupation, for requiring them to kill civilians, for sending them home with little or no psychosocial support. They are pawns in a much larger game. Tragically, as we continue to see, their pain is too much to handle, which spins the cycle of senseless violence further and further. I implore you: do more than commenting on blogs and internet articles. Actions speak much louder than words. Vote, volunteer, write letters, demand a change. These are human beings and we cannot let the government sacrifice their bodies, minds, and lives any longer.

[xiola1977]

"The sentiment on this board really reminds me of Vietnam era anti-G.I. sentiment, e-spit if you will."

I argue that we should focus not on the G.I.s as individuals, as it will be perceived, as Cinger7 claims, as "anti-G.I. sentiment." I believe--and hope--that this is not the intention of many of these comments. Instead, the focus of anger and frustration and disgust should be on the U.S. military for training these soldiers this way, for sending them to an unjust occupation, for requiring them to kill civilians, for sending them home with little or no psychosocial support. They are pawns in a much larger game. Tragically, as we continue to see, their pain is too much to handle, which spins the cycle of senseless violence further and further. I implore you: do more than commenting on blogs and internet articles. Actions speak much louder than words. Vote, volunteer, write letters, demand a change. These are human beings and we cannot let the government sacrifice their bodies, minds, and lives any longer.

[xiola1977]

"The sentiment on this board really reminds me of Vietnam era anti-G.I. sentiment, e-spit if you will."

I argue that we should focus not on the G.I.s as individuals, as it will be perceived, as Cinger7 claims, as "anti-G.I. sentiment." I believe--and hope--that this is not the intention of many of these comments. Instead, the focus of anger and frustration and disgust should be on the U.S. military for training these soldiers this way, for sending them to an unjust occupation, for requiring them to kill civilians, for sending them home with little or no psychosocial support. They are pawns in a much larger game. Tragically, as we continue to see, their pain is too much to handle, which spins the cycle of senseless violence further and further. I implore you: do more than commenting on blogs and internet articles. Actions speak much louder than words. Vote, volunteer, write letters, demand a change. These are human beings and we cannot let the government sacrifice their bodies, minds, and lives any longer.

[xiola1977]

"The sentiment on this board really reminds me of Vietnam era anti-G.I. sentiment, e-spit if you will."

I argue that we should focus not on the G.I.s as individuals, as it will be perceived, as Cinger7 claims, as "anti-G.I. sentiment." I believe--and hope--that this is not the intention of many of these comments. Instead, the focus of anger and frustration and disgust should be on the U.S. military for training these soldiers this way, for sending them to an unjust occupation, for requiring them to kill civilians, for sending them home with little or no psychosocial support. They are pawns in a much larger game. Tragically, as we continue to see, their pain is too much to handle, which spins the cycle of senseless violence further and further. I implore you: do more than commenting on blogs and internet articles. Actions speak much louder than words. Vote, volunteer, write letters, demand a change. These are human beings and we cannot let the government sacrifice their bodies, minds, and lives any longer.

[cinger7]

I don''t buy that these atrocities happen in military families any more than in civilian.

The sentiment on this board really reminds me of Vietnam era anti-G.I. sentiment, e-spit if you will.

[cinger7]

I don''t buy that these atrocities happen in military families any more than in civilian.

The sentiment on this board really reminds me of Vietnam era anti-G.I. sentiment, e-spit if you will.

[neenga]

These guys must think the lawless conditions of war can continue here in the US of A. Don''t like it/her/him? Shoot first, think later. And we have many more of these messed-up guys coming home to wreak havoc on their families, don''t we?