PFC. LaVena Lynn Johnson born on July 27, 1985 in St. Louis MO. In 2004, she graduated Hazelwood
Central High School as an Honor Roll Student.
LaVena had high hopes of going to College but she realized her parents would have to pay for she
and her sister to attend college at the same time. So, she decided to put college on hold and enlist
in the U.S. Army which her parents objected to.
LaVena was assigned to the 129 Corp Support Battalion and deployed to service a tour in Balad Iraq,
in May of 2005. On July 19, 2005, eight weeks after being deployed to Iraq, she was mysteriously
murdered at the age of 19, eight days shy of her twentieth birthday.
LaVena was the first woman soldier and the first Black woman soldier to die while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.She was said to have committed suicide from a self-inflicted gun shot to the head with a M-16 rifle.
Despite the countless evidence; 2 autopsy's, documentary (The Silent Truth), and numerous
investigations disputing the Military's claims, the truth of her death has yet to be acknowledged
and the case remains closed.
The ACT Now! Petition was written to force the reinvestigation into LaVena's death and the deaths of
other military women classified suspiciously classified as "Non-combat" as well as, refocus the Media's
attention to this horrific case of injustice and abuse.
Sign Petition Callling For Congressional Hearing Into LaVena's Death
Whether men or women, when a person is a MST victim, in combat areas, one knows for certain it is someone you trust. The documentary "Soldiers and Horse Sense" points out that the lack of trust comes homes and further harms the veterans. The giving of pills is a further injustice. One young man told me it made him just sit in a chair and stare, and guess what, remember the worst things, over and over, and no hope of getting out of that chair and finding hope for a better life until a family member took over and said, time to get out of that chair, off those meds, and leave the bad behind. It was not easy. It won't be easy, but with each other, and with programs that DO help, you can make it back, to peace of mind, body and soul, and move ahead to new dreams for yourelf.
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