When PFC LaVena Johnson died in Iraq, the Army told her parents she had committed suicide, but the condition of her body told a completely different story. She had bruising on her face, around her nose and mouth, and several loose teeth. The bullet wound looked more like an entrance wound from a small pistol than an exit wound from an M-16. Her gloves had been glued to her hands hiding 3rd degree burns. There was bruising on her body, inconsistent with the story the Army told them, as well as chemical burns to her genitals that suggested an attempt to destroy DNA evidence. Was there an Army cover up surrounding her death?
Mr. Johnson set out to get the written documentation of the crime scene, the autopsy, and the investigation, hoping to find some answers about the inconsistencies. That was 8 years ago. They have filed hundreds of FOI (Freedom of Information) requests that have taken months or years to act on. They have compiled significant evidence that LaVena was, in fact, raped and murdered and the crime scene staged to make it look like a suicide. This is the promotional video done for The Silent Truth by Midtown Films about the Army cover up surrounding her death.
Warning! This video contains graphic photos.
The Johnson’s are not alone, there are other families looking for answers about how their loved ones died. This is from the Midtown Films website:
Is there an army cover up of the rape and murder of women soldiers?
Ninety-four United States military women have died in Iraq or during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).??Of these deaths some twenty occurred under extremely suspicious circumstances; defined by the Army and the Department of Defense as ?non-combat related injuries,? with the additional characterization of ?suicide?.
In spite of significant media attention, including an LA Times article, an?SBC Dateline feature, the documentary, and being the first person featured on Military Families for Justice, the Johnson’s are no closer to finding out what really happened to LaVena.
The U. S. military has come under fire recently for allowing a culture of rape and abuse to continue unabated. Female military members face significant hurdles when reporting a rape including aggressive questioning from the defense attorney’s that would never be allowed in a civilian courtroom. The Invisible War sets out to expose the nearly impossible quest for justice for a military rape victim.
…meet characters who embraced their service with pride and?professionalism, only to have their idealism crushed. Their chilling stories of violent?sexual assault become even more rattling as they seek justice in a Kafkaesque?military legal system. As a courageous few defy victimhood, they face their most?challenging fight yet: penetrating a closed circuit where officers collude, cases are?routinely swept under the rug, and few perpetrators are tried or convicted.
In a time when the military claims they are working to end the rape culture and create a safe working environment for all service members, they need to be aggressively investigating all suspicious deaths. We need to see that they are working to end the Army cover up of crimes against women. Further, until the military can show that they are able to conduct these investigations without bias, the power to needs to be taken out of their hands. Too many of our service members have been killed and their families have no justice. They were willing to sacrifice their lives to keep us safe, they deserve justice in death.
