These figures eclipse American casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same year. At the Dollhouse, he got to know Penny Morales, a dancer and mother of two. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Vanessa Guillen and a number of other soldiers at Fort Hood sparked outrage across the country, leading to an independent review of the command climate and culture on the military post. He died the evening of September 2. The wave of pain went away as suddenly as it had come on but returned again, and again, and again, over the next hour. The story appears in the July/August 2021 issue of Vanity Fair.I enthusiastically recommend this article. Then they tried burning the body. Had one of them stood in for Guillen during roll call? Here are some of the tragic deaths that have plagued the base in recent months: Pvt. "And how well will that look on your resume? Eleven of the deaths remain unresolvedsome legally; others for the victims'. In 2020 alone, 31. It was also an ancient Comanche Native American burial ground, discovered when construction workers unearthed more than 2,200 grave sites in 1998. 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. The brutal murders of four Idaho college students shocked millions. Ever since returning from a deployment to Iraq in February 2019shipped off two months after basic training for a nine-month tourRing had become withdrawn, developed a drinking problem, and had been arrested for drunk driving. Fort Hood - Wikipedia The day after Guillen disappeared, Private Gavin Chambers, 21, died on base. They returned several days later to pour concrete over the remains. The day after Guillen disappeared, Private Gavin Chambers, 21, died on base. It rained that night, and the drive, which should have taken three hours, was slow going. The coming months brought the suicides of Staff Sergeant Richard Harrington, 45, and then Specialist James Green, 23. Fernandes wouldn't share much, nothing about what had caused him to be hospitalized, and said that he was using an insecure base hospital line. This was true of many I met at Fort Hood, including press officer Major Gabriela Thompson, my tour guide on base, who told me she joined to pay off her student loans: "It was my ticket out," she said, echoing other soldiers' sentiments about how the military had rescued them from hardscrabble existences.