This morning I shared a Legacy link to post a message to
honor Army Private First Class LaVena L. Johnson.
Needing to DO MORE to express to this family the sorrow of so
many in the loss of their daughter, I am putting together a
condolence book.
From a online news source I was able to locate the pastor's name
who spoke at the memorial service for LaVena.
I called the Church in Missouri and spoke to the pastor's
wife, Angela Sanders.
She told me that the family is deeply grieving the loss
of their darling daughter.
Please send me your messages of condolence that I can share
with this family to ease their pain.
Word File Documents would be great, but email messages
are very much appreciated also.
A part of me is so outraged that I am only hearing of
LaVena's death just now, after her passing in July of this year.
I know that I can channel that emotion into something good
by creating this book to send to her family.
Thank you kindly,
Debra Estep - Twinsburg Ohio
Proud Air Force Mom
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Lavena Johnson is shown in her 2004
Hazlewood Central High School graduation photo
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July 20, 2005
DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Lavena L. Johnson, 19, of Florissant, Mo., died July 19 in Balad, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries. Johnson was assigned to the Army's 129th Corps Support Battalion, Fort Campbell, Ky.
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Foul Play is Suspected in Solider’s Death
by Daniel R. Brown
Special to the NNPA from the St. Louis America
ST. LOUIS (NNPA) – ''The military came to my door on July 19th at 7:30 in the morning. The moment my wife looked out the window and she said ‘John, it's a soldier standing on the porch,' I knew it was bad news,'' recounted John Johnson, father of Private LaVena Johnson, 19, of Florissant, Mo. who died recently near Balad, Iraq.
She was the first female soldier from Missouri to die while serving in the current war in Iraq.
''It came totally unexpected, because she had just talked to her mother on the phone on Sunday for about an hour,'' Johnson said.
''They talked just about everything - about how crazy things were, the weather, the big spiders and the large scorpions. They just laughed and had a good time the way they always do.''
Despite the personal visit that LaVena's family received, which is standard military protocol for families of soldiers who die in the line of duty, they have many unanswered questions concerning her death, which is under investigation.
''This is what they said: ‘Your daughter died this morning of a self-inflicted wound,' '' Johnson recounted.
''I said, ‘Self-inflicted? Are you saying that my daughter shot herself?' He said, ‘No, sir, but it's being investigated.'''
After LaVena's remains were returned to the family two weeks ago, the Johnsons did some disturbing and shattering investigations of their own.
''I am going to tell you for a fact. We looked at her body and we saw some things,'' Johnson said.
''I don't want to say too much right now, but I am going to say this: I think that the investigation is a criminal investigation, and I think that there is foul play.''
At Hazelwood Central High School, from which she graduated in 2004, LaVena was known as a topnotch student.
Despite her school's large size, she stood out for her exceptional academic and extra-curricular performances. That's why it was a shock to many when during her junior year she announced her plans to join the U.S. Army following her graduation.
''It's like a conversation that I had yesterday. She said that she was going in the Army, and I was shocked because I just knew that she was going to go on to school,'' said Frank Smith, Central's principal.
''I knew her three brothers, because her three brothers graduated from Central, and I know that they went on to college and different things. I was wondering why she wouldn't pursue that.''
Her father, who served in the military for three years, provided some insight into how she reached her decision.
''She talked to me about the benefits of me going, because I went from high school to the Army. When I got ready to go to college, it did pay for some of it. When I got my first house, I didn't have to make a down payment because I was a veteran,'' Johnson said.
''So, she decided it would be a good idea for her to go into the military first, because she wanted to travel and she wanted to earn her own money to go to college. We told her that we could come up with the money to send her to school, but she said, ‘No, I want to do this on my own.'''
Based on her performance on a military aptitude test, LaVena was initially assigned to work as a chaplain's assistant. But, once the Army discovered that she did not have a driver's license, she was reassigned to weapons supply.
''The chaplain's assistant position would have been great, because she is a good Christian woman,'' Johnson said. ''That would have been perfect.''
A member of the 129th Corps Support Battalion based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, LaVena arrived in Iraq in April 2005, just four months ago. The Johnsons, a close family of seven, remained in regular contact with LaVena while she was there.
''She talked on the phone to my wife just about every day. She emailed her sister, and they communicated on the computer often. And then, in between the two of them, I wrote her,'' Johnson said.
LaVena will be remembered by all who knew her for her big smile and her even bigger heart. ''The point that really stands out is that, out of 2,700 kids at the school, when she walked up she had a smile on her face,'' Smith, her former principal, said.
''She was that type of child that made an impact on everyone that she came in close contact with. She was just a great child. We all were at a loss for words when we got the word that she had passed away in Iraq.''
