IntelexualMedia

Its A Mystery #5: LaVena Johnson (Patreon)

Published:

2021-07-18 16:01:25

Imported:

2026-06

Tags:

It's A Mystery

Content

16 years ago, this 19-year-old black woman was found dead in Balad, Iraq. Her story has never gotten enough attention for me, so I wanted to explore the case in a way that also discussed the Post-911 Bush Era.

Sources

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2015-07-19/10-years-later-a-soldiers-family-still-grieves-and-questions-the-armys-version-of-her-death

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/03/14/who-are-the-private-contractors-in-iraq-and-afghanistan/

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/08/iraq-afghanistan-contractor-pentagon-obama/495731/

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93493468

https://web.archive.org/web/20081015063957/http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/40956/1/Who-killed-Private-First-Class-LaVena-L-Johnson/Page1.html

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/february132014/lavena-johnson-tk.php

In Shock and Disbelief (Chicago tribune, 2009) https://www.newspapers.com/image/231994992/?terms=lavena%20johnson&match=1

Father Says Soldier Didn’t Kill herself (St. Louis Dispatch, 2008) https://www.newspapers.com/image/152021992/

Soldier’s Death Hit’s Family hard (2005) https://www.newspapers.com/image/151989421/?terms=lavena%20johnson&match=1

Soldiers Death in Iraq Still A Mystery to Parents Sept 2005 https://www.newspapers.com/image/151982730/?terms=lavena%20johnson&match=1

Holiday Cheer Eludes Fallen Soldiers Family https://www.newspapers.com/image/151904555

Florissant soldier’s family lays her to rest among questions about death https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/from-2005-florissant-soldiers-family-lays-her-to-rest-among-questions-about-death/article_644d6bee-a99f-11e0-9604-001a4bcf6878.html

https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/Congressional_Correspondence/11-F-0114_Congressional_Correspondence_Regarding_the_Death_of_PFC_Lavena_Johnson.pdf?ver=2017-05-15-140451-033

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/06/inside-the-rash-of-unexplained-deaths-at-fort-hood

Files

What Happened To LaVena Johnson? | It's A Mystery

On July 19th, 2005, a young Army Private was found dead in a contractor's tent in Iraq. The Department of Defense called it a suicide, but John and Linda Johnson knew better. What did LaVena Johnson's death mean for a war growing in unpopularity? (Pat Tillman, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush, Florrisant Missouri, September 11th, terrorist attacks, Balad, Vanessa Guillen) Love the content? Support for $1/month on https://patreon.com/intelexualmedia Sources, essays, exclusive videos, a podcast, reading lists, and much more are available ON PATREON.