Was Gay Soldier Murdered in Afghanistan?

The military has finally, after nine months, announced the results of its probe into the death by gunshot of a gay soldier in Afghanistan last fall. But her family doesn't seem to be satisfied.

The military's handling of the case has been disturbing from the outset, with claims of murder voiced by friends and family due to the fact that the victim was known to be gay and had written home that she had seen some troubling things that might cause her not to survive. I started writing about this last October.

Officials first reported that Ciara Durkin, 30, of Quincy, Mass., who served in the National Guard, had died "in action," then revealed that she was killed in a "noncombat" incident that was being investigated.

Her family was told that she had been killed by a single gunshot near a church. They soon charged that the military had been dragging its feet in giving them more details. They rejected any chance of suicide and suspected friendly fire or murder.

They said she had told them to push for an investigation if anything ever happened to her. She was in a finance unit and may have found some improprieties, according to a story in one newspaper, which also disclosed that her family had notified the military about her concerns about her safety.

An e-mail she had sent friends in June 2007, claimed a fellow soldier had pulled a 9mm gun on her.

The Boston Globe reported that the family wondered if, as a lesbian, she may have been targeted. Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Ted Kennedy pushed for answers.

"She did say to us that she had concerns about things she was seeing when she was over there," her sister, Fiona Canavan, told WGBH-TV in Boston. "She told us if anything happened to her, that we were to investigate it."

Canavan said the family was wondering whether Durkin might have been singled out because she was gay. "Ciara was a lesbian, and that's bound to come out," Canavan said. "It is possible that someone over there found that out, and, you know, maybe they were very homophobic."

The family insisted Durkin was happy, engaged to her lesbian partner, and excited about returning home this past January.

Just two weeks ago, Durkin's friends and family members marched on her behalf in the Boston gay pride parade. Durkin, a former volunteer with the Pride Committee, had been named an honorary Pride marshal.

This week came the military's response at long last.: After a nine-month investigation, investigators concluded Durkin used her Army issue M-16 rifle to shoot herself in the head near a church on the secure Bagram Airbase on Sept. 28, 2007. The question of "why" remained and Durkin's family appears not convinced, or at least still wondering what drove her to it, saying they are "saddened" by the Army's final report.

"We are very upset and saddened by their conclusion," the family said in a statement on their Web site. "We have borne an extraordinary amount of pain over the past nine months, compounded by a protracted and at times ambiguous investigation."

At editorial in her hometown Patriot-Ledger today raises questions about the epidemic of suicides among vets, in the war zones and back home, before concluding: "We can treat the physical injuries received on the battlefields but the hidden wounds can be as potentially debilitating and fatal. Ciara Durkin died while in service to her country. It would be a dishonor and a disservice to her and the hundreds of others like her to treat their deaths as a personal failure rather than a victim of war."

Greg Mitchell's new book includes several chapters on soldier/vet suicides. It is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq. He is editor of Editor & Publisher.

Comments

[Kodachi]

Just for curiosity's sake, does the military have procedures that service members are trained to follow if they believe they've found something that doesn't add up, whether it's financial irregularities or policy violations?

[Turtleluv6]

The Army is lying again to cover their errors and unfortunately a beautiful soul was lost. Rest in peace

[kellygrrrl]

my stomach hurts

[BiscuitBoy]

Isn't this sickening. The young woman writes that if anything happens to her, it's probably because of financial irregularities she's uncovered; something does happen to her-- and the army calls it suicide, when she was happy and engaged to be married. It would be funny if it wasn't pathetic.

If there is any justice in the world, Bush, Cheney, Wolfewitz, Kristol, Perle, etc will someday feel the pain of the Durkin family, and the pain of all the other families who have lost loved ones based on their lies and greed. Same old story-- rich man's war, poor man's fight.

[unitron]

How long before the Army claims she actually died throwing herself between Pat Tillman and the incoming rounds?

[kellygrrrl]

ugh

[Shawn828]

They need to get the full autopsy results and all notes from the investigation. The site isn't classified, no combat details or unit strengths would be exposed, so there is no excuse not to comply fully other than a cover-up. The Armed Services committee needs to climb up the Pentagon's ass right now and not let them hem and haw their way out of giving a full response. This needs to stop right now, along with our female soldiers having to fear being raped by their own countrymen (on that note, as a former Army type myself I say if the man attacks you, shoot 'em.).

[fishsandwichesr2good]

This is a "gay" story invented out of mid-air. There's not a single quote or writing or inclination or statement from the deceased in this story that remotely indicates she thought she was in danger because she was gay. The does not, however, prevent the author from basically claiming she was perhaps killed because she was gay. Weaving this thread through the story was a pathetic attempt to turn this into a civil rights issue with the added benefit of tainting George W's military while they were at it. This is fantasy, not news.

[strifeknot]

You're a repulsive human being.

[Kodachi]

You're aware it's not Bush's military, right?

[charlietuna11]

i can tell you with total certainty, any one who believes any thing coming out of pentagon investigations has to be a moron. like haditha where our servicemen murdered execution style 24 iraqi civilians including infants the military immediately charged several service members with murder and other felonies. after all was said and done, there was a lot more said than done. after much dialogue and bull shit no one was found guilty. big surprise. there was also an insident where a camera man caught live a sgt. shooting in the head a prisoner who was blind folded with his hands tied behind his back. a pentagon investigaion determined that the sgt. shot the prisoner in self defense. these tragedies are what now defines our country in our all volunteer military. my three brothers and i all served in combat in ww 2 and the korean conflict.. i have never seen or heard of anything like whats going on today and i wont even get into the lies in the pat tilley case. and the jessica lynch story she had to refute. i know most service members are good people but if one percent are psycpopatic ,that would mean there are 1500 nut jobs in iraq alone. you do the math its not a good situation.

[awcbuddy8]

Mabye the Haditha marines were exonerated because they were innocent.

[fishsandwichesr2good]

Sorry, that doesn't fit the template. They were murderers and probably rapists and probably are stealing oil right now.

[Shawn828]

Evidence showed a number of the civilians were killed at close range and while unarmed. The laws of warfare pretty clearly determine that to be unlawful killing. When the enemy do it we call them monsters and thugs and cowards. What does that make us?

[desthmoneses]

And maybe the sun is actually a floating orange in the sky.

[VeggieVeal]

They determined she shot herself. Outside a church, in the open. To shoot yourself with a rifle, folks stick the muzzle either in their mouth or under their chin. You can't really do it any other way in a failsafe fashion. And you don't use a gun to do a half-ass job on yourself (you might wind up only paralyzed with the rest of your life to repent). The evidence should have been pretty clear.

Nonetheless, the Don't Ask Don't Tell rule is a sad travesty. I pray this soldier has found peace. She certainly has honor.

[tinarm]

Isn't that what they always say? The soldier took their life, it was an accident or some other type of cover up. The don't ask don't tell policy is stupid, what good does it do? Good soldiers are targeted anyway or thrown out. People need to get over it. People are people, soldiers are soldiers, humans are humans. People who are homophobic has their own insecurities and they take it out on others. Geez, people get over it please.

[Durango]

My money would be on discovery of financial irregularities.

Who knows why an individual committs suicide? But doing it outside doesn't seem plausible on the face of it.

And if she had warned her family?

The Army internal investigators don't exactly have a sterling reputation.

[Dvmx]

yes, the financial 'irregularities'... the corruption she witnessed and for which she was killed. That's the story.