Danny Chen (; May 26, 1992 – October 3, 2011) was an American
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
soldier who served during the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
. His suicide resulted in a military investigation and charges against eight US soldiers, ultimately with four being court martialed.
The investigation found that Chen had been "racially harassed, teased, bullied, and mercilessly beaten" by his fellow soldiers before he committed suicide on October 3, 2011.
Early life
Chen was born and raised in
Chinatown,
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, to parents who had immigrated from
Sunning,
Canton Province,
South China.
His father worked as a chef, his mother worked as a seamstress.
Chen attended P.S. 130 M, graduated from
Pace University High School
Pace University High School, also known as "Pace High School," is a public high school located in the New York City borough of Manhattan, affiliated with Pace University.
School history
Established by Pace University and the New York City Depart ...
in Manhattan in 2010, and received a full scholarship offer to
Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates unde ...
,
City University of New York in Manhattan. However, Chen had other ambitions and joined the army in January 2011. He planned after his military service to return to New York City to serve with the
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
.
Career
After completing basic training at
Fort Benning, Georgia
Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
, in April 2011,
Pvt. Chen was assigned to C Company, 3rd Battalion,
21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team,
25th Infantry Division, which is based in
Fort Wainwright
Fort Wainwright is a United States Army installation in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fort Wainwright is part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the coterminous Fairbanks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The installation is managed by U.S. Army Garrison ...
, Alaska.
In August, he was deployed with his unit to
Kandahar Province
Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzga ...
in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
Death at base
Chen was found dead from a
self-inflicted gunshot wound in his living quarters at the base in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.
The official investigation revealed that Private Chen “had been subjected to physical abuse and ethnic slurs, taunts, and insults by superiors, who one night dragged him out of bed and across the floor like a ragdoll when he failed to turn off a water heater after showering.” The military did not provide much information to the parents while they were conducting their investigation.
Military investigators found that Chen was “the target of ethnic slurs, taunts, and insults, and endured physical attacks at the hands of his fellow soldiers before his death”.
Chen was found to have been
physically and
verbally mistreated and abused by his superiors, who appeared to single him out for being Chinese-American. This abuse and bullying occurred on a daily basis for six weeks before his death.
As the first and only American soldier with Chinese ancestry in the unit, he was singled out, endured taunts including racial slurs and insults such as "gook
Gook ( or ) is a derogatory term for people of East and Southeast Asian descent. Its origin is unclear, but it may have originated among U.S. Marines during the Philippine–American War (1899–1902) and Korean War. Historically, U.S. military p ...
", " chink", "Jackie Chan
Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...
", "Soy Sauce", and "dragon lady
Dragon Lady is usually a stereotype of certain East Asian and occasionally South Asian and/or Southeast Asian women as strong, deceitful, domineering, mysterious, and often sexually alluring. Inspired by the characters played by actress Anna Ma ...
"; assigned excessive guard duty to the point of exhaustion, made to do push-ups while holding water in his mouth, and put in a "simulated sitting position" and mercilessly kicked by other soldiers using their knees, among other abuses, bullying, or violent tactics.
He was allegedly pelted with rocks and stones by fellow soldiers and forced to crawl across gravel shortly before his death. On September 27, 2011, a sergeant dragged Chen out of bed and over of gravel, leaving visible bruises and cuts on Chen's back. Although the incident was reported to Chen's platoon sergeant and squad leader, it was not reported to superior officers. On October 3, 2011, the day he died, other soldiers forced him to crawl on gravel for over while carrying equipment, as his comrades “mercilessly threw rocks and stones at him without showing any remorse”.
Burial
Chen received a military funeral at a cemetery in Valhalla, New York
Valhalla is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The name was in ...
, on October 13, 2011.
Investigation and legal consequences
On December 21, 2011, the US Army charged eight soldiers with various crimes relating to Chen's death:
* 1st Lt. DJ Schwartz
* Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas
* Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel
* Sgt. Travis F. Carden
* Sgt. Adam M. Holcomb
* Sgt. Jeffrey T. Hurst
* Spc. Thomas P. Curtis
* Spc. Ryan J. Offutt
All the defendants belonged to C Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. They faced various charges, including assault, hate crime, name calling
Name-calling is a form of argument in which insulting or demeaning labels are directed at an individual or group. This phenomenon is studied by a variety of academic disciplines such as anthropology, child psychology, and political science. It is ...
, bullying, dereliction of duty
Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10, Section 892, Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties (or follow a given o ...
, involuntary manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
, maltreatment, making false statements, negligent homicide
Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against a person who, through criminal negligence, allows another person to die.
Examples include the crash of Aeroperu Flight 603 near Lima, Peru. The accident was caused by a piece of duct tape ...
, and reckless endangerment
Endangerment is a type of crime involving conduct that is wrongful and reckless or wanton, and likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm to another person. There are several kinds of endangerment, each of which is a criminal act that can ...
.
Following a series of Article 32 hearing
An Article 32 hearing is a proceeding under the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice, similar to that of a preliminary hearing in civilian law. Its name is derived from UCMJ section VII ("Trial Procedure") Articl32(10 U.S.C. § 832), ...
s on March 5, 2012, investigators dropped the most serious charge, involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Four of the eight soldiers were recommended for court-martial on the remaining charges, such as negligent homicide, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Subsequent trials were held at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Platoon Leader
D Schwartz of Maryland, a 2009 graduate of West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
, was Chen's platoon leader and a First Lieutenant. Following a pretrial hearing at Kandahar Air Field
Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city Ka ...
, he was recommended for court-martial on February 12, 2012. He faced eight counts of dereliction of duty, including failure to promote "a climate in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect, regardless of race" and "to prevent his subordinates from maltreating and engaging in racially abusive language." Furthermore, he stood "accused of failing to report two soldiers for consuming alcohol in violation of military rules and failing to report one of those soldiers for 'recklessly' detonating a hand grenade near their base."
Schwartz reached a plea deal with prosecutors in December 2012, after they consulted with Chen's parents about the issues. Schwartz did not face trial and charges against him were dropped, but he was dismissed from the Army following a nonpublic Article 15 proceeding. Specifics regarding his punishment were not disclosed.
Courts-Martial
Adam Holcomb
In July 2012, the court-martial started of 30-year-old Sgt. Adam Michael Holcomb of Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...
, among the four charged in Chen's death. He faced charges including negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, communicating a threat, assault, maltreatment of a subordinate, dereliction of duty, and violating a lawful general regulation, which combined carried a maximum prison sentence of up to 17 years and 9 months. He pleaded not guilty. The trial was conducted at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within C ...
.
Private Degan Berhe testified that Chen had discussed suicide because of being harassed by Holcomb: "He told me to my face, sir, that he wanted to commit suicide because he was mistreated like a dog."
Holcomb was acquitted of being a cause of Chen's death and most of the other charges, but was convicted of assault. He was sentenced to thirty days in jail, demoted by one rank, and fined $1100 in forfeited pay for this offense.
Ryan Offutt
In August 2012, it was reported that Spc. Ryan J. Offutt pleaded guilty to one count of hazing and two specifications of maltreatment. Offutt made a plea deal, resulting in charges of negligent homicide and reckless endangerment being dropped. Offutt had called Chen "chink," "gook," "fortune cookie," "squint eye", and "egg roll." He had kicked Chen like a dog and mercilessly thrown rocks at him. He was sentenced to six months in prison. On appeal, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals
In the United States military, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) is an appellate court that reviews certain court martial convictions of Army personnel.
Jurisdiction
In the United States, courts-martial are conducted under the Uniform C ...
dismissed the six-month sentence and approved punishment only of reducing him in rank to E-1 and discharging him with a Bad Conduct Discharge.
Travis Carden
In October 2012, it was reported that Spc. Travis Carden was sentenced to ten months in prison, demoted to private and received a Bad-Conduct Discharge, after pleading guilty to charges which included attempting to impede an investigation, striking and pushing another soldier, and negligently discharging a pistol in a government van during the altercation. Carden had previously been found guilty of ordering Chen to perform demeaning physical tasks, and calling him racially disparaging names.
Andrew J. VanBockel
In Afghanistan, VanBockel was Chen's squad leader at Combat Outpost Palace. In November 2012, a military jury convicted Staff Sgt. VanBockel of hazing, dereliction of duty and maltreatment of a subordinate. He was demoted two ranks, reprimanded and forced to perform 60 days of hard labor, of which 45 days were credited due to pre-trial confinement.
Aftermath
The military has been criticized for other deaths of young men associated with hazing, and has conducted courts-martial of fellow military men, including non-coms and officers, who have been seen as permitting or encouraging abusive hazing, against the military's official policies. After the trials associated with Chen's death, the Army said it was working "to re-examine its policies against hazing and, officials said, double its efforts to eradicate the practice from its ranks."
'' An American Soldier'', an opera based on Chen's suicide and the subsequent courts-martial was premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2014. A revised expanded version had its world premiere in 2018 at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is an American summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by th ...
festival.[Cooper, Michael (June 1, 2018)]
"A Soldier Died After Racist Hazing. Now His Story Is an Opera"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
[Midgette, Anne (June 15, 2014)]
''The Washington Post''. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
Honors
A stretch of Elizabeth Street in Chinatown, Manhattan is now also designated as Private Danny Chen Way. It was dedicated on Memorial Day in 2014.
See also
*List of hazing deaths in the United States
This is a list of hazing deaths in the United States. This is not an exhaustive list. An exact list is not available because there is no central system for tracking hazing deaths, and the role of hazing in some deaths is subject to disagreement. ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Danny
1992 births
2011 in Afghanistan
2011 in military history
2011 suicides
American military personnel of Chinese descent
American military personnel who committed suicide
American people of Chinese descent
Anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States
Asian-American issues
Asian-American-related controversies
Bullying and suicide
Military personnel from New York City
People from Chinatown, Manhattan
Racially motivated violence against Asian-Americans
Suicides in Afghanistan
United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
United States Army soldiers
United States military scandals