Posted on 11/21/2007 9:51:58 PM PST by Ultra Sonic 007
Methinks this kind of explains Hunter's recent actions with regards to de-bureaucratifying (not a word, I know) of several departments within the federal government (most recently, with the State Department shenanigans). A Congressman can only do so much...but this is just unbelievable (the actions of the DoJ, that is).
Alberto Gonzales, Michael Chertoff, Condoleeza Rice (stop making Israel concede and concede!)...blah.
The federal government needs a wholesale cleaning. Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Defense, the Pentagon...all of the Clinton cronies and liberal bureaucrats need to be washed out.
Pinging the whole DH list to show an example of the bureaucratic boondoggle of a federal government that Duncan Hunter’s been going up against for all these years.
Pinging the San Diego/Military History/Vietnam Veterans list.
Pigs must really fly in this country. Another likely coverup of an inside hit job.
In March 1998, Gordon Hess, a firefighter and Captain in the National Guard, and commander of the Armory in Jamestown New York, went off for military training in Fort Knox Kentucky. Ten days into the military exercises, his body was found in a culvert not far from his barracks. He had been stabbed 26 times. Four of the wounds punctured his lung, one penetrated his liver and two penetrated his heart.
The Army investigated Hess's death and concluded the stab wounds were self-inflicted. "Gordon Hess," they claimed, "had taken his own life."
John Burris was Captain Hess's Executive Officer in the National Guard and one of Hess's best friends. In real life, Burris is a police officer. They shared a bunk at Fort Knox and Burris was one of the last people to see Hess alive.
Hess woke Burris up at 4:45 AM as he "jumped out of bed." Hess opened his locker, got out his shower kit, combed his hair, and told Burris, "You've got 15 more minutes to sleep Johnny. Go back to sleep."
When asked if Burris thought Hess would be coming right back, Burris is quoted as saying, "I was sure he was coming back, [I thought] that he ran out somewhere and would be back, take a shower and it would just be like a regular day. He had his pressed uniform hung out at the bottom of the bed.
Hess didn't come back. It took 24 hours before they found his body. He was dressed in a sweat suit and running shoes, lying face down in a drainage ditch in a wooded area a few hundred yards from his barracks.
Nearby was a leatherman tool that Hess had purchased the night before. It had his blood on it but no identifiable finger prints. The Army claimed he used it to take his own life.
"There's no way Gordon Hess would take his own life," Burris says.
Captain Hess's widow, Doreen doesn't believe her husband committed suicide either. "It doesn't fit, it won't fit and they can't make it fit," she says. Doreen says her husband was a dedicated family man and had an excellent record with the military. His last evaluation called him an officer with unquestionable integrity and an outstanding example to his men.
When she asked the Army investigators how her husband could have stabbed himself 26 times, they simply replied, "It's possible." Doreen Hess remains convinced it was not possible.
Doreen Hess had a medical examiner in Buffalo conduct another autopsy. This medical examiner concluded Captain Hess's death was a homicide.
Colonel Dan Quinn oversaw the Army investigation. Quinn says, "I am convinced of the quality of our investigation, the agents that conducted it and the medical examiner personnel and that this was a suicide."
Colonel Quinn also said there was no physical evidence that anyone else was present at the scene when Captain Hess died. There were no defensive wounds on his body indicating he put up a struggle, he hadn't been robbed, and there was no apparent motive for murder. Colonel Quinn also could not come up with a motive for suicide. After interviewing 130 people close to Hess, Quinn was asked if any of them thought Hess had committed suicide. Quinn replied, "I believe there was one."
Vernon Geberth, a former commander of the Bronx homicide task force, asked Doreen Hess's attorney to send him the reports. Geberth says, "I took a look, I read the reports and I immediately knew that this was a problem."
Geberth then called his mentor, Dr. Dominic Dimayo. Dimayo is a former New York City medical examiner and is considered to be one of America's top forensic pathologists. Dimayo said that in his 50 year career, he'd never seen a "suicide" case with so many deep stab wounds."
Six potentially fatal wounds, to be exact. Any one of which could have killed or incapacitated Captain Hess. Four penetrated the lungs with hemorrhage and two perforated the left ventricle of the heart.
"Normally, if you put a knife into the left ventricle of the heart, you're not going to be able to do another one, right?" Dr. Dimayo was asked?
"Yeah," he replied, "You'd be incapacitated at that point. . . You would be incapacitated."
Dimayo displayed a diagram of Hess's wounds and said the pattern of stab wounds was much more typical of murder than suicide. He pointed out four L shaped wounds and said these usually occur when a victim moves while being stabbed or when an attacker twists the knife.
When asked if was possible that you could see four of these L shaped wounds in a suicide, Dr. Dimayo replied, "I would say, 'Never. I haven't seen it. Never.' "
Homicide expert Vernon Geberth says, "It just defies common sense. The bottom line is, in the military, they have a suicide. In the world of public opinion they look pretty dopey." When asked if he thinks Hess's death was a homicide, Geberth replied, "I think it's more consistent with homicide than suicide. . . absolutely!"
"Is it possible that he just snapped?" the interviewer asked. "That there was some cumulative factor. That he'd been well adjusted his entire life and then for some unknown reason he just snapped?"
Geberth replied, "Anything is possible. Now let's get to probable. In how many cases can you stab yourself twice in the heart; and where do you find these cases? So possibility, yes. But probability, no! It was a rush to judgment. Somebody early on in that investigation decided it was gonna be a suicide and that's the way it's been going since."
One of the guys I work with was stationed at Fort Knox at the time of this incident and actually worked with Captain Hess. Curtis said that Hess was a likable guy and that he had not displayed any signs he was contemplating suicide. There were, however, some very unsavory enlisted guys under Hess's command that Curtis felt were quite capable of committing the deed.
There is no doubt that Colonel Sabow was murdered.
What is the purported motive for this?
I am partway through the Nordby report and wish I knew what is being called pseudoscientific. Also wish they had done a better job on the PDF.
Interesting. We’ll have to ask Hunter about this one.
Well this certainly lowers my opinion of Duncan Hunter. No one can stand against the evil forces that seem to control our government. At least Congressman Weldon had the guts to try.
Did you read the article? It appears to me that he was the only one that was "standing up".
The conclusion of the article is that he quickly backed down. I do not know if it is true or not, but that is what the article says.
According to the article, he initially launched an investigation into this in 2003, when he was informed of the matter concerning Sabow.
After the DoJ reply letter saying the killing was state matter (in 2007, four years later), it seems he ceased his involvment with the feds in this case. For all I know, Hunter might have decided to just forgo the government entirely and simply stick to a quiet, private investigation.
Lord knows the government hasn’t been helpful when it comes to those in the service of our national defense (I’m looking at you Sutton).
Perhaps he took it as far as he could, after 4 years.
Hey, your back! Good.
Just a short vacation, that’s all. ;o)
Note to self: proofread!
THere are two sides (at least) to every story.
But nobody listens. Nobody cares.
Well you mind your p’s and q’s from here on out. I miss you when you aren’t around. LOL!
That doesn't seem like a man that is backing down to me.
Congressman Hunter started his involvement in this case as a proponent for implementing a proper, unbiased investigation of the Sabow death. He ended his involvement by apparently avoiding all communication concerning the murder. The past Chairman and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee is defied not only by the DoD, but also the DoJ. What is mystifying and quite disturbing is Congressman Duncan Hunter’s abrupt departure from the case and his allowing the DoD and the DoJ to get away with clear defiance of his wishes and instructions.
I think you are referring to this statement in the article? Hunter is told it is not a State matter, it's not a Federal matter. He is defied by the DoD and the DoJ. Hunter is no longer the Chairman and I am not really sure where he goes from here with this case. There may very good reason he is not "communicating" about the case. Hunter has a lot on his plate and as much as I wish there were 1000 Duncan Hunters, there aren't. There is only one. The writer of the article "assumes" Hunter has allowed them to get away with a clear defiance of his wishes. I am not sure that is the case. If he is sitting on evidence and there are suspects; He could blow the whole deal by "communicating" by tipping off the suspects. This is nearly a 20 year case and if not for Hunter and his efforts; It would be a forgotten suicide. The article could have been less confusing, and I am not so sure Hunter has forgotten the case. I don't think Hunter can Waltz down and start making arrests so, like I said, he is likely confused by this and is evaluating his options. I couldn't begin to know what they are and am just not sure where he can go with this now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.