The Army charged eight soldiers in connection with the death of Pvt. Danny Chen, whose body was found in a guard tower in Kandahar Province Oct. 3. Click below to read the story.
The best friend of Pvt. Danny Chen, the Chinatown soldier who was allegedly hounded by members of his unit before his death in Afghanistan, said Wednesday he doesn’t believe his pal killed himself.
Raymond Dong spoke out as the Army charged eight soldiers in connection with the death of Chen, whose body was found in a guard tower in Kandahar Province Oct. 3.
“I kind of saw this coming,†Dong told he Daily News. “I knew there had to be something because I can’t believe he would commit suicide.â€
Dong said he exchanged instant messages with Chen a week before the 19-year-old soldier died of what the Army has called “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.â€
“He sounded pleasant and happy,†said Dong, 19, of Ridgewood, Queens. “He was just telling me, ‘When I come back to the city, we got to eat Vietnamese noodles.’â€
It was unclear from the Army’s statement if authorities believe the suspects drove Chen to kill himself or pulled the trigger themselves.
First Lt. Daniel Schwartz, Staff Sgt. Blaine Dugas, Staff Sgt. Andrew Van Bockel, Sgt. Adam Holcomb, Sgt. Jeffrey Hurst, Spc. Thomas Curtis, Spc. Ryan Offutt and Sgt. Travis Carden were all charged with counts ranging from dereliction of duty to making a false statement to assault, negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.
Chen’s relatives have confirmed that the Army was investigating allegations that the teenager had been physically and verbally abused by superiors, who singled him out for being Chinese-American.
“All those responsible for Danny’s death need to be prosecuted to the full extent under the law,†said Elizabeth OuYang of Organization of Chinese Americans-New York.
