"When you think of her smiling face, you think of a time when she made your day brighter. She was unselfish to a fault, and her physical well-being didn't matter. It was our well-being that made her happy," -- Pierce Durkin at the funeral of his sister, Ciara
Nearly two weeks after the suspicious death of Spc. Ciara Durkin, the family is getting some answers from the Department of Defense. Or are they? According to an article in the Boston Herald, the gay advocacy group Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has revealed “Our sources within the Armed Forces have confirmed that a gag order is in place."
Ciara died of a single gunshot wound to the head on September 28, near a church at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. As in the case of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, the family was first told the cause of death was combat related, later discovering that was not the case. Was the killing a hate crime (Ciara was a lesbian) or did it have something to do with her work in finance (she had told her family that she had concerns about what she was seeing and to investigate if anything happened to her). Karen at Democracy Cell Project pointed out that this is the second time we've heard such news from the Bagram base.
Juan Torres' son John was also shot in the head, at Bagram, and John was... part of a finance unit. Doing payroll.
Canavan told the Quincy, Mass. Patriot Ledger on Wednesday that when her sister was home three weeks ago, she told her about something she had come across that raised some concern with her: “She was in the finance unit and she said, 'I discovered some things I don't like and I made some enemies because of it.'" Canavan revealed that Durkin said if anything happened to her, to make sure it was investigated....John told his father the same thing, several hours before he was killed.
(More on John's death here, here and here.)
What was the motive behind the senseless murder of this 30 year old National Guard member, Ciara Durkin? Is it related to the murder of John Torres?
Senator Kerry has been assisting the family in their search for answers. He wrote to Defense Secretary Robert Gates after learning of Ciara's death, asking for the DOD to provide an immediate response. The Senator's Massachusetts office also arranged for a public relations firm to handle the media, and for a second autopsy, which was performed on Sunday.
The Globe notes “Kerry said the Durkin family desperately needs answers to three questions: Why has the Army not responded to the Durkin family's request for an independent autopsy? Why, after not responding to the family's request for an independent autopsy, did the Army fail to contact the Durkin family with the Army's autopsy results? The family was told to be available to receive a phone call between 1 and 3 p.m. on Oct. 1, and the Army never called. Why has the Army refused to make Durkin's will and paperwork available to her family, so they can respect her wishes as they plan her funeral and burial?
Ciara was laid to rest on Saturday, but the investigation into her death will continue until the Durkin family finds the answers they so desperately need, for themselves and for the safety all our men and women in uniform.
