Fort Hood, Texas, will commemorate the fallen soldier Vanessa Guillén with a gate named in her honor, days before the commemoration of her missing last year.
Guillén’s family unveiled the gate on Monday afternoon, the start of a week of events in honor of Guillén, a specialist in the army who was killed last year. The event, which was closed to the public, was broadcast live on the family’s Facebook page. Her family then held a news conference.
The gate, with the memorial plaque affixed to the gate marker, leads to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, “where [Guillén] lived daily, where she served her country honorably, ”said Lt. Gen. Pat White, Commander-in-Chief of III Corps and Fort Hood, during the ceremony.
“In collaboration with the family, who agreed to allow us to do this, we’re going to dedicate a gate with her name – which has her picture – and you can just learn a little more about Vanessa. But mostly it so [in] “For two, three, four years we have not forgotten what this is about, what this moment is about in our history,” he said.
Guillén’s younger sister, Lupe Guillén, told the family’s news conference that her mother had decided not to attend because the commemoration of Guillén’s death was approaching. She pointed to the sidewalk where her family and supporters would hold posters to track down her sister and said it brought mixed emotions to the gate.
“They should have taken care of her when she was alive – until now,” she says, holding back tears.
She said the positive side of the gate is that it reminds people of what happened a year ago and encourages victims of sexual violence not to keep quiet, but to report it, which according to her sister can not do.
Guillén was last seen on April 22 last year at Fort Hood in Killeen. Across the country, her family, public officials and celebrities have teamed up to appeal to #JusticeForVanessaGuillen. Her remains were found in June. In early July, when police moved in to arrest Spc. Aaron Robinson, 20, in connection with her disappearance, shot himself dead, authorities said.
Shortly afterwards, a woman identified as Robinson’s girlfriend was arrested on federal charges of tampering with evidence, accused of helping Robinson get rid of Guillén’s body. She pleaded not guilty, and her lawyer filed a motion last month to suppress her statements. A trial is set for April 27.
When he visited the base in August, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, who said Fort Hood was one of the highest crime rates in the military, said Guillén’s death was a turning point in the way the military handles sexual assault and harassment. .
In December, McCarthy said 14 leaders at the base had been fired or suspended based on an independent investigation that found there was a ‘permissible environment for sexual assault and sexual harassment’. Among the disciplined was Maj. Gen. Scott L. Efflandt, the acting commander of Fort Hood at the time of Guillén’s death.
Lupe Guillén said at the family’s news conference that the action against the 14 leaders was not justice.
“We need to investigate the commando chain and her leadership, because it is impossible for anyone to know anything about the sexual harassment that is happening to her,” she said.
Texas lawmakers will discuss at a news conference Tuesday legislation passed for Guillén’s sake. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California, will introduce the I am Vanessa Guillen Act Thursday on Capitol Hill, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will speak in support.
Guillén’s family and supporters also created the #IAmVanessaGuillen Week with personal and virtual events. On Thursday, the commemoration of the evening she disappeared, cities across the country will be watching.
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