Courts-martial recommended in NYC soldier’s death
Feb 16, 2012, 3:56 AM
(AP) – U.S. military investigators have recommended two soldiers be court-martialed in the death of a fellow infantryman from New York City who shot himself in a guard tower in southern Afghanistan.
A 25-year-old first lieutenant from Maryland and a 25-year-old sergeant from Fowler, Ind., are among eight soldiers charged in the death of 19-year-old Danny Chen. The two soldiers were recommended for courts-martial following a pretrial hearing at Kandahar Air Field on Sunday.
Chen’s relatives say he was brutally hazed during training because he was Chinese-American. They say investigators told them he was subjected to racial slurs and forced to do excessive sit-ups, push-ups and sprints carrying sandbags.
He was found dead in October.
The first lieutenant and the sergeant each face various criminal charges in his death.
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