Family wants answers after Ohio soldier's suicide

Family wants answers after Ohio soldier's suicide
By JOHN SEEWER (AP) – 6 hours ago

WILLARD, Ohio — Just about everyone in Keiffer Wilhelm's life — his father, his brother, his best friends — had worn a military uniform or grew up around someone who did.

So when he decided that was his best option too, he heard plenty of advice about surviving boot camp and beyond. He ended up liking the Army so much, he wanted to make it a career. He even volunteered to join another unit so he could speed up his departure to Iraq.

Just days after arriving, everything changed.

Now his family and his friends want to know what happened in Iraq that pushed the gentle, playful 19-year-old to kill himself two months ago. His final desperate act, they say, doesn't fit with the young man who grew up in a proud military family and always wanted to please everyone.

They hope to get some answers on Friday when two soldiers who served with Wilhelm in Iraq are expected to appear at a military hearing similar to a civilian grand jury. They have been charged with cruelty and maltreatment related to Wilhelm and at least two others. Two more soldiers also have been charged and are scheduled to appear at hearings next week.

Military investigators say Wilhelm had been a target of the four soldiers, who were mistreating some of the men in their platoon. But they also concluded the alleged misconduct didn't cause Wilhelm's death.


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Family wants answers after Ohio soldiers suicide

Family of Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm Expresses Outrage

Family of dead pvt. expresses outrage

By Meghan Barr - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Aug 24, 2009 8:20:16 EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Adrian Wilhelm learned that his son committed suicide just four days into his deployment in Iraq, he immediately thought that the facts didn’t add up.

His son, 19-year-old Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm, had been excited and upbeat just weeks earlier as he prepared to ship overseas. He was planning to buy a new car. He was exercising diligently, shedding at least 20 pounds in time for boot camp.

Then, suddenly, he was dead. Now his family is struggling to process the stunning news that four of Wilhelm’s fellow soldiers stand accused of abusing him and other soldiers in his platoon with excessive physical fitness and cruelty before his death.

“They just acted like they were a bunch of street hoods,” Adrian Wilhelm said from his home in Plymouth, Ohio. “They thought they were above the law.”
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/08/ap_army_cruelty_wilhelm_082409/

19 Year old soldier's death in Iraq under investigation

DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pvt. Keiffer P. Wilhelm, 19, of Plymouth, Ohio, died August 4 in Maysan province, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 13th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx