BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - The family of local fallen soldier Elder Fernandes is speaking out after the US Army punished more than a dozen senior officers from Fort Hood.
RELATED: 14 Fort Hood soldiers fired, suspended over violence at base
The Army said it found failures in its leadership at that Texas base and Fernandes’s family says they are thankful something is finally being done.
“It still hits home really, really hard,” said his aunt Isabel Fernandes.
She says that hearing the news about soldiers in Fort Hood in Texas being punished for abusing, assaulting and killing other soldiers was painful to hear –especially for Fernandes’s mother.
“Sad, crying, she’s distraught totally. It just reminds her of Elder and what happened to Elder,” Fernandes explained. “Especially around the holidays. This is the time of the year that we see Elder once a year since he started the army.”
The Brockton man was stationed at Fort Hood before he went missing and was found dead in August.
No foul play is suspected by Fernandes reported that he was bullied and harassed after he had been sexually assaulted by a male superior.
His aunt says that firing, suspending and discharging officers is not enough.
“A more thorough investigation should be done so the people that are responsible for the disappearance and the murder of the soldiers have to be held accountable,” Fernandes said. “Not just firing, definitely criminal charges.”
Massachusetts Congressman Stephen Lynch, who traveled to Fort Hood to investigate called today’s developments a significant step in rectifying the toxic command climate at Fort Hood adding that “rampant crime, a lack of accountability, and command apathy have all led to Fort Hood’s reputation as a post where the quality of life and the safety of our soldiers are persistently at risk.”
Fernandes says the family wants to know who specifically harmed her nephew.
“We need to know what happened to Elder and who is responsible for Elder’s death. It’s important to us. It’s a closure that we need,” she said.
Lynch said that as chairman of the subcommittee on national security, he will continue to investigate what happened to Elder Fernandes and the other soldiers.
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