Suicide of Harry Lew

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Harry Lew
Born(1990-03-31)March 31, 1990
Santa Clara, California, United States
Died (aged 21)[1]
Nawa-I-Barakzayi District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan
Cause of deathSuicide by gunshot
NationalityAmerican
EducationSanta Clara High School[2]
OccupationU.S. Marine Lance Corporal
RelativesJudy Chu (aunt)[3]

Harry Lew (Chinese: 廖梓源; pinyin: Liào Zǐyuán; March 31, 1990[4] – April 3, 2011) was a Lance Corporal in the United States Marines who committed suicide at Patrol Base Gowragi in Afghanistan, allegedly after being hazed by his fellow Marines.

After investigation, three Marines stationed with Lew in Afghanistan, including his sergeant, were charged with hazing. Two were acquitted in courts-martial. The third pled guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to limited punishment. Lew was a nephew of Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA);[a] she has introduced a bill to prohibit hazing in the military, as the Department of Defense does not track it, and not all services have policies about it.[6]

Background[edit]

Harry Lew was born in 1990 in Santa Clara, California as the second child to Allen Lew (廖厚达) and Sandy Chu (赵美春), both originally from China.[7] Lew did martial arts as a hobby, having taken up tricking in high school and also practising wushu. He graduated from Santa Clara High School in 2008. Before enlisting in the marines, Lew had studied two semesters at Mission College.[8]

Career[edit]

Lew enlisted in the Marines in 2009, intending to earn money to pay his college tuition. He completed training at Camp Pendleton near San Diego in February 2010 and was sent to serve in the War in Afghanistan in November 2010 in his first combat deployment.[6]

His unit held Patrol Base Gowragi in Nawa District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Death[edit]

On April 3, 2011, Lew was found dead of a gunshot wound. He had been on guard duty at Patrol Base Gowragi in Afghanistan. His death was investigated by the Marines and determined to be suicide by gunshot to the head.

Investigation[edit]

Following the investigation, three fellow Marines stationed with Lew, including his sergeant, were charged for hazing, which is prohibited in the military. According to the investigation, "he was subjected to a series of physical tasks, had sand dumped on his face, and was mercilessly kicked and punched in the helmet after falling asleep on guard duty for the fourth time at an austere patrol base".[9] They said they were taking "corrective action" because of his mistakes in the combat zone, which could be deadly to other Marines. Congresswoman Chu has noted such physical abuse does not relate to the Marines' stated policy about how plans for corrective actions are to be developed and implemented by Marines in superior rank.[6]

Jacob Jacoby[edit]

Lance Cpl. Jacoby was court-martialed on charges of hazing; the trial was held at the Marine Base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. In testimony, he admitted that he punched and kicked Lance Cpl. Harry Lew at the outpost in Afghanistan. Jacoby's legal case ended on January 30, 2012, when he took a plea deal from prosecutors to lesser charges of assault. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and reduction of rank.[10][11]

Carlos Orozco III[edit]

Lance Cpl. Carlos Orozco III was accused of kicking sand in Lew's face and forcing him to do push-ups and leg lifts. LCPL Lew was wearing Orozco's jacket at the time of his death. LCPL Orozco had given the jacket to Lew the week prior. The panel of three officers and five enlisted Marines found Orozco not guilty at a court-martial at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay.[12]

Benjamin Johns[edit]

Sergeant Benjamin Johns was also cleared of hazing charges in the death of Harry Lew.[13]

Aftermath[edit]

Following congressional hearings in 2012 in which military officials discussed their efforts to prevent hazing and suicide among military members, which has reached a historic high, Congresswoman Judy Chu and others introduced in May 2012 the "Harry Lew Military Hazing Accountability and Prevention Act". It was passed by the House as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. It is intended to require all services to prohibit hazing, to establish uniform tracking, and focus more on prevention.[6] It was reintroduced into following sessions, as the Senate did not pass it.

Chu had requested that the Government Accountability Office investigate the issue of hazing in the military. It released its report in February 2016, making several recommendations that were incorporated into a revised Harry Lew Act introduced by Chu in 2016.[14] This was passed by the full Congress as S.2943 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017; it was enacted, signed by the President on Dec 23, 2016.[15]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Harry Lew's maternal grandmother, Lin Yu'e (林玉娥), was the sister of Judy Chu's mother, Lin Chunmei (林春美), technically making them first cousins once removed, but Lew was generally reported to be a nephew in accordance with Chinese family structure.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Simon McCormack. "Harry Lew Suicide: Marine Told Fellow Marines To Stop Alleged Hazing". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "Marine Sentenced in Harry Lew Hazing Case". NBC Bay Area. January 31, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "Marine gets jail time, reduced rank in hazing case". Yahoo News. January 31, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  4. ^ California Birth Index, 1905-1995.
  5. ^ "美华裔军中受凌虐自杀案开审 家属盼军法还公道——中新网". ChinaNews. September 9, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d Chu, Judy (August 4, 2012). "Opinion | Military Hazing Has Got to Stop". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  7. ^ "廖梓源案一被告认罪囚30天". 古井侨网 (in Chinese). April 30, 2011.
  8. ^ "Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew Remembered and Honored". The Silicon Valley Voice. April 13, 2011.
  9. ^ Honolulu Star Advertiser, April 2011
  10. ^ ASSOCIATED PRESS, "Hawaii-based Marine accused of hazing fellow Marine who later committed suicide in Afghanistan sentenced to 30 days in jail", NY Daily News, 31 January 2012
  11. ^ McAvoy, Audrey (January 30, 2012). "Marine gets 30 days, rank reduction for assault". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  12. ^ McAvoy, Audrey (February 24, 2012). "Marine found not guilty in hazing suicide case". NBC News.
  13. ^ "Marine found not guilty in hazing case - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
  14. ^ Dan Lamothe, "The Pentagon will be required to track military hazing if this legislation passes", Washington Post, 25 April 2016; accessed 30 May 2018
  15. ^ "Harry Lew Military Hazing Accountability and Prevention Act (2016 - H.R. 5060)".
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