Seventeen Years Later, Fort Hood Victims Still Wait For Memorial Recognition

Seventeen years after an Islamic terrorist murdered 12 service members and a civilian physician's assistant at Fort Hood, the deaths are still labeled "workplace violence" and are not included on the Army’s tribute to post 9/11 troops, or the Global War on Terrorism Memorial at the National Infantry Museum, Fort Benning, Georgia.

Fort Hood Victims’ Families and Veterans Fight for Official Recognition

On December 3rd, the Islamic terrorist who fired on unarmed soldiers and civilians at Fort Hood will finally be executed. We knew long ago that Nidal Hasan was a supporter of ISIS, but the Obama Administration labeled the attack "workplace violence". Because of that designation, the murder victims have not been added to memorials that pay tribute to the victims of Islamic violence. Though victims were awarded the Purple Heart years later following legislative action, their names remain absent from major military memorials.

Local and Grassroots Tributes

While national databases omit the victims, regional and independent memorials honor their sacrifice.

Fort Hood November 5 Memorial (Killeen, Texas)

Displays individual pillars featuring etched photographs and customized artistic sculptures for each victim. Among them, Pfc. Francheska Velez, who was pregnant at the time of her death, is commemorated with a pair of embraced Scooby-Doo sculptures symbolizing her and her unborn baby.

Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial (Marseilles, Illinois)

Includes the names of the Fort Hood victims alongside service members killed in other domestic terrorist incidents, such as the 2015 Chattanooga recruiting station attack and active-duty casualties from September 11, 2001.

The Classification Contradiction

For years following the terror attack, the Obama Administration designated the attack as workplace violence rather than domestic terrorism, despite proof that the Hasan had extensive communications with al-Qaeda recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki. According to Army Times, when the victims were finally awarded Purple Heart medals in 2015, the service and the Pentagon, under the Obama Administration, claimed the award would “irrevocably alter the fundamental character of this time-honored decoration” and interfere with what they decribed as Hasan’s right to a free trial.

The Purple Heart

In 2015, Congress authorized Purple Heart eligibility for the victims, along with combat-related benefits promised by military officials. However, the formal incident classification was never retroactively updated to domestic terrorism, leaving retroactive line-of-duty benefits and official casualty list placements unresolved.