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Chinatown, surrounded by longtime neighborhood residents. The group included community members, elected officials, a Vietnam War veteran and filmmakers making a documentary on the case. A sign held by one supporter read: "We are all Danny Chen."
• Chen's parents and other relatives left for North Carolina on Sunday.
• Wellington Chen, executive director of the development group Chinatown Partnership and no relation to the soldier's family, said the verdict "will have profound implications, not only for our ethnic group but for all Americans who expect their government to give them both freedom and protection."
• Danny Chen's suicide over what military officials said was extreme physical and emotional abuse, in addition to nearly one suicide a day among America's troops, "means that there is something wrong with the system," Wellington Chen said.
• Military officials have said the 19-year-old soldier shot himself on Oct. 3 in a guardhouse in Afghanistan after weeks of abuse at the hands of fellow soldiers. For months, beginning during training, soldiers in his platoon peppered him with racial insults such as "Jackie Chen" and "Dragon Lady," his family said.
• On the day he died, Chen was forced to crawl across gravel carrying his equipment while his fellow soldiers pelted him with rocks, according to his family, with whom he shared details of his ordeal.
• According to court documents, Chen was kicked, was dragged from his tent and had sandbags tied to his arms. He wrote about the abuse in his journal.
• Vassar College student Julia Chung said that when she first heard about his suicide, "I was really, really angry." But then she decided to go into action, joining others who signed petitions, staged protest marches and contacted military officials to push for justice on America soil.
• Eight soldiers are facing charges ranging from dereliction of duty to involuntary (Continued on page 15)
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