HOUSTON – Friends and family of Houston army specialist Vanessa Guillen remain hopeful that they’ll see justice and systemic change for what they call, a history of military cover-ups. Guillen, 20, was killed at Fort Hood at the hands of an accused fellow soldier.
Just one day after her family met with President Donald Trump, Guillen’s friends spoke with KPRC 2 about the movement.
“If we stop supporting then the movement will die down and we don’t want her name to be forgotten,” said Ashley Macias, a friend of Guillen.
They yelled her name loud and proud Thursday at the nation’s capital. Guillen’s friends and her family rallied for Congress to investigate Guillen’s death at Fort Hood, then marched for justice proved a walk to the Oval Office.
Guillen’s mother, sisters and attorney spoke to Trump about the “I am Vanessa Guillen” bill, which they hope will end what they say is a culture of cover-ups in the military, including at Fort Hood.
Officials said the fellow soldier, Aaron Robinson, killed Guillen before he and Cecily Aguilar disposed of her body 20 miles away near the Leon River in Bell County.
“We started out with just 20 people going to Killeen and we didn’t think it was going to get as big as it did or as it is now,” said Tania Moreno, a friend of Guillen. “It was time for a change and there always time... there is always room for improvement and there’s something that has to be changed for the better for the military.”