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Teen
her own. She has also been cited several
times for misdemeanor crimes and is cur-
rently wanted in connection with an assault,
say police. The face that she’s been report-
ed as a runaway before may have also led
police to believe she might have done it
again, police say.
‘... we have a lot of
runaway kids ...’
Sgt Catherine Kent
Sgt. Kent told the Skanner news that
there are reports of runaway teens everyday
in Portland. She couldn’t comment specifi-
cally about the Vaughn case, as she wasn’t
privy to the details, but said that many teens
willfully leave home.
“We could argue that any 15-year-old liv-
ing on the street is endangered, but they
would say something different,” Kent said.
“Unfortunately we have a lot of runaway
kids. On a day-to-day basis we could be tak-
ing seven (calls a day).”
Multiple friends and family interviewed
during Thursday’s gathering said that noth-
ing indicated that she was running away.
Shandrea Farve, Vaughn’s cousin and
close friend who was planning to meet with
the girl the night she disappeared, said she
was in a good, normal mood the night she
last heard from her. According to phone
records obtained by family, Farve was the
last person to speak with Vaughn.
She was last seen by family members
waiting for the number 72 bus at 82nd
Avenue and Thompson Street near Madison
High School. Farve and Vaughn were plan-
ning to meet and hang out, but before Farve
could establish a meet-up spot, Vaughn
uncharacteristically stopped answering her
cell phone. Her Facebook account, heavily
used by the teen prior to her disappearance,
has also not been used since.
Vaughn is a student at Helensview
School, she weighs just over a hundred
pounds, has fairly dark complexion with
almond-shaped eyes and a big smile.
Photo by brian StimSon
continued from page 1
Family members console Vaughn’s mother Shaquita Louis,at left,being
embraced by Desiree Turner, Vaughn’s cousin. A crowd of supporters,
including the woman behind Louis, marched on Thursday at the North
Precinct to demand police investigate the case.
Medal
continued from page 1
bravely in hand to hand encounters, one
resorting to use of bolo knife after rifle
jammed and further fighting with bayonet
and butt became impossible. Evidence that
at least one and probably second German
was severely cut. Third known to have been
shot. Attention drawn to fact that the 2 col-
ored sentries first attacked continued fight-
ing after receiving wounds, and despite of
use of grenades by superior force, and
should be given credit for pre-
venting by their bravery the
taking prisoner of our men.
Three of our men wounded,
of whom two by grenades but
all are recovering, and
wounds in two cases are
slight.”
The memo that has just
been unearthed signed by
Gen. Pershing is a game-
changer, Fish said.
“This is very exciting. There is every rea-
son to hope that it could be resolved within
the year. With Obama in the White House
and with Sens. Schumer and Wyden press-
ing the case, based on this new information,
I think we all are very encouraged that we
are one giant step closer to Sgt. Johnson
receiving –after almost 100 years – the
Medal of Honor.
“The Army has what it needs and what it
specifically requested and it is new infor-
“Henry Johnson remains an incredible
example of bravery and patriotism today,
and it is time that he receive his long over-
due Medal of Honor,” Schumer says in his
press release.
“One of the requirements for this award is
a chain-of-command endorsement, and it
doesn’t get better than the commander of
American forces during WWI, General
John J. Pershing. …During the ‘Battle of
Henry Johnson’, there is no doubt that this
American soldier displayed the extraordi-
nary bravery and self-sacrifice that is at the
core of this incredible honor. I urge the
Army to reopen Johnson’s case, and grant
him the recognition he earned so many
years ago.”
The US Army recommends the Medal of
Honor for member of the armed services
whose action are distinguished “conspicu-
ously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk
of his or her life above and beyond the call
of duty.” To receive the medal,
the action on the part of a sol-
dier must be one of “personal
bravery or self-sacrifice so con-
spicuous as to clearly distin-
guish the individual above his
or her comrades and must have
involved risk of life.”
A second critical piece of evi-
dence is Private Roberts’ eye-
witness account of the fight,
published in a pamphlet. Roberts confirms
that Johnson repelled the attackers with his
bolo knife and rescued Roberts. An eyewit-
ness account is required to receive the
Medal of Honor.
The third new piece of evidence is a letter
written by Col. William Hayward. Staffers
from Schumer’s office discovered the letter
was read into the Congressional Record on
September 4, 1918, giving it added signifi-
cance and legitimacy.
Col. Hayward wrote to Johnson’s wife:
“Your husband, Pvt. Henry Johnson... has
been at all times a good soldier... of fine
morals and upright character. To these
admirable traits he has lately added the most
convincing proof of fine courage and splen-
did fighting ability. I regret to say that he is
at the moment in a hospital, seriously, but
not dangerously, wounded, the wounds hav-
ing been received under such circumstances
that everyone of us in the regiment would
be pleased and proud to trade places with
him.”
Over the years campaigners have sought
the Medal of Honor for Sgt. Johnson,
including: Johnson’s son, Tuskegee Airman
Herman Johnson; Vietnam Veteran John
Howe; former N.Y. Rep. JoeDio Guardi;
and former N.Y. state Rep. Michael
McNulty. In 1996, long after his death, he
finally received the Purple Heart. In 2003,
Schumer helped campaigners obtain the
Distinguished Service Cross for Johnson in
2003. But the injustice still rankled. After
all, Johnson’s stupendous bravery under
attack is the stuff of legend.
Staff from Schumer’s office discovered
Col. Hayward’s letter had been read into the
Congressional Record on Sept. 4, 1918, giv-
ing the letter more significance and legiti-
macy.
Commissioners had held holding a series of
hearings before receiving a mysterious
dump of information from the FBI that
commissioners say they have to evaluate
before moving forward on their decision.
Meanwhile the prosecution of 19-year-old
Mohammed Mohamud, accused of attempt-
ing to use a weapon of mass destruction in
an FBI sting operation arranged around a
Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Pioneer
Courthouse Square, is slated for a May
hearing to determine when his actual trial
will take place.
Also still in play is an ACLU-backed law-
suit challenging the federal government’s
“no fly” list, in which local Sheik Mohamed
Abdirahman Kariye is one of 10 plaintiffs
who allege that the airplane exclusion
process is unconstitutional.
Kariye has been brought up by federal
officials on “terrorism-related” charges
since 2002, when airport officials falsely
claimed there were “traces of explosives” in
his luggage. He has never been convicted of
any violent crime.
Perhaps the biggest example of what crit-
ics consider to be anti-Muslim government
profiling was the case of Beaverton attorney
Brandon Mayfield, a member of the Bilal
Mosque community, who was in 2004
wrongfully arrested after a local FBI agent
erroneously linked him to terrorist bomb-
ings of a train in Madrid, Spain.
Mayfield and his family won a $2 million
settlement from the federal government,
which admitted that its investigation was
flawed.
The climate of fear and persecution such
cases bringing to otherwise quiet suburban
communities has led to a broader movement
to open up the Muslim community and
bridge gaps in understanding between faiths
all across the state.
Ahmed works for Intel and has led the
Bilal Mosque in participating in more than
400 interfaith events over the past several
years.
Houdroge was born in Lebanon and
attended Portland Community College and
Portland State University, graduating with a
degree in electrical engineering. He has
been managing the affairs of the Islamic
Center since its inception in 1993. He also
serves as a religious advisor and is an active
community member in Beaverton.
The
presentation
follows
the
Commission’s regular business meeting at
6:30 p.m., and includes a question and
answer session. For information go to
www.beavertonoregon.gov/HRAC.
mation. The Army set a very high bar and it
looks like we will be able to meet it.”
Standing in front of a statue of Sgt.
Johnson in the New York capitol, Sen.
Schumer told reporters from the Albany
Times Union that the memo from Gen.
Pershing adds considerable weight to the
campaign, because it shows the chain-of-
command endorsement required by the
Army.
‘ ...the 2 colored sentries first attacked
continued fighting after receiving
wounds ... and should be given credit
for preventing by their bravery the
taking prisoner of our men’
Read the rest of this story online at
www.theskanner.com
Muslims
continued from page 1
ing understanding between and within
many social and ethnic groups in
Beaverton, not just the Muslim community.
Although Oregon seems an unlikely front
in the federal prosecution of terrorist cases,
there have been many.
Many media reports over the years show
that both the Islamic Center of Portland and
the Bilal Mosque in Beaverton have been
the targets of unsubstantiated accusations of
fundamentalist radical activity since at least
the 9/11 attacks in New York.
Consistent reports also indicate a steady
stream of anti-Muslim harassment across
the state, including the recent incident of an
incarcerated Muslim beaten at the Inverness
Jail in November, 2010.
The City of Portland is currently recon-
sidering its position on refusing to partici-
pate in the Joint Terrorism Task Force. City
march 30, 2011 The Portland Skanner Page 3