Slain Fort Campbell Soldier's Parents Want to Block General's Promotion

Slain Fort Campbell Soldier's Parents Want to Block General's Promotion

May 13, 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The parents of a soldier beaten to death at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, are trying to block the promotion of its former commanding general.

Private First Class Barry Winchell was bludgeoned to death by a fellow solder in 1999 on the base on the Tennessee-Kentucky border, possibly because the attacker thought he was gay.

Winchell's mother, Patricia Kutteles, says that Major General Robert Clark never took any responsibility for the death. An internal investigation turned up evidence of anti-gay behavior in Winchell's unit.

Now Clark has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general. He met with Winchell's parents Tuesday in Washington, but they say they haven't changed their minds.

Kutteles says Clark didn't do enough to stop anti-gay harassment on the base, and hasn't apologized.

The Army concluded that the chain of command at Fort Campbell appropriately enforced the Pentagon's policy of permitting gays to serve in the military, as long as they keep their sexual orientation to themselves.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)