By November, Goodrum had begun to think about suicide. On Nov. 7, 2003, he sought help at Fort Knox but was turned away. After he was turned away, Goodrum says he got in his car and drove down the freeway at 5 miles an hour, waiting to die.

Goodrum was ordered to leave without treatment. The Army does not dispute this. His medical records from that day include this note from 1st Lt. Ricardo Zaldivar, who was one of two men present when Goodrum was turned away: "Colonel Stevens [sic] do [sic] not want this patient to be in medical hold."

At that time, Lt. Col. Ronald Stephens was the top officer in charge of soldiers at Fort Knox who were recuperating from the war or who needed long-term help in "medical hold." My article about poor medical care for soldiers at Fort Knox, in which Goodrum was quoted, had appeared just days before. Stephens had read it, and it was not likely to have pleased him. His boss and the commander at Fort Knox, Col. Keith Armstrong, would later testify before Congress about the issues in my articles. And Pentagon Undersecretary of Defense David S.C. Chu responded by drafting new rules specifying that if medical care is not available for a soldier on a base, he or she should be referred to a civilian doctor.

When I recently called Fort Knox, its spokeswoman, Shaffery, said Stephens was no longer at that post and she didn't know where he was. (Goodrum says he is now in Japan. Salon was unable to confirm his location.)

In Goodrum's disciplinary proceedings, Stephens testified that he did not order that Goodrum be denied healthcare. He said there was a misunderstanding and that he had ordered Goodrum brought to his office. But Zaldivar's note contradicts Stephens' account. When it was time for testimony in Goodrum's case, the Army claimed it could not locate Zaldivar, though other testimony showed it was likely that he was at Fort Drum in New York.

There was one other man in the room besides Zaldivar when Goodrum was allegedly denied medical care, 1st Lt. John Fanoschultz. According to Goodrum, Fanoschultz told him that his orders from Stephens were clear: Don't treat Goodrum. "You are not to be put on medical hold or to be treated here at Fort Knox,'" Goodrum recalls Fanoschultz saying to him.

Under oath in Goodrum's case, Fanoschultz said he did not remember anything. "I don't recall specifically seeing him [Goodrum]," Fanoschultz said. "I don't specifically recollect an individual or a particular time frame." Fanoschultz also said under oath, however, that he had discussed the case with Stephens, his boss, just before testifying. "I briefly talked to the colonel and asked him what was happening regarding this issue," Fanoschultz said. "And we went over essentially what had happened." How Fanoschultz and Stephens could go over "what happened" with Goodrum when Fanoschultz had no memory of the entire incident is not clear.

As for Goodrum, he's convinced that Stephens denied him medical care because of my UPI article. When Goodrum showed up asking for help, he says an aide in the hospital sarcastically called him "a celebrity" when Goodrum gave his name -- presumably because of his quote in that article. Stephens testified in Goodrum's case that he did know about the UPI article, but he did not think the article was true.

Turned away from Fort Knox, Goodrum checked himself into the civilian psychiatric hospital in Knoxville, where he was put under the care of Dr. Vijay Jethanandani. Starting on Nov. 15, Jethanandani sent a series of five faxes to Fort Knox, updating the base on Goodrum's hospitalization and further outpatient care, which lasted until February 2004.

While Goodrum was under civilian care, Stephens was in close communication with Fisher, the officer in Iraq whom Goodrum had accused, documents show. "Through close dialogue between his company commander [Fisher] ... and LTC Stephens ... it was determined that Lt. Goodrum should return to Fort Knox for re-evaluation," a Fort Knox hospital commander later wrote to Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn. (Goodrum had asked Davis to look into his case.) What medical insight Fisher, who had not seen Goodrum for months, could have provided to Stephens is unclear. The records show that Fisher was in contact with Fort Knox about Goodrum via e-mail as well. After that "close dialogue," Fort Knox decided Goodrum was AWOL.

Records show that Fort Knox classified Goodrum AWOL on Nov. 21. Yet Goodrum says "they never ordered me to return to Fort Knox." Goodrum says he was under the impression that the Army, after initially threatening to find him AWOL, had decided to let him get his treatment from the civilian doctor in Knoxville. He found out the Army thought he was a deserter only when he went to get a prescription filled for psychiatric drugs on Jan. 17, 2004, when he was getting outpatient therapy. But Fort Knox had cut off his Army insurance and he could not get the pills. When he called the Army insurance program, he was told Fort Knox had listed him as a deserter.

Army officials testified they had given Goodrum a clear choice: Return to Fort Knox or face charges. But after issuing an initial threat, the Army does not seem to have followed up with either Goodrum or his doctor -- strange behavior considering that desertion is among the most serious charges that can be levied against a soldier. Indeed, the Army's behavior throughout the entire case is murky, contradictory and suspicious.

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