We now know there's a local connection among the 13 victims killed in the Ft. Hood shooting. Lt. Col. Juanita Warman lived in Havre de Grace.
She was a military physician assistant, dedicated to helping others overcome the mental toll of deployment. Now, the family of Warman is coping with their own grief.
"It was horrible and it was tough and I was angry. I think everyone was angry and confused about what happened and why it happened," said Corey Chioda, Warman’s grandson.
Warman was stationed at Ft. Hood getting ready for deployment to Iraq when Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly opened fire, killing her and 12 others. The 55-year-old mother of two and grandmother of six lived in Harford County.
She was an army reservist who focused on women's issues as they returned from combat.
"She was a vital member of our reintegration team. From the very beginning, she helped initiate and develop a program that dealt with post-traumatic stress syndrome," said Lt. Col. Charles Kohler, Maryland National Guard.
Warman comes from a military family. Her father and siblings made the armed services a career, as well. Spending time with family may be the biggest sacrifice as a reservist.
"Since 2001, she's been off and gone to military bases and we haven't seen her that much and that is what she wanted to do," said Chioda.
She wanted to take her nursing skills overseas to help other soldiers.
A Maryland woman was one of the victims killed in the Fort Hood shooting rampage in Texas.
Juanita Warman, a resident of Havre de Grace, was killed when Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire, killing 13 people.
Warman, 55, was a military physician assistant with two daughters and six grandchildren.
A half-sister, Kristina Rightweiser, said Warman was from a military family. Their father, who died in 2007, was a "career
military man," Rightweiser served in the Air Force, and Rightweiser's brother is in the Coast Guard. The two women didn't
grow up together, but reconnected after their father's death, Rightweiser said.
Warman "loved the Army and loved her family very much," she said in a message sent through Facebook.
Another sister, Margaret Yaggie of Roaring Branch in north-central Pennsylvania, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Warman attended Pittsburgh Langley High School and put herself through school at the University of Pittsburgh. She said Warman spent most of her career in the military.
(Photo credit to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
