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United States Marines. “The few. The proud.”

Written by Stephanie Sadler
Thursday, 20 November 2008 00:00

News coverage of these country-serving men and women is usually positive. Then there are the few stories that would not make anyone proud, the ones that slip quietly under the radar of the media giants with minimal exposure.

Perhaps that motto of pride was even mulled over and discarded by the perpetrators before the homicides of Marine Sergeant Jan Pawel Pietrzak, 24, and his wife of only two months, Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak, 26.

Four US Marines invaded their home in Winchester, California, south east of Los Angeles, on October 15. Wedding thank-you notes were still waiting to be sent out when the couple was bound, gagged, Quiana raped with an “instrument” and bullets sent execution-style through their heads from behind.

In a letter to President-elect Barack Obama, Jan Pawel’s mother wrote, “The murderers were soldiers, US Marines, like my son, his brothers in arms. From the same unit as my son, two under his command. They were Afro-Americans, like my daughter-in-law, her brothers of the same ethnic extraction, brothers who murdered their sister.”

Henryka Pietrzak-Varga, who raised her son in Brooklyn after emigrating from Poland in 1994, pleaded Obama to help her to believe in change.

The fate of these men is not yet decided, but they are all eligible for the death penalty and, according to the district attorney’s spokesman Ryan Hightower, they are charged with two counts of first degree murder, commission of a murder during a robbery and rape by instrument.

Two of them, Lance Cpl. Emrys John, 18, and Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 20, served under Jan Pawel at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego where he worked as a helicopter airframe mechanic. The other two were Lance Cpl. Kesuan Sykes, 21, who was nicknamed “Psycho” and Pvt. Kevin Cox, 20, whose friends have expressed surprise at his involvement because of his usual “caring” and “sweet” nature.

In their confession, these men claimed they were looking for money, “an easy score”; Jan Pawel’s digital camera and his wife’s engagement ring were later found in the barracks. But, the couple were not rich and, if robbery was the main objective, why bring a gun? There was a period of debate over whether or not to actually kill Jan Pawel and Quiana. In the end, the suspects pointed to John as the gunman and, though all of them admitted that Quiana was raped, they each said one of the other three was responsible.

“After 9/11, my son, at 17, decided to join the Marines,” Henryka wrote in her letter to Obama. “He wanted to defend America. He wanted to join the legendary corps known for honor, courage and commitment.”

Jan Pawel served for eight months in Iraq from July 2005 – February 2006. Henryka was prepared for the possibility that her son might die an honourable death overseas, but not in his own home. She told The Daily News of New York, “They were good kids. They didn’t deserve to die like this.”

Cropping up in the small amount of news coverage this story has received, as well as in the blogosphere, is the content of John’s MySpace page. Under one photo was the caption, “Chillin waitin 4 da killin” and, as well as admitting to being a collector of swords and knives, he wrote that “shooting shit” and “blowin shit up” was a great “stress reliever”. Miller’s MySpace referred to himself as “Cripgeneral”, giving investigators cause to explore a possible link to the aggressive street gang.

Though authorities are saying it was not a matter of race, Bloggers are writing in depth about the act as a hate crime, an issue Obama has addressed by saying he wants to strengthen hate crime laws. Comments on most articles revolve around the issue of race. The mothers of both victims have both asserted that they do not believe it was a crime committed for “financial gain”.

Since the election, there has been a sudden surge in race crimes and hate crimes against African-Americans in the US. Though this is the opposite situation, it adds to the notion that racism thrives. Discourse among blog readers on posts discussing this case revolves around racial jealousy. Just as “jealousy” over the election outcome is what many claim to be the cause of white Americans lashing out against their black counterparts, jealousy over race may have a lot to do with this case.

Interracial relationships are not uncommon; Obama himself was a product of one. A Houston Chronicle article published the positive results of a relevant study: “A recent Gallup poll found that 69% of Hispanics, 52% of blacks and 45% of whites said they had dated someone from another group. Among Americans under age 30, 95% approved of interracial dating, while just 45% of people 65 and older agreed.”

But, as the buried racism against blacks emerges again from the shadows, it forces us to acknowledge that there is still a divide, still a possessiveness that may stem from pride, fear or a number of other factors. So, it is not impossible to fathom that those four black men seeing a beautiful black woman swept up into the arms of a white man might feel a twinge of jealousy. Perhaps the speculation over hate crime and race crime holds more weight than has been allowed to emerge. Many questions over the motives of this case remain unanswered.

One thing that is for certain though, Henryka wrote, “The murder of Quiana and Jan Pawel is an unpardonable evil. Their brothers murdered them. It is time for no one in America to die this way again. Time for a Change.”

And change is on the agenda. Obama addressed the race issues that divide America even now, but his solution is about empathy and understanding which can be applied to any motives that lie behind the homicide of this young couple.

In a March speech, Obama spoke of “the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect.”

He said, “If we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges…In the end, then, what is called for is…that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.”