National Guard veteran Lt. Col. Norman Easy, 57, dies mysteriously on flight to China, 8 Dec 2018

[Indy Anna]

https://nypost.com/2018/12/20/dads-...to-china-leaves-family-desperate-for-answers/

A National Guard veteran-turned-health care exec died on a business trip to China more than a week ago and his grief-stricken family on Long Island can’t get any answers — or even his body.

Retired Lt. Col. Norman Easy — former deputy commander of the 369th Sustainment Brigade, a successor unit to World War I’s famed “Harlem Hellfighters” — boarded a China Eastern Airlines jet at JFK Airport on Dec. 7 to fly to Shanghai.

The decorated former officer, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, was planning to seal a “groundbreaking” deal for employer Siemens Healthineers USA that he’d been working on for more than a year, his family said Wednesday.

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[Jennifer17]

People die of heart attacks on flights quite often. I have been on two flights where men had heart attacks. One survived (at least the flight), the other did not.

 

[Indy Anna]

People die of heart attacks on flights quite often. I have been on two flights where men had heart attacks. One survived (at least the flight), the other did not.

But the authorities in China haven't given the family an explanation of what happened. Sure, it could have been DVT. But this also from the article:

Since then, the Consulate General has provided conflicting accounts of when Easy died, ranging from three hours before landing to just 30 minutes — but no explanation why, the family said.

Son Marcus, 28, said Chinese authorities have refused to release his dad’s body unless the family signs a waiver agreeing not to challenge an official account of what happened.

 

[TxMother67]

Son Marcus, 28, said Chinese authorities have refused to release his dad’s body unless the family signs a waiver agreeing not to challenge an official account of what happened.

That sounds suspicious to me. If he died of natural causes, why not just release the body?

 

[Eleanor Rigby]

That sounds suspicious to me. If he died of natural causes, why not just release the body?

I agree that it is suspicious. The first thing I thought of was the dispute between China and the U.S. / Canada, though it may seem to be too much of a "conspiracy theory." Three Canadians have recently been detained in China, in what appears to many, to be retaliation for Canada's detention of a rich and powerful Chinese businesswoman on an extradition request of the U.S. Maybe since retaliation against the Canadian govt has not produced results so far, someone in China (not necessarily the govt.) has decided to get tough with the U.S. Nothing surprises me anymore--so little respect for human life everywhere.

China accused of 'tit-for-tat' over detention of Canadian woman

 

[Indy Anna]

Iraq War veteran and health care executive mysteriously dies on flight from New York to Shanghai | Daily Mail Online

Easy’s family, including his widow and eldest son, 28-year-old Marcus Easy, told the paper the consulate has given them conflicting information about the circumstances surrounding Norman’s death, and so far no cause of death has been released.

In one version of events, Norman passed away three hours before the plane touched down in Shanghai, or about 12 hours into the flight. In another, he died just 30 minutes before landing.

According to Marcus, Chinese officials have refused to release his father's body to the family for burial unless they agree not to contest an official account of his death.

 

[Indy Anna]

National Guard vet Norman Easy's remains returned to US after mysterious death | Daily Mail Online

This week, officials finally provided a few more details to the family, including that Easy hadn't had anything to eat or drink on the 15-hour flight.

Easy declined his first business class meal, his 28-year-old son Marcus Easy told the Post, and was asleep for the second meal.

When flight attendants went to wake him up for the third, his body was cold to the touch.

In a statement, the airline said Norman Easy 'was found unconscious in his seat before the flight arrived in Shanghai. The crew and doctors worked hard to rescue him but failed in the end.'

Only after the family hired a private security firm and sent agents to China seeking answers were Easy's remains released, returning to the U.S. on Saturday aboard a China Eastern cargo flight.

The family will pay $5,000 for a private autopsy, which is scheduled for Monday, and desperately hope the examination will provide further answers.

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[Elainera]

I hope for the family's sake that there's nothing sinister behind his death and the autopsy brings them clarity and a small amount of peace.

 

[MsFacetious]

I also hope it was natural causes. Though I'm inclined to think if it was not his body would not have been returned at all. Awful that it took this long though... especially over the holidays.

 

[Indy Anna]

I also hope it was natural causes. Though I'm inclined to think if it was not his body would not have been returned at all. Awful that it took this long though... especially over the holidays.

They weren't going to release his body, though, unless his family agreed not to contest their account of his death, until a security firm got involved.

 

[MsFacetious]

They weren't going to release his body, though, unless his family agreed not to contest their account of his death, until a security firm got involved.

I understand but what I'm saying is that the body could have still "disappeared" at that point. Maybe they thought that would be worse for them? It's definitely odd.

 

[Elainera]

https://nypost.com/2019/01/04/natio...rest-after-mysterious-death-on-chinese-plane/

National Guard vet laid to rest after mysterious death on Chinese plane

Grieving friends and family on Friday buried the decorated National Guard vet who died on a business flight to China last month — but the mystery of his death has still not been laid to rest.

The family had planned an autopsy this past Monday, but the results remained inconclusive, one of Easy’s fellow National Guardsmen told The Post after Friday’s funeral.

Autopsy results are expected in two weeks, Easy’s son, Marcus, told The Post.

“We’ll focus on that when it comes,” the son said, noting that the family was for now thinking solely of Easy’s impact on countless lives.

“My father touched a lot of lives and it was shown today by all the people who showed up,” he said.

His funeral was held at Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in Bethpage.

Members of the 369th Sustainment Brigade were in attendance. A motorcade of Nassau Police officers served as escort to Calverton National Cemetery in Suffolk County, where he was buried with military honors.