Woman sergeant from Bayside dies in Kuwait

Bayside resident, Sergeant Denise Lannaman died in what the military is calling a non-combat related incident in Kuwait on Sunday, October 1, just three days after her 46th birthday.
Lannaman, who was working as a mechanic as well as doing construction and office work for the Army National Guard's 1569th Transportation Company, spent the last few years serving in Iraq before her orders relocated her to Kuwait.
&#8220I was much more nervous when she was in Iraq,” said her sister Michelle Forgennie. &#8220I thought she was safe in Kuwait. Everyone in the family felt that way.”
Lannaman came from a military family with her father serving in the Air Force in World War II and grandfather serving in the Army in World War I.
&#8220She was a military person,” said her mother Barbara Lannaman, 82, who last spoke to her daughter on September 28, one day before her birthday.
&#8220She wanted to grow up to be a sailor,” her sister recalled while Denise attended Immaculate Conception High School.
Denise served several years in the Navy as well as the naval reserves before she returned to her Caribbean homeland to spend a number of years working as lifeguard.
&#8220The time she spent out of the military, she spent trying to save the environment, to clean up the waterways,” Forgennie said.
However, after the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, Denise decided to reenlist in the military in order to serve her country, and she decided to join the Army National Guard.
Her mother Barbara said she expected Denise to come back to Queens for a two-week vacation sometime this week in order to finalize paperwork that would fulfill one of her daughter's biggest dreams - buy her own home.
&#8220She wanted a home. She just got a home that belonged to her,” said Barbara. &#8220I know that meant so much to her.”
Forgennie said that the military came to the house where she and her mother live on Sunday to alert her about Denise's death. However, she was traveling back from the New England area at the time when her mother called her in a panic.
The family said that the military told them they are currently conducting an investigation surrounding Denise's death, which could take up to six months before they release their findings.
&#8220She was just such a great person,” said her mother as she fought back tears.