MUNCY – On September 1 at 11:30 in the evening, Janine Hermanson received a phone call from the US Embassy in Iraq that her husband, Adam Hermanson was found dead in the shower. No explanation was given other than the fact that he was electrocuted because they found burn marks on his arm and hand. They were only married for three months.

Since then, Mrs. Hermanson has been on a mission to find out what really happened to her husband in Iraq. She said that this has not been the first time this has happened to contractors working overseas. She has uncovered over 280 electrocutions to Americans since 2003 in Iraq and Afghanistan. “My husband is the 19th electrocution death in Iraq and that includes service members and contractors,” she said. “Others have occurred in swimming pools, washing hummers in car washes, and just from washing their hands,” she explained. He was doing what many of us do everyday when he died, taking a shower. He was working as a supervisor for a security contractor in Baghdad’s Green Zone since July 6, 2009 for a company called Triple Canopy. The company, headquartered in Herndon, Virginia hired him to be a mercenary since he was no longer employed by the Air Force. He was not allowed to discuss his job with his family while he was employed in Iraq she said.

The Hermansons met while they were serving in the Air Force in Utah in 2003.

“I know very little,” she added. “No one has been able to give me the information I want. The privacy laws are keeping me from getting information from the company. They said there was no foul play involved. I can’t help but be suspicious of such an untimely death. His life was taken from me. It’s just not right. He was going to come home in November.”

An autopsy was done at the Dover Air Force base in Delaware. The medical examiner said that the toxicology reports are pending. In speaking with others who had similar cases, Hermanson discovered she wasn’t alone. “Others have been electrocuted at different camps and as I keep doing the research more cases are being revealed, and I think the government is keeping it a secret,” she said.

Hermanson is working with the Department of Defense and Senator Bob Casey’s office in Harrisburg. She also hired a law firm from Philadelphia that specializes in these types of cases. Her investigation has also been handed over to the ARMY CID (Criminal Investigation Division) and she is hoping to get answers this week.

Senator Casey said he has been working on this issue for some time and recently passed an amendment (FY2010) through the Department of Appropriations that requires inspections on any contract work paid for by taxpayers.

“I want to prevent this from happening again. This shouldn’t keep happening. This is shocking. I’m going to find answers no matter how long it takes, even if it is for the rest of my life,” she vowed. “I’m tired of people not talking. I have every right to know what happened to my husband.”

The couple had plans to permanently reside in Muncy after Adam was deployed.