NEW YORK – Even before the Army sent him to Afghanistan, supporters say, Pvt. Daniel Chen was fighting a personal war.

Fellow soldiers at a base in Georgia teased him about his Chinese name, crying out “Chen!” in an exaggerated Asian accent. They called him “Jackie Chen,” a reference to the Hollywood action star Jackie Chan. People would ask him repeatedly if he was Chinese, even though he was a native New Yorker.

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A native New Yorker, Pvt. Daniel Chen was teased about his Chinese name. In Afghanistan, he was hazed by other soldiers. The Associated Press

At one point Chen wrote in his diary that he was running out of jokes to respond with.

Then he was sent overseas, and the hazing began: Soldiers dragged him across a floor, pelted him with stones and forced him to hold liquid in his mouth while hanging upside down, according to diary entries and other accounts cited by a community activist.

On Oct. 3, the 19-year-old Chen was found dead in a guardhouse in Afghanistan with what the Army said was apparently a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

On Wednesday, the Army announced charges against eight soldiers in his death, saying Chen was a victim of illegal hazing. Five of those accused were charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. The alleged offenses also included maltreatment, assault and threats.

The military would not discuss the exact circumstances surrounding Chen’s death. But family members and community activists said they suspect the bullying may have driven him to suicide.

“Whether suicide or homicide, those responsible for mistreating Danny are responsible for his death,” said Elizabeth OuYang, a community activist who is representing his parents, Chinese immigrants who live near New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood.

Attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be located. The sister of one of them had no comment. Other relatives could not be reached.

Eugene Fidell, an expert on military law and president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said bullying has been a recurring problem for the military.

“If there was brutality within the unit, that’s a betrayal of the bond of brotherhood,” he said. “That is, in theory, the underpinning of what holds a military command together.”

He added: “Can I imagine somebody being bullied in the military to the point of taking his or her own life? Yes. These people are young people. You’re at an age of vulnerability as well as strength.”

In 2010, three Army sergeants were punished after Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm of Willard, Ohio, killed himself 10 days after arriving in Iraq with a platoon based in Fort Bliss, Texas. Wilhelm’s family said he was being bullied and forced to run for miles with rocks in his pockets.

Two sergeants were imprisoned for six months and three months, respectively, on charges of cruelty and maltreatment. The third was convicted of obstructing justice and given a one-grade reduction in pay.

Activists said Chen’s case has highlighted the military’s poor treatment of Asian-Americans, who remain a tiny percentage of new recruits .

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