A plaque in remembrance of Pfc. Noah Samuel-Siegel, who was found dead in his barracks room at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Nov. 8, 2021. His parents contend in a federal lawsuit that the Army didn’t protect their son from a toxic commander and also purposefully obscured the circumstances behind his death, according to court records. (Margaret and Yehonatan Samuel-Siegel)

The parents of a 19-year-old soldier who died by suicide in 2021 say in a recently filed lawsuit that he faced months of threats, retaliation and bullying after objecting to getting the COVID-19 vaccine, court records show.

The suit alleges that the Army didn’t protect Pfc. Noah Samuel-Siegel from a toxic commander and purposefully obscured the circumstances behind his death, including withholding information about his mental health.

He was stationed at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, at the time of his death.

Margaret and Yehonatan Samuel-Siegel filed the complaint against the United States in federal court in New Jersey on April 16. It contends that the Army intentionally and negligently caused them emotional distress.

They are seeking $1 million in damages and want the military to reform how it addresses suicide prevention and post-death investigations, the couple said in a statement Wednesday.

Pfc. Noah Samuel-Siegel died by suicide in November 2021 while stationed at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. He had refused to follow the Defense Department mandate to get the COVID-19 vaccine. A lawsuit filed by his parents contends that he suffered retaliation and threats as a result of that decision. (Margaret and Yoni Samuel-Siegel)

“Noah enlisted to serve his country — not to be bullied to death,” they said. “The Army’s toxic leadership put Noah at risk. The Army then ignored protocols that could have saved him. The Army failed Noah, and then us, at every turn.”

The Justice Department, which typically handles lawsuits filed against the federal government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Nov. 8, 2021, Samuel-Siegel was found dead in a closet in his barracks room, about a-day-and-a-half after he was estimated to have killed himself, the lawsuit states. He had been in the Army for less than two years.

He had voiced objection to the COVID-19 vaccine shortly after an August 2021 Pentagon order mandating all service members be inoculated against the virus, according to the lawsuit.

After he refused to follow an order to be vaccinated the following month, his company’s commanding officer singled him out with a campaign of harassment and retaliation, the lawsuit states.

For example, the complaint says he was given a general officer memorandum of reprimand, or GOMAR, in October 2021 for not having received the vaccine.

He also subsequently was given nonjudicial punishment, including extra work hours, for a fender-bender accident that had happened months earlier, according to the lawsuit.

At the same time, the commanding officer initiated involuntary separation orders against him even though the Defense Department had not yet authorized the action, the lawsuit states.

In the suit, Margaret and Yehonatan Samuel-Siegel say the Army’s actions after their son’s death compounded their grief.

They accuse the Army of obstructing the internal investigations, withholding information and issuing conflicting findings.

They also say the service omitted or distorted key facts during an official briefing to them of the command investigation into the cause of their son’s suicide, according to court records.

For example, Samuel-Siegel’s high score on an alcohol screening test and concerns he had voiced about his mental health during a medical examination days before his suicide were left out of the briefing, the lawsuit states.

Information presented in the briefing also was inconsistent with a separate Army Criminal Investigation Division report, according to the lawsuit.

Two days before submitting the complaint in New Jersey, Samuel-Siegel’s parents filed a separate lawsuit in federal court in Colorado seeking to force the Defense Health Agency to rule on an appeal of their $1 million medical malpractice claim.

That litigation stems from their argument that Army medical personnel didn’t intervene after Samuel-Siegel displayed clear warning signs of suicidal ideation, according to the statement.

“These lawsuits are not just about accountability for Noah’s death,” Carol Thompson, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney for the Samuel-Siegels, said in the Wednesday statement. “It’s about demanding systemic change in how the military addresses mental health, bullying and truth-telling to grieving families.”

Earlier this month, the Pentagon began reaching out to an estimated 8,700 service members who were involuntarily separated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine to let them know they are eligible for reinstatement.