Page received numerous medals and decorations during his service, Garcia said, including the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal.
Garcia did not know how Page left the Army, but the Oak Creek police chief said their investigation had found that he received “a general discharge and he was ineligible for reenlistment.”
At some point, Page found his way into the world of white supremacy. A MySpace page for his band said it was started in 2005. It described the type of white power music they played as “a sad commentary on our sick society and the problems that prevent true progress.”
In an interview published in 2010 by the record label that released his music, Page said he had been playing music since he was 13. In 2000, he sold almost everything he owned and set out on a motorcycle trip to attend white power rock concerts throughout the nation. He said he started the band after figuring out he had something to say.
“The concept was based on trying to figure out what it would take to actually accomplish positive results in society and what is holding us back,” he said. “A lot of what I realized at the time was that if we could figure out how to end peoples apathetic ways it would be the start towards moving forward.”
After the shooting, the white supremacist record label that put out his music scrubbed all mentions of End Apathy and Page from its website.
“We do not wish to profit from this tragedy financially or with publicity,” the record label said in a statement posted online. “In closing please do not take what Wade did as honorable or respectable and please do not think we are all like that.”
Nick R. Martin
Nick Martin is an associate editor at TPM in New York City. He came to the site in 2011 as a reporter for TPMMuckraker. Previously, he worked in Arizona, first as a staff reporter for a local newspaper and later as a freelance journalist. He also ran the news blog Heat City. Contact him: nick [at] talkingpointsmemo.com
Disqus Conversations
Click here to read the Disqus Commenting FAQ.