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U.S. deserter in Sweden steps forward after 28 years
Reuters ^ | Jun 17, 2012 | staff reporter

Posted on 06/17/2012 1:57:24 PM PDT by Daffynition

(Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force deserter who has lived secretly in Sweden since 1984 has revealed his identity and contacted his family in the United States who were overwhelmed to hear he was still alive, a Swedish newspaper reported at the weekend.

Dagens Nyheter said David Hemler had deserted aged 21 while serving at a U.S. Air Force base in Germany, after getting involved with a pacifist church and becoming disillusioned with the policies of former President Ronald Reagan.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: deserter; espionage; hemler; pacifistchurch; sweden; treason; veryweirdstuff; weakpresident
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To: Daffynition

If he did not like Reagan, He must really not like Obama.


21 posted on 06/17/2012 2:44:30 PM PDT by ColdSteelTalon (Light is fading to shadow, and casting its shroud over all we have known...)
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To: Tucker39; darkwing104

Ah, a soviet spy. That makes a lot of sense.


22 posted on 06/17/2012 2:45:56 PM PDT by MetaThought
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To: Daffynition

When you think that Major Nidal Hasan murdered 13 people at Ft. Hood, Texas nearly 13 years ago and this president has yet to bring him to trial, the deserter can probably feel quite confident that nothing will happen to him. The message is clear that 0bama will feel sympathy for a deserter since he hasn’t got the sense of justice to prosecute someone who killed soldiers.


23 posted on 06/17/2012 2:46:22 PM PDT by Ranger Warrior ("To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men." - Abraham Lincoln)
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To: Daffynition

I wonder, will he be suing for back pay?


24 posted on 06/17/2012 2:52:48 PM PDT by oldbrowser (Blue state sickness must not be rewarded)
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To: LongWayHome
Reagan WON the Cold War & saved Western civilzation, but this punk knew better.

I suspect he's only using the Reagan criticism to guarantee a pardon from Obama.

25 posted on 06/17/2012 3:01:26 PM PDT by aimhigh
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To: Daffynition

If he stayed in the USAF for this long, he would have a good retirement pension when he got out !


26 posted on 06/17/2012 3:19:11 PM PDT by CORedneck
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To: aimhigh

No doubt he will not face much in the way of prison time with this administration in charge.


27 posted on 06/17/2012 3:22:40 PM PDT by LongWayHome
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To: Daffynition
"...one of the U.S. Air Force’s eight most wanted fugitives... Hemler himself is amazed that he has managed to stay away for 28 years."

LOL! Eight most wanted, yet nobody wanted him for 28 years. Here's a clue for you, genius. Nobody was looking for you. Nobody cared because you effectively hung yourself the day you walked away. Deserters are so worthless and so far down the list of law enforcement priorities, most services won't expend the effort to extradite the losers. You are dead to us, David.
28 posted on 06/17/2012 3:33:38 PM PDT by PowderMonkey (WILL WORK FOR AMMO)
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To: Daffynition

My son is a year older than this traitor, and he served his coutry proudly, as did my daughter.

I am a military widow, mother, grandmother and headed for the Great-Grandmother thing.

This POS should be spanked with a cat’o’nine tails. and so should anyone who encouraged, supported or in any otherwise gave him any encouragement.

What a pos..


29 posted on 06/17/2012 3:51:10 PM PDT by Monkey Face (Be yourself. Everyone else is taken!)
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To: Daffynition
Deserters should be shot.

You can leave the military, go through the proper channels.

30 posted on 06/17/2012 3:55:50 PM PDT by Lazamataz (People who resort to Godwin's Law are just like Hitler.)
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To: darkwing104

I had exactly the same thought. This guy was part of a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) unit assigned to monitor Soviet/Warsaw Pact activity along inter-German border (back before the wall came down). Very good chance this guy was a linguist or an ELINT specialist; in that capacity, he would be in a position—even as an airman—to know what we were collecting, and more importantly, the gaps in our collection efforts.

From what we’ve been told, this guy becomes “disillusioned” with Reagan’s policies and decides to go to Sweden. I was a junior enlisted member at the same time, and believe me, I wasn’t looking for tax shelters. But this guy not only travels to Sweden, he manages to support himself until he lands a government job (another amazing coincidence), despite the obvious handicaps of not speaking the language, and having no real basis for asylum or resident alien status. All in a country with some of the highest living costs in Europe. Yeah, I know Sweden has welfare programs out the ying-yang, but how many illegals make the transition to civil servant. Sorry, but his account just doesn’t add up.

True, some Vietnam-era deserters and draft dodgers made their way to Sweden. But the U.S. wasn’t at war in 1983. Clearly, someone greased the skids to help this traitor settle into a rather comfortable lifestyle in his adopted homeland. The KGB was very active in Sweden during the Cold War. Why send him there—instead of “Mother Russia?” Perhaps they had thoughts of returning him to Germany at some point, or (if he had language skills) utilizing him for operations in that country.

Additionally, if he entered Sweden legally (say, on a tourist visa), he had to show someone a passport. During the early stages of the hunt, the Air Force would have checked tourist/immigration lists for the missing airman, but his name never turned up. Either this guy was good at covering his tracks; the AFOSI was incompetent (not the first time that’s happened), or he had outside assistance. I’m putting my money on option three.

One more thought: if you look at the “Most Wanted” list for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, you’ll see that all of them are deserters. But (obviously) those aren’t the only airmen who walk away and never return. Most are on the list because they’ve been charged with (or suspected of) committing serious crimes, along with . There’a a reason this guy has remained on the list for 28 years, and there’s most likely an espionage link.


31 posted on 06/17/2012 3:57:25 PM PDT by ExNewsExSpook (uoted)
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To: darkwing104

I had exactly the same thought. This guy was part of a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) unit assigned to monitor Soviet/Warsaw Pact activity along inter-German border (back before the wall came down). Very good chance this guy was a linguist or an ELINT specialist; in that capacity, he would be in a position—even as an airman—to know what we were collecting, and more importantly, the gaps in our collection efforts.

From what we’ve been told, this guy becomes “disillusioned” with Reagan’s policies and decides to go to Sweden. I was a junior enlisted member at the same time, and believe me, I wasn’t looking for tax shelters. But this guy not only travels to Sweden, he manages to support himself until he lands a government job (another amazing coincidence), despite the obvious handicaps of not speaking the language, and having no real basis for asylum or resident alien status. All in a country with some of the highest living costs in Europe. Yeah, I know Sweden has welfare programs out the ying-yang, but how many illegals make the transition to civil servant. Sorry, but his account just doesn’t add up.

True, some Vietnam-era deserters and draft dodgers made their way to Sweden. But the U.S. wasn’t at war in 1983. Clearly, someone greased the skids to help this traitor settle into a rather comfortable lifestyle in his adopted homeland. The KGB was very active in Sweden during the Cold War. Why send him there—instead of “Mother Russia?” Perhaps they had thoughts of returning him to Germany at some point, or (if he had language skills) utilizing him for operations in that country.

Additionally, if he entered Sweden legally (say, on a tourist visa), he had to show someone a passport. During the early stages of the hunt, the Air Force would have checked tourist/immigration lists for the missing airman, but his name never turned up. Either this guy was good at covering his tracks; the AFOSI was incompetent (not the first time that’s happened), or he had outside assistance. I’m putting my money on option three.

One more thought: if you look at the “Most Wanted” list for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, you’ll see that all of them are deserters. But (obviously) those aren’t the only airmen who walk away and never return. Most are on the list because they’ve been charged with (or suspected of) committing serious crimes, along with . There’a a reason this guy has remained on the list for 28 years, and there’s most likely an espionage link.


32 posted on 06/17/2012 3:57:25 PM PDT by ExNewsExSpook (uoted)
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To: MetaThought; Tucker39

SOL not a problem. Every day he is in deserter status, renews the charge.

Look at his unit. Of course he a WP target. You got it.


33 posted on 06/17/2012 4:00:14 PM PDT by MindBender26 (America can survive 4 years of Romney. She cannot survive another 4 years of an unfettered Obama!)
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To: ExNewsExSpook

Do members of the military carry passports overseas or just military ID?


34 posted on 06/17/2012 4:09:13 PM PDT by alpo
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To: MindBender26

As a former member of this weasel’s command, I say that a lengthy vacation at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth is in order.


35 posted on 06/17/2012 4:13:23 PM PDT by Ax (You've got to hand it to Venus de Milo.)
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To: Daffynition

Push for extradition and lock his lame ass up for a long time


36 posted on 06/17/2012 4:28:44 PM PDT by Figment
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To: alpo

Depends...many carry U.S. civilian passports because they don’t want to be identified as military personnel, due to potential security risks. During the early 80s, with the Bader-Meinhof gang at its peak, it would have been common practice for a USAF intel specialist to have a civilian passport, in addition to his “official” U.S. government passport and military ID.

When I joined the spook world around this time (early 80s), I was encouraged to obtain a civilian passport and use it for official travel, while keeping my government passport and military ID hidden in my luggage. At the time, maintaining your blue U.S. Government passport on your person (while flying on a civilain airliner) was known as the “kill me first” card.


37 posted on 06/17/2012 4:29:51 PM PDT by ExNewsExSpook (uoted)
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To: MetaThought

“Past the statute of limitations?”

Living outside of the country stops the Statute of Limitations clock. It starts again when he reaches the US border.


38 posted on 06/17/2012 4:31:23 PM PDT by Forty-Niner (The barely bare, berry bear formerly known as..........Ursus Arctos Horribilis.)
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To: Daffynition

This twit is a traitor, he deserves what all traitors deserve. He probably won’t get it, but he should spend the rest of his life wondering.


39 posted on 06/17/2012 4:38:54 PM PDT by alarm rider (I took the pledge, I will never vote for another RINO, not now, not ever.)
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To: BufordP

Excellent find. Thanks Buford. He sounds sooooooooooo remorseful [//sarc]....like a petulant child.


40 posted on 06/17/2012 5:10:26 PM PDT by Daffynition (Our forefathers would be shooting by now.)
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