Fort Bragg soldier flees to Canada [Traitor alert!]

Independent Weekly ^ | February 11, 2004 | Patrick O'Neill

[Constitution Day]

Fort Bragg soldier flees to Canada

Jeremy Hinzman enlisted to make a difference, then learned what being a soldier is really all about

By Patrick O'Neill

(First of Two Parts)

February 11, 2004
NEWS FEATURE

On New Year's Eve, Jeremy Hinzman sat in a McDonald's on N.C. 401 in Fuquay-Varina explaining his precarious situation. On Dec. 20, Hinzman, a U.S. Army specialist stationed at Fort Bragg, got the news he had dreaded. His unit--the 504th Brigade, 2nd Battalion--would be shipping out to Iraq shortly after the new year for an indefinite deployment in the war on terrorism. Last year, Hinzman, 25, the father of a 1-year-old son, was deployed for more than eight months to Afghanistan. When he left, Hinzman's son, Liam, was just 7 months old. When Hinzman returned, Liam was walking and didn't remember his father. While he didn't see any combat in that first deployment, Hinzman said he had a bad feeling about going to Iraq.

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Hinzman, his wife, Nga Nguyen, and their son, Liam

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In Iraq, Hinzman, said he felt like he would have to do some things he'd regret. During Christmas leave, Hinzman, who is a member of the Fayetteville Friends Meeting, discussed his options with his wife, Nga Nguyen. He could go to Iraq--an option both he and Nguyen rejected. He could refuse the deployment order and face court martial and a likely prison term. Or he could follow a plan of action that thousands of young men like himself had taken during the Vietnam War--he could flee to Canada.

He chose option three. On Jan. 2, Hinzman and his family packed up their small car with a few essentials, leaving almost all of their possessions behind. They left post housing under the cover of darkness for the 17-hour drive to the U.S.-Canadian border. Quakers living in the U.S. made contacts in Ontario, and the family was set up with places to stay until they moved into a Toronto apartment on Feb. 1.

A story in the Feb. 7 edition of the Toronto Globe and Mail, says Hinzman is believed to be the first U.S. soldier to file for refugee status in Canada for refusing duty in Iraq. The report says Hinzman's case is "the first echo of the 12,000 deserters and 20,000 draft resisters who came north more than 30 years ago to escape the Vietnam War."

Before enlisting, Hinzman said he was searching for some meaning in his life, and the military--which had a "higher purpose"--was better than working just for the sake of making a buck. "I guess I just kind of sold my soul for the college money," he said. "That's probably a little too blunt. I had this notion that, "Hey, I'm going to go and get paid to exercise, shoot weapons and jump out of planes,' and that sounded real fun. It didn't matter to me at that point.

"I was just young, and I didn't feel I was really going anywhere."

Hinzman admits he got in over his head. When he joined the Army, he said he was expecting Al Gore to be elected president. The terror attacks of 9-11 were still an unimaginable horror. But the Iraq war forced him to reassess his values.

"It's a political decision, which as a soldier I'm not really entitled to have," he said. "But I feel that if I had gone to Iraq I would be in a sense putting myself into a criminal enterprise and becoming a criminal because it's a war--or an act of aggression. I don't think it can be called a war--based on false pretenses in terms of weapons of mass destruction, the links to al Qaeda and bringing democracy to Iraq.

"Because if democracy was to happen in Iraq, the Shiites would take power, and they would by no means be a friendly government towards the U.S. or its interests. So I don't want to risk my life for that, and I don't think the government should risk the lives of our country's young for that, and also to line the pockets of big corporations. I mean the obvious example is Haliburton.

"It's kind of, to me, messed up to go destroy a country's infrastructure and then have an auction to see who can rebuild it. It just smells bad to me, and I don't want to be part of it, nor do I want to kill people or be some place where I wasn't wanted. There are a lot of governments and leaders in the world that we don't necessarily like, but we're not going there. For example, Zimbabwe--we don't do anything about Robert Mugabe. I mean he's just as bad a tyrant as Saddam Hussein was, but why aren't we there? It's obviously about economics. I don't want to be a pawn in that game."

Hinzman, a native of Rapid City, S.D., admits he was not a typical soldier. A Catholic convert who also follows Buddhist teachings and enjoys the silent worship of Quakers, Hinzman was a military misfit from the get-go. His fellow soldiers were weirded out by his meditation regimen and his choice to not eat meat.

For the most part, Hinzman said he kept his political and moral views to himself, "although I won't deny I was known as the liberal, and this is in a culture where everybody watches Fox News. There aren't very many vegetarians in the Army, so that would open up a whole bag of tricks."

Hinzman's peers would ask a logical question: "Well, if you can't eat an animal or if you can't kill an animal, how can you kill a human?"

"They did ask those kind of questions, and it did raise their eyebrows," Hinzman said. "That's one of the reasons that got me thinking that I was in the wrong place. If you think logically, that makes sense. If you can't kill an animal, how can you kill a human?"

Hinzman also felt uncomfortable with the Army mindset that encouraged misogyny and violence. Particularly, he remembers the indoctrination of the troops during basic training. During exercises, the new recruits would drill using macabre chants.

"When we were marching around chanting songs like, "Train to kill. Kill we will,' or during bayonet training they'd ask, "What makes the grass grow?' and we'd say "Blood, blood, bright red blood.'

"When we would thrust [the bayonet], the drill sergeant would yell that, and we'd have to scream back. People would actually get hoarse yelling this crap. I could never really get into that stuff. Some people ate it up because I think there is an opportunity in groups to kind of let go of your inhibitions and do wanton things...

"It's all presented, at least on the surface, as, "Oh, it's just in humor, and no one's around listening to it,' but I think that really does put that mindset in a soldier that they're killers."

The atmosphere was surreal, he said. "It's what you think about when you think of a dystopian novel, just all these mindless drones walking around, and the sad thing is that they were individuals with thoughts and feelings, and, at least when they're at work, that's lost much of the time."

The military mindset also fosters a rejection of feminist/maternal values, Hinzman said.

"It's a very misogynistic place to be in," he said. "Everyday conversation, it's like a gangsta rap song the way women are referred to by people you would never suspect of talking that way. There is a lot of domestic violence in the Army, and marriages don't work and women are objectified."

The circumstances required enormous self-discipline, Hinzman said. "I would have this constant dialogue with myself," he said, "and sometimes I'd have to force it because when you're around something enough, when you're in an environment enough, you do tend to become a product of that environment.

"Like for instance, I swore all the time, and I would have to make these resolutions that I'm not going to swear because that's the first step on the road to losing yourself; your autonomy. It's almost expected that you're going to refer to women and the enemy in negative terms, objectifying the people you fight against so they no longer have humanity. I had to bite my tongue constantly."

While he would occasionally have meaningful conversations with his peers, for the most part, Hinzman kept to himself.

"When you're at work you put on your game face, especially as a lower enlisted person," he said. "You don't really talk about the moral ramifications of what you're doing. Everyday discussion is kind of stultified."

In Part 2 of this report, Hinzman tells about his failed effort to be placed in a noncombat assignment as a conscientious objector, and what the future looks like for him and his family in Canada.

[imintrouble]

I e-mailed the source of this story and asked where Part II was (can hardly wait for the follow up I wrote).

They e-mailed by return I think, and it will be posted tonite they say.

Wonder if he is going back to a simple life working the land .... becoming a pot-grower on the west coast.

[cupcakes]

Has he never heard of STUDENT LOANS???
___

Oh, he's heard of them, but to quote him he "didn't want to be strapped into a middle-class existence" ie he hates the American middle class and its values and is rejecting them and he wants someone else to foot the bill for his education so he can reap the rewards of it for himself and his family.

[hellinahandcart]

[cupcakes]

The problem this person has is that he is not willing to suffer for his convictions.
___

The plight of many young leftists like him.

[cupcakes]

Back at ya;-)
You get a smile for using a Kinison quote too:-)

[Brad’s Gramma]

He looks like a girl.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

ie, responsible citizen and possible taxpayer.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

My brother,who had to leave his wife and baby daughter, just returned from fulfilling his duty in Iraq yesterday. On behalf of my brother, I would like to spit on this gutless piece of crap!

[Former Proud Canadian]

Neighbors like Canada and the US HAVE to have strong extradition laws. If not, good neighbors soon become havens for the other countries criminal class.

Oh, is that what is happening in Mexico?

[IrishCatholic]

He expected to serve in an Al Gore/John Kerry military. Kind of says it all about the scumbags.

[MikeD]

Point 1: I'm sorry this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) ever stepped foot in my hometown. I'm sorry, but we have an all-volunteer army now. I don't have much of a problem with 60's draft dodgers for various reasons, but these days you ask to join the service.

Point 2: I'm amused this article appeared in the Independent Weekly, famous in the early 90's for its "Couples seeking Couples" ads...

MD

[wimpycat]

http://www.indyweekpersonals.com/

Apparently, they still have the personal ads. Wasn't this a free paper? I used to LOVE to read the personal ads while I was in college, for entertainment purposes only, of course.

But back to the deserter...what the heck was a vegetarian doing in a McDonald's?

What a total loser. I wonder if Canada will let him stay. Probably will. He will NEVER set foot in this country again, without getting his scrawny ass thrown in prison, I hope. I hope we keep surveillance on him in Canada so that if he tries to sneak back in, they'll be waiting for him on the other side. (And to hell with what the Canadians have to say about it!)

[M Kehoe]

I believe we are at war. Most thinking people believe we are at war (and that it started on 911). Therefore the UCMJ is very clear on what will happen after the Article 32 hearing. Maybe Heinzman will get lucky and see life imprisonment at Leavenworth.

I've been to Leavenworth two times (TDY w/the 207th), and care never to go back.

5.56mm

[Rebelbase]

"When he joined the Army, he said he was expecting Al Gore to be elected president"

What an idiot.

[Stonewall Jackson]

Walking into your commanding officer's office wearing a dress and kissing him on the cheek is a good way to get the boot.

[Stonewall Jackson]

Doss, Desmond T.

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 29 April-21 May 1945. Entered service at: Lynchburg, Va. Birth: Lynchburg, Va. G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945. Citation: He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machinegun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them 1 by 1 to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On 2 May, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within 8 yards of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety. On 5 May, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On 21 May, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter; and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, this time suffering a compound fracture of 1 arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.

Doss is one of the MOH recipients featured in the video series True American Heroes. According to the film, he had a job at a shipyard, which would have exempted him from the draft, but he refused to take this out and instead joined the Army as a medic with the 77th ID, where the other men admired and respected him for his dedication to his country while still holding true to the religious beliefs with which he had been raised (I believe he was a Jehovah's Witness). The paragraph above is his MOH citation.

[railsplitter]

The Quakers, like all the other pacifist organizations, enjoy the right to exercise their beliefs as free men/women because of the willingness of other American citizens to answer the call to arms. It is the men and women of the Armed Forces whose blood is spilled, so that all citizens of the U S of A may live as they wish to.

Ingrates! Draft them all into national service.

Canada needs to be pressured big time to produce this lily livered future resident of Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.

[wimpycat]

A real Quaker wouldn't join the military. And this Big "L" Loser isn't a real Quaker. He's "into" all sorts of things. He's "spiritual".

[Maximum Leader]

Yeah, the Mexican Supreme Court has ruled that a life sentence is cruel and unusual punishment, so they have refused to extradite criminals (murderers, drug dealers, etc.) who face a life sentence.
http://www.sexcriminals.com/news-archive/info-14344.html

"At least 150 Mexican nationals wanted by Los Angeles County authorities for murder, rape and other serious crimes committed here are unlikely to be extradited because Mexico's government considers life sentences unconstitutional."

[railsplitter]

I call em like I see em... The Quakers helped with the living arrangements for this deserter up in Canada (according to the article). The Quakers can be as pious or holy or pacifistic as they want to be... they can do so because willing Americans defend our way of life with their blood, allowing the Quakers and all other pacifists to enjoy a free ride. Convictions or not, they do not defend American with their blood.