Posted on 04/17/2004 8:52:33 PM PDT by 76834
Soldier from San Angelo goes AWOL, cites morals By Rick Smith / San Angelo Standard-Times April 17, 2004
SAN ANGELO — Brandon Hughey knows why he made his decision and the penalty he faces.
Hughey, a San Angelo native and 2003 Central High School graduate, fled his Army unit before it shipped out to Iraq in March. It was, he says, his obligation to leave.
"I feel that if a soldier is given an order that he knows to not only be illegal, but immoral as well, then it his responsibility to refuse that order," he wrote in response to e-mailed questions from the San Angelo Standard-Times. "It is also my belief that if a soldier is refusing an order he knows to be wrong, it is not right for him to face persecution for it."
While he is seeking asylum as a refugee in Canada, Hughey is not keeping a low profile. His story has appeared in a number of international newspapers, and his Web site, www.brandonhughey.org, is updated regularly.
Hughey, 18, enlisted in the Army in 2003 and, after basic training, learned to drive a tank. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood in Killeen.
On his Web page, Hughey has written that he believes the war against Iraq was "based solely on lies" and that the war is illegal under international law.
"If you were given an order to participate in an unlawful occupation that is resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people with no justifiable cause, would you be able to live with yourself if you carried out that order?" he wrote in his e-mail to the Standard-Times.
He also wrote that he is surprised by the support he has received from Americans and Canadians. He said he has received letters from well-wishers and donations to help with his legal fees.
On his Web site, he wrote he is optimistic about gaining refugee status. While he could face the death penalty for desertion during wartime if he returned to the United States, he said he believes such severe punishment is unlikely.
"I would most likely go to prison for a few years," he wrote.
Search for his son
Brandon Hughey had always been the son who caused David Hughey no trouble. The youngster made good grades, stayed out of trouble and played trumpet in the Central band.
"He’s a quiet kid," his father said. "He always has been."
Brandon Hughey decided to enlist in the Army while he was in school. The summer after graduation, he left for active duty.
The young recruit excelled during basic training, boosting his confidence, David Hughey said.
"I thought he was doing great," he said.
Hughey flew to Kentucky in November for his son’s military graduation ceremony.
"I was proud of him," he said. "He had accomplished something a lot of people are afraid to attempt.
"And he was proud of himself."
After basic training, Brandon Hughey trained as an M1 tank driver. His father thought "everything was coming together for him."
Then, in early March, the Army contacted David Hughey to tell him his son was absent without leave. He had left the base just before his unit deployed to Iraq.
"They said he was gone," Hughey said. "And I didn’t know where the heck he was."
David Hughey learned his son had deserted his unit after receiving a mysterious phone call from a car salesman in Indianapolis.
The salesman had sold Brandon Hughey a Mustang last summer. He told David Hughey that "some guy in Indianapolis had found Brandon’s car, without Brandon," David Hughey said. The salesman told David Hughey he didn’t know what happened to his son, but gave him the name and number of the Indianapolis contact.
"I thought maybe the kid was dead," David Hughey said. "I was incredibly worried that this kid was wandering around and would meet some people that aren’t any good."
David Hughey called the man in Indianapolis. Yes, the man told him, he had the car.
What about his son?
Come and get the car, the man told him.
David Hughey took a 6 a.m. flight to Indianapolis to meet the man, having "no idea who the hell he was. And I still didn’t know where my son was."
From a hotel near the Indianapolis airport, he called the man, who came with the car. Hughey asked about his son.
"He’s with good people," the man told him. "He’s in Canada."
David Hughey sighed, recalling the moment. "I just thought to myself, ‘Canada? Oh boy. Canada.’"
The Indianapolis man, an anti-war activist named Carl Rising-Moore, told David Hughey his son contacted him through the Internet. The soldier told him he did not want to deploy to Iraq. He asked for help reaching Canada. Rising-Moore met the soldier in Indianapolis and drove him across the Canadian border.
David Hughey said he wishes his son had not gone to Canada.
"I wanted him to honor his commitment," he said. "But he feels strongly enough about it that he took off. He didn’t want to go to Iraq. Whether he was opposed to the war, or scared, or both, he didn’t want to go."
He said he is still hopeful his son can return to the United States.
"Maybe things will still work out," he said. "That’s always a possibility, and I’m not going to give up on that.
"I worry about him. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But at least Brandon is safe."
Contact San Angelo Standard-Times staff writer Rick Smith at rsmith@sastandardtimes.com or (325) 659-8248.
(Excerpt) Read more at reporternews.com ...
(1) Immoral/Illegal comments -- can't POSSIBLY stand up during his Court-Martial since he enlisted AFTER the Iraqi war began.
(2) Product of a public school education that doesn't teach citizenship, freedom, and responsibility.
Ya beat me to it........
Chicken comes to mind........and the slang word for a cat...........product of public schooling...........idiot..........moron.........traitor..........just to name a few......
While all of these are, uh....true, it also means that preparing to die to protect the Constitution of the United States is always first and foremost. If kids today can't see this, then they have no business enlisting in the Armed Services.
Canada can keep him.
Concordia a hot bed of activisim
MONTREAL (CP) - Concordia University was described by some observers Tuesday as an island of hot-blooded activism, a day after a violent protest blocked a speech by former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Student advocates and an historian said Monday's protest by Palestinian activists, and subsequent clashes with police are a stark contrast to more docile activism practised on most other Canadian campuses. McGill University history professor Desmond Morton said Tuesday that Concordia's multi-ethnic makeup and heavy concentration of international students make for an often-volatile mix. "Its downtown campus attracts the kind of people who are looking for something very exciting and something to achieve some profile," said Morton. "Its violence, its radicalism is not that great but it's a place where you can go and do something more often than at McGill." Concordia officials cancelled Netanyahu's speech Monday afternoon after scores of people demonstrating in support of Palestinians broke down a security barrier and occupied a downtown building where he was scheduled to give a speech. Police met activists with batons and pepper spray, arresting five people after several windows were smashed. Protesters had vowed as early as Sunday to prevent the hawkish former prime minister from speaking at the university. The university said it may expel students found to have been involved in Monday's violence. Anya Spethman, president of the Canadian University Press, said Tuesday that Concordia is one of the few Canadian universities where 1960s-style confrontational activism is alive and well. "There's really not a lot of activist campuses out there any more," said Spethman, whose Toronto-based association represents 65 university and college student newspapers. "I think many people are just worrying about trying to pay for the cost of education. "It's really sort of put a damper on it." Others said most Canadian students have simply opted to fight for their causes without using violence. Larissa Ashdown, president of the University of Winnipeg Student's Association, said her group has decided to use debate and discussion to get its point across. "Usually I think protests and demonstrations are more geared toward informing the public or lobbying the government," Ashdown said in an interview. "Definitely (violence) is largely still a thing of the '60s." Monday's skirmishes at Concordia were only the latest in a long history of in-your-face politics at the university. In 1969, protesters set fire to a ninth-floor computer lab at Concordia's predecessor, Sir George Williams University, causing $2.5 million in damages. The violence erupted after black students alleged a white student received a much higher grade on an assignment, compared to a black student who handed in virtually the same paper. Also on Tuesday, the Concordia Student Union demanded rector Frederick Lowy resign, in part because of what it called ineffective security measures at Monday's demonstration. The group also decried a moratorium imposed by Lowy on all Middle East-related events at the university. "We hold Concordia University administration directly responsible for (Monday's) events," student union president Sabine Friesinger told a news conference. Lowy had no comment Tuesday. The moratorium at Concordia bans public speeches, rallies, exhibits and information tables related to Middle East issues. The moratorium will remain in place until a permanent policy is drafted to ease tensions between Israeli and Palestinian supporters at Concordia. A university spokeswoman dismissed the calls for the rector to quit, saying the university did all it could to prevent violence.
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