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 ...
Failing that, I would have taken him out to the spillway and kicked the living crap out of him!
I'd like to hear that the professional anti-war protestors, who are using the kid now, had been "taken to a spillway" too. They deserve worse.
Is running away the same as facing persecution? No. If the kid had any balls, he would have refused the order and stayed to accept the consequences.
He's not "a soldier"--he's a criminal.
He's got zero morals so he can't have a moral objection.
He claims the war is "illegal"--a nonstarter.
His is a simple case of prison for years.
The network that enables him should be rounded up and presented to the hard-timers for recreational purposes.
I think so too. Especially after I found out he was seventeen when he enlisted and had to get his parents' permission to sign up. So he had to portray himself as very gung-ho at one point, yes?
I don't think anyone can be brainwashed that quickly, so he had to have had some involvement with these peacenik clowns beforehand. Maybe a teacher at his high school. I think he enlisted for the sole purpose of deserting later as a political statement.
This kid HAD to talk it over with his folks first, because he was a minor when he signed up.
So at what point do you think we can blame the kid for his own actions, rather than everyone else?
You won't, you little turd! You face prosecution, big difference.
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