Posted on 10/11/2004 1:02:48 PM PDT by Former Military Chick
TORONTO -- Jeremy Hinzman enlisted in the Army in Boston, did a tour in Afghanistan and prepared for elite Ranger school. Then came orders to go to Iraq. He neatly piled his Army gear in his living room at Fort Bragg and fled to Canada with his wife and baby.
"No matter how much I wanted to, I could not convince myself that killing someone was ever right," Hinzman, 25, said in an interview here.
Spec. Hinzman is a deserter, one of at least four who have followed the path of Vietnam War resisters a generation ago to seek refuge in Canada. Here, they have been embraced by many from that time -- former peaceniks who are now pillars of the community.
The government is less welcoming. Despite Canada's opposition to the Iraq war, the government also is opposing the deserters' refugee applications, saying the soldiers are not persecuted. It is resisting the argument that the Iraq war is illegal.
"Canada is worried if they grant us refugee status, others would come up," said Hinzman.
The deserters in Canada provoke anger in the United States among people who argue they are shirking a duty to which they willingly agreed. "There's no draft. These people volunteered for the military," said Jerry Newberry, a spokesman of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in St. Louis. "These people want to have their cake and eat it, too."
Hinzman, a slender, studious young man, accepts the criticisms. He replies that his objections to the military evolved after he enlisted. Well before he was ordered to Iraq, he applied for noncombatant duty. Had that been granted, he said, he would have served his obligation, would even have gone to Iraq as a medic or cook or anything that did not involve offensive operations.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
'swhat the rifle is for, ya twit !
Kerry would probably make this guy a general.
You talkin' about the guy who went down into Mexico to snatch the pervert/rapist? If so, I hope the 'Dog' does a better job at extraction in the future.
Only one? I figure there are at least 25 million rgistered demonrats.
President Kerry will pardon all deserters.
We ought to send "Dog" the boutnty hunter up there to drag his arse back here...and Dog can make it an episode of his A&E show...
Hinzman enlised in the ARMY, not the Navy or the Air Force, and was preparing for elite Ranger school? Now he's 'connot convince himslef that killing someone was ever right'? This guy watched too much reality TV.
Nah. It was the wife's nagging.
I feel sorry for Hinzman's baby, having a father without any sense of courage, duty, or honor. This man is absolutely shameless!
The thing about Canada is that nobody was drafted in WW1 until 1917, or in WW2 until 1944.
That's a lot of volunteers who didn't shirk their duty, including many brave American lads that came up and joined with us prior to America getting involved.
How times have changed...
This guy will return to the US later, become a college professor and be another spineless, liberal educator with an attitude AND tenure.
And he'll have plenty of doe-eyed, mush-for-brains students ready to applaud his cowardess.
"I feel sorry for Hinzman's baby, having a father without any sense of courage, duty, or honor. This man is absolutely shameless!"
Wait until wifey or baby get sick. Canada's health system seems to be about as good as it's submarines.
As for the TEXAS Rangers: If you're talking about the Law Enforcement organization, they've probably killed more people than the Army Rangers.
If you're talking about the baseball team..... well, they just choke and die.
Except to face charges for desertion.
Actually Sandy...we would prefer if you didn't let them out...
Love the tag line.
What people don't realize is that while there were 40,000 draft dodgers that went north, there were probably half that number of Canucks who came south and served with us, and I'm proud to know several.
Let them out of what? What are you talking about?
Ask veterans of the Battle of the Bulge how many cooks, clerks, and medics got pressed into combat. Even rear-area folks are expected to be able to defend themselves. (True conscientious objector medics like MOH winner Desmond Doss being the rare, and brave, exception.)
}:-)4
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.