Free Republic

A B.C. man who was arrested last week in the U.S. for deserting the Marines in 1968 was freed from a military jail Thursday evening. Allen Abney, 56, has been granted an administrative discharge after being held in a military prison in Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego, since his arrest last Thursday. "The Marine Corps determined that it would be in the best interest of justice, the Marine Corps and Mr. Abney to separate him administratively," said Lt. Lawton King. "He's been discharged from the Marine Corps so he's no longer a Marine." King said privacy laws prevented him...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- A man who deserted from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1968 likely will be freed within a week without a court martial, a marine corps spokesman said. Allen Abney, 56, was arrested last Thursday when he and his wife tried to cross into the United States from their home in Kingsgate, B.C. A routine computer check revealed an arrest warrant for the father of three, officials said. He was being held in the Camp Pendleton brig north of San Diego in a private room with a window and access to television, Lieut. Lawton King, a marine...