Deserter is not a draft dodger
By PETER WORTHINGTON -- For the Toronto Sun
While one can't guess what the refugee board will rule, from the evidence it's hard to conclude that Jeremy Hinzman deserted from the U.S. army for any reason other than he was scared.
This isn't to suggest he was a coward, because it takes a certain kind of courage to leave your country and claim refugee status rather than go to a dangerous area.
And it's not a comfortable feeling knowing that most of your countrymen will view you with disdain -- as will many Canadians -- if the refugee board accepts you as a "refugee" from what Hinzman claims is an "illegal war" in Iraq.
There's a certain amount of irony in this and other desertion cases, when Canada is in the midst of a campaign to raise money to buy the Victoria Cross won by Cpl. Fred Topham in World War II, that's being sold by his late wife's family.
Topham and his comrades of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion were undoubtedly scared in 1945 when they parachuted over the Rhine and Toppy won his VC -- the only VC won in the Sixth British Airborne Division to which Toppy's unit was attached.
The 1st Paras did more fighting in Northwest Europe than any other Canadian unit.
Hinzman was a paratrooper, too -- and deserted the U.S. 82nd Airborne on the eve of it being sent to Iraq.
Hinzman says the idea of killing people is repugnant to him, and that his application to be a conscientious objector was rejected.
One wonders why a conscientious objector would join the army.
Topham and his fellow soldiers didn't like killing either, but they did their duty.
In fact, Topham didn't kill -- he was a medic who repeatedly put his life at risk saving the wounded under fire.
Perhaps it isn't fair to compare the two men, but the question begs: Why did Hinzman join a volunteer army if he wasn't prepared to do what soldiers do, which is fight an enemy?
He wasn't drafted, he enlisted in early 2001. His claim that the war against Saddam Hussein was "illegal" rings hollow.
That's not a soldier's role to decide.
And the Vietnam situation doesn't apply either. During Vietnam America had the draft -- a conscript army.
Many Americans who didn't want to go to Vietnam or be in the military, came to Canada.
Some Canadian citizens now helping U.S. deserters were once Vietnam draft dodgers.
Even then, a draft dodger was different from a deserter -- a much more serious offence.
Most people don't have much use for deserters -- especially from a volunteer army, and before they've been shot at. A guy who deserts because he's been in combat too long, is different from someone who deserts because he doesn't want to risk combat.
Hinzman says he joined the army to get an education (war is an "education" although not the sort he wants).
His interest in Buddhism conflicts with his interest in the military, as does his status as a new parent, plus his sudden concern about the legality of wars.
As Hinzman says, he had no great "epiphany" -- just a growing dislike for the prospect of war.
It reached a peak when he was due to leave for Iraq.
Up to then, he'd apparently been an adequate soldier, passing all the training tests required.
Most likely is that fear dominated his psyche and after the outrage of 9/11, he realized soldiering wasn't for him.
So he fled to Canada.
I think Canada should send him home to deal with the consequences of his decisions.
******* I think that Mr. Worthington has the best wording and reasoning yet**** You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or
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