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Articles: Leaving Military: AWOL

AWOL Soldier Plans to Return From Canada

Associated Press

Sptember 23, 2006

"I decided that I've got to go back and get this over with once and
for all, instead of living in limbo up here forever," Darrell
Anderson told the Lexington-Herald Leader for Saturday's edition from
Toronto.

Anderson, 24, served seven months in Iraq with the 1st Armored
Division. He received a Purple Heart after being wounded by a
roadside bomb. But he said he quickly became disillusioned with the
war.

Anderson, who arrived in Canada by way of Niagara Falls in January
2005, had hoped to build a new life north of the border. But his
Canadian attorney missed a deadline for filing paperwork to have him
declared a refugee, which would have allowed him to remain in the
country.

He said that not only meant he could not qualify for a government
work permit - which he had to have to get a job - it also opened the
possibility that Canadian authorities might deport him, even though
he had married a Canadian woman.

He said he's been scraping along, working odd jobs, relying on the
generosity of Canadian friends and help from his family in the United
States.


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This summer, Anderson was among a group of American military
deserters visited by "peace mom" Cindy Sheehan, who was in Canada to
support sanctuary for those fleeing the U.S. military.

Now, Anderson said he is planning to turn himself in to a special
processing unit at Fort Knox for soldiers absent without leave and
accept whatever punishment he's given.

"I just decided that I've got to face my demons, put on my uniform,
and go back and tell the Army that I don't want to participate in
this war," he said. "I feel like I have to tell them face-to-face; I
have to make my stand once and for all."

After reviewing Anderson's record, the commander could order a less-
than-honorable discharge or refer the case to a court-martial, which
could impose a prison term and a dishonorable discharge, said Fort
Knox spokeswoman Gini Sinclair.

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