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Canadian held for deserting U.S. marines in 1968

Last Updated Sun, 12 Mar 2006 23:43:50 EST

CBC News


A B.C. man spent the weekend detained at a military base in California after being arrested for deserting the U.S. Marine Corps four decades ago during the Vietnam War. Allen Abney, who was born in the United States but became a Canadian citizen in 1977, was arrested at a border crossing on Thursday while trying to enter Idaho from southeastern British Columbia.


Abney, 56, lives in Kingsgate in British Columbia's East Kootenay region, in a house about 100 metres from the Canada-U.S. border.

He and his wife were on their way for a holiday in Reno, Nev., when U.S. officials accused him of desertion and took him into custody.

In 1968, Abney was a 19-year-old marine when he fled to Canada because he didn't want to fight in Vietnam.

He is the third marine from the Vietnam era to be arrested this month, and Toronto lawyer Jeffrey House believes the marines are trying to make examples of deserters to discourage those who might think of avoiding the Iraq war.

"They've got 8,000 deserters from the Iraq war, those are the official numbers, and my take on it is they are trying to send a message to marines who are actually in the forces now that they will never be forgiven," he said.

Charges on desertion can result in penalties ranging from a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. military to a court martial and possible jail sentence.

U.S. military 'not saying anything,' Abney's wife says

His wife, Adrienne, said Abney was being held in a military prison at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

"They're not saying anything to him yet," she told CBC News.

"I talked to him twice on Friday, just very briefly. He's in the brig."

Arrest came during routine crossing

Abney's wife said the trouble began when their passports were checked during a routine border crossing.

"After running them through some computer, they said we'd have to come inside," she said.

"They took Alan away into a room and locked him up."

Then customs officials confiscated several of Abney's personal items, she said.

"They took his belt, his suspenders, shoes, his wallet, his glasses, everything."

Abney said her husband's case has come to the attention of Lynn Gonzalez, a counsellor with the San Diego Military Counseling Project.

The group's website explains that it offers support to "active duty folks and their families who are having problems within the military."

Abney said Gonzalez is keeping in touch with her about the case.

"She phoned me yesterday and said, basically he's all right," she said.

"We're just waiting to hear what they are going to do."

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