The Hindu : International : U.S. deserter arrested after 38 years

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2006

International

International

U.S. deserter arrested after 38 years

Washington: A man was being held in a U.S. military prison on Monday for deserting from the marines 38 years ago after being caught on the American-Canadian border amid a new drive to track down Vietnam-era deserters. Allen Abney (56), who lives in British Columbia and who is now a Canadian citizen, had frequently crossed into the U.S. without incident. His family was caught by surprise when he and his wife were stopped by immigration officials on Thursday on their way to a social event in Reno, Nevada. ``They were crossing British Columbia-Idaho border, and they handed in their passports and they were told they would have to come inside,'' Jessica Abney, the couple's daughter told the Guardian. ``I don't think he'd been worrying about it, because he'd been in the States hundreds of times since he deserted. I don't think he lived his life that way.'' Mr. Abney is not the only ex-marine to have been tracked down for desertion recently. Since he took over the marine corps Absentee Collection Centre in 2004, chief warrant officer James Averhart has reopened cold cases and claims to have tracked down 33 deserters. ``I have a different leadership style than the guys who have had this job. My job is to catch deserters. And that's what I do,'' he told Florida's St Petersburg Times. Legal observers said the new drive to hunt down Vietnam deserters is designed as a deterrent for soldiers being sent to Iraq.

— © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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