Marines Discharge Vietnam-Era Deserter
A 56-year-old deserter was given an administrative discharge Thursday and a ride to San Diego’s Lindbergh Field so he could catch a flight home, a Marine Corps spokesman said.
Allen Abney deserted in 1968 and fled to Canada to avoid being sent to Vietnam. Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert decided to give him an administrative discharge rather than refer the case to a court-martial.
Abney was arrested last week when a random computer check showed a federal arrest warrant as he attempted to enter Idaho from British Columbia.
He was held in the Camp Pendleton brig.
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