Defector Being Flown to U.S.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Army Pvt. Wade Roberts, who defected to the Soviet Union last April, was taken into custody in West Germany early today and is being flown back to the United States to face charges of desertion, the Army said.
A Pentagon spokesman said Roberts was seized in Frankfurt hours after he was flown there from Moscow and that he was put aboard a U.S. military plane due to arrive at Dover, Del., Air Force Base later today. Roberts, 22, of Riverside, Calif., deserted his unit in West Germany last March and fled to the Soviet Union with his West German girlfriend, who was not brought to the United States with him.
Arrival in Frankfurt, Page 5.
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