Jeremy Hinzman view photos
Jeremy Hinzman, 28, was the first to step forward as a deserter from Iraq and to seek refugee status in Canada. His unfolding test case, championed by lawyer and Vietnam-era draft dodger Jeffry House, will decide the fate of the others.
Raised by his grandparents in Rapid City, South Dakota, Jeremy wanted to go to college and to be a part of something bigger than himself. With limited financial and career options, the military seemed like a good choice. During basic training however, Jeremy began to have doubts about his ability to kill another human being. Nevertheless, he enlisted into the 82nd Airborne Division and performed so well that he qualified for elite Ranger School. Still, internally he increasingly questioned the use of violence as a means to end conflict, especially after the birth of his son Liam.
By the time Jeremy shipped from Fort Bragg, NC, to Afghanistan in 2003, he had already applied to be a Conscientious Objector (CO). His CO application for non-combatant status was turned down during an impromptu hearing at his Kandahar base, and he served out his deployment. When his unit was later called up for service in Iraq, Jeremy came to believe that in order to serve there, he would have to breach the Nuremberg Principles established after World War II, where it was determined that soldiers not only have a right but a responsibility to resist illegal orders. He decided to follow his conscience across the border to Canada, where his only option for immigration was to apply as a political refugee. Although Canada and the UN Security Council did not support the war in Iraq, Jeremy’s refugee claim was turned down in March 2005, as was his first appeal to a Federal Court in April 2006. He remains in Toronto, Canada with his wife and son, where he plans to appeal his case to the Federal Court of Appeal and ultimately, if necessary, the Canadian Supreme Court.
Joshua Key view photos
Joshua Key, 27, is a stocky Oklahoma country boy, and the picture of the blunt, well-meaning GI.
Growing up in rural America with limited career opportunities, Josh joined the military so he could provide health care for his family, and with hopes of possibly going to school someday. A good soldier, Private First Class Joshua Key deserted his infantry unit after conducting more than 100 raids on the homes of Iraqi families where he claims he found no evidence to justify his role in taking away all of the men over the age of 16 and sending them for interrogation to prisons such as Abu Ghraib. Moreover, he alleges that one day on a Quick Reaction Force mission in Ramadi, he saw two American soldiers kicking an Iraqi head around like a soccer ball. After that, he decided he could no longer participate in the Iraq War.
Deserting during Christmas leave in 2003, Josh and his wife Brandi took their then three children underground in Philadelphia for 14 months, moving between cheap hotels while Josh worked as a welder, growing increasingly anxious about being tracked down. Then Brandi learned she was pregnant with their fourth child. Trying to figure out their next move, Josh discovered the Canadian War Resisters' Support Campaign on-line after reading about Jeremy Hinzman’s case. Since coming to Canada, Josh has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he has learned that his mother in Oklahoma is terminally ill. To go back and see her before she dies would mean imprisonment.
Deciding they needed some space and quiet, Josh and Brandi moved out West in September. The quiet life is helping Josh cope, but sometimes he will go into violent rages, like the day he ripped the door off the family van. As he tries to grapple with his memories of combat and start a new life for his family, Josh awaits a decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Brandon Hughey view photos
Brandon Hughey, 20, was raised by a single father in San Angelo, Texas with had little hope for a college education. When a military recruiter called him at the age of seventeen offering him a signing bonus and ticket to college, Brandon decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. He never received his signing bonus, but Private Hughey continued his training. However, after his Armored Cavalry unit was called up for duty in Iraq, he began to question the war and had a change in conscience. Questioning his superiors about a possible discharge, he was told not to think so much and that he had no other option but to go and fight. Brandon became suicidal, but the night before his unit shipped out he decided a better option was to flee to Canada. His is the second case turned down by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board and the Federal Court, and he too plans to appeal his case all the way to the Canadian Supreme Court.
Kyle Snyder view photos
Kyle Snyder, 23, was trained as a landscaper, after a troubled and abusive childhood that landed him in foster care. Completing his high school equivalency at JobCorps, a second-chance program for troubled youth, Kyle walked off the stage after receiving his diploma and found a recruiter waiting for him. The recruiter promised that if Kyle joined the army he would never have to go to war, but would instead learn valuable skills in road construction. Young and naive, Kyle signed up and was shipped to Iraq where he manned a 50 caliber machine gun on top of a humvee. After witnessing an alleged execution in Mosul city hall, Kyle decided to desert to Canada during a two week furlough.
After initially living underground in Vancouver, Kyle is now developing a sense of belonging in the small community of volunteers working to help him stay in Canada. He reads his poetry to gatherings of war resisters. He stays in touch with his sergeant and other platoon members in Iraq via the internet. Since coming out of hiding, Kyle has also begun speaking publicly against the war, and hopes to encourage others in his position to speak out.