Supporters rally; James sentenced to six months in stockade and bad conduct discharge

July 17, 2008

James Burmeister was serving in Baghdad when his humvee was caught in an IED explosion and he was hit in the face with shrapnel. Suffering from the physical and emotional wounds resulting from his injury, and his experiences working with "bait and kill" teams in Iraq, James went to Canada and was AWOL until earlier this year when he decided to return to the U.S., turn himself in, and move on with his life.

By Camilla Mortensen, Eugene (Oregon) Weekly. May 22, 2008

PFC James Burmeister enlisted in the military because he thought he would be doing "humanitarian work" in Iraq. But he was manning a machine gun, using ammunition so large his targets — humans — would "literally explode," the day in Baghdad that his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb. He was knocked unconscious, and bits of shrapnel were embedded in his face.

Burmeister went AWOL (absent without leave) and fled to Canada.... Now the 23-year-old soldier from Eugene waits at Fort Knox, Ky., to discover whether the Army will prosecute him, release him without access to medical care for his injuries or try yet again to send him back to a war he doesn't want to fight.

Read more... (Eugene Weekly link)

Erich's son James Burmeister (photo right) voluntarily returned from Canada, where he had taken refuge from an Iraq redeployment. James turned himself in at Fort Knox, Kentucky on March 4. The Army has yet to decide between court martialing him, discharging him, or attempting to "reabilitate" him for another deployment .

Erich Burmeister. May 12, 2008

Passion and empathy: Why is it that it takes a harsh reality to kick in your own front door, grab you by the scruff of your own all too relaxed neck, before you really cry again. Maybe its cancer, a hurricane, a drunk driver, somebody gone crazy with a gun on campus, in a shopping center, on the job, on the freeway, or maybe a kid with a gun in a war, a soldier, your kid, like mine PFC James Burmeister.

Action Alert: Write James!
PFC James Burmeister; HHC Bldg 298; Gold Vault Rd; Fort Knox, KY 40121

Courage to Resist. April 11, 2008 update

PFC James Burmeister recently returned from Canada and turned himself in to the Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky on March 4. In May 2007, James refused redeployment to Iraq. He lived in Canada for ten months with the help of the War Resisters Support Campaign. In order to move on with his life, he returned to the US and surrendered to the military. He has been threatened with a court martial and jail, however he is still waiting for the military to figure out what they are going to do with him. Supporters hope that James is discharged soon “in lieu of court martial” like hundreds of other returning AWOL soldiers are every year.

15 min. excerpt from a January 2008 radio interview with Erich and James Burmeister aired on KLCC of Eugene, Oregon: