Army National Guard Sgt., Indiana native. Signed 8 year contract with National Guard in 2002. Deployed to Iraq and spent 5 months before being granted 2 weeks leave for stress relief. Rather than return, went underground and after 7 months, went to Toronto. Currently seeking refugee status in Canada. "I signed up to defend people and do humanitarian work filling sandbags if there was a hurricane. I should have been in New Orleans, not Iraq."

Former U.S. soldier seeks refugee status
By Anna Piekarski, Toronto Star. September 2, 2006