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Three veterans share views on Marine Hering going AWOL

By James B. Meadow, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 22, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Blood, honor, fear, loyalty, immorality, the horrific prospect of returning to Armageddon - these are the themes unfurling around the curious case of Lance Hering.

At least they are to three military veterans, men who are either convinced or conflicted - or both - about how to view the actions of the young U.S. Marine who faked his own disappearance in Boulder more than two years ago and went AWOL before being arrested in Washington state last week.

While Hering, 23, who saw action in Iraq and was supposed to show up for a second tour, waits to see whether civilian or military jurisprudence has first crack at him, his decision to avoid his next deployment is something that has catalyzed opinions and emotions within three former warriors who once wore their country's uniform.

Artie Guerrero

A Vietnam vet who served with the 75th Rangers, Guerrero paid the "half-ultimate price" after coming home with terrible wounds suffered in an ambush on April 23, 1967, a little more than a year after he was drafted into the Army. The three bullets and shrapnel that tore through his body and sent him home from the bloody jungles of Southeast Asia soon led to multiple sclerosis, which has confined the 64-year-old Denver native to a wheelchair since 1977.

From that wheelchair, Guerrero says, "From my personal opinion, AWOL is never justified. You cannot desert. You cannot run. I can't condone what he (Hering) did. It was against the rules and regulations, against the code. When you raise your hand and say, 'I will do everything in my power to protect the Constitution of the U.S.,' you've got to do it."

But it doesn't take long for Guerrero to segue from disapproval to sympathy.

"While I don't condone it, by the same token, I wonder about who might have sent a vulnerable kid back to combat. You can't keep sending vets back to war more than once."

Guerrero lets out a small sigh and says,"You can't talk about war unless you've been there. It's a different kind of fear. A life- or-death fear."

Enough fear to make someone think about bailing out?

"Absolutely, it goes through everyone's mind. Hey, I'm a combat veteran - I was awarded the Silver Star, a Bronze Star; I have a whole list of awards. But I don't care who you are, when you get in a firefight, and the enemy is shooting bullets at you, well, it goes through everyone's mind. Y'know, how do I get out of this mess? Shoot myself in the leg? Go AWOL?' "

Although Guerrero is "pretty sure I went to Vietnam totally sane, when you're in combat, you're not sane. Humans in a sane situation do not kill other people. But in war, you will do everything possible to come out alive."

Jason Crow

He served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq as a captain in the U.S. Army. He endured numerous firefights, and afterward, when the adrenaline had ebbed, he would realize how frightening it had been. He felt anger when one of his men didn't come back from leave, but he put it aside because he had to worry about the men who had returned to do their duty.

"I think everybody who raises their right hand and takes an oath, they have an obligation, not only to their country, but to the people you serve with," says 29-year-old Jason Crow. And while Hering's decision was "obviously very personal," the point is, "I think Lance Hering has not fulfilled his obligation."

And yet, "I'm conflicted. I also think there's another side to this story, and that's the issue of what kind of effect this war, these wars, are having on our servicemen and women."

It's the issue of "the lack of treatment both within the active duty and veterans system when they leave active duty." It's about post traumatic stress disorder and the fact that, "It's not a matter of whether someone will be affected by PTSD, it's a matter of when."

Having been in the hell of combat, Crow knows people react very differently to the stresses of war. "I've seen that firsthand. Some handle it better than others. (Hering) may have been in a situation where he felt compelled to do what he did - go AWOL, desert, I'm not going to speculate on which it was - because he was desperate."

Jeff Englehart

He doesn't know Lance Hering, doesn't presume to know his particular circumstances. But former Army Specialist Jeff Englehart, 28, does know what it's like to take up arms for his country. He knows what it's like because "I was a machine gunner on a Humvee" in Baqouba, one of Iraq's deadliest sectors, where the Sunni insurgency was always boiling.

Englehart also knows the bitter aftertaste of participating in an "immoral occupation."

Which is why the staunch member of Iraq Veterans Against The War says, "I support any soldier under any circumstances who chooses to refuse participation in an illegal occupation."

He believes this so strongly he feels Hering going AWOL is "justified." It is "any soldier's right to do that if they find something unconscionable."

Although, by the end of his tour in Iraq, he admits to being "frustrated and discouraged," Englehart concedes, "I did feel that fulfilling my obligation to my contract was the personally responsible thing."

But in the next sentence, he insists, "If I was still in the army now and getting orders to Iraq, I would not go."

Neither would most of the veterans he's spoken to, veterans who have told him, "The moral issues surrounding this illegal occupation are just too great."

Comments

  • November 22, 2008

    6:24 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Curtis writes:

    It's nice to see some more moderate viewpoints. From the comments on previous articles the Marines seemed more like a dysfunctional family all too ready to eat their own.

  • November 22, 2008

    6:43 a.m.

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    TMcna82298 writes:

    I am a former Marine, and I really don't care. I don't condone deserting, or going AWOL. I am happy to know that the Marines want to give him a fair trial.
    He,(Lance Hering), should have thought about talking to someone. He might have talked to a family member or his pastor.

  • November 22, 2008

    7:46 a.m.

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    Michael writes:

    Only those that have experienced combat, known that fear, seen the death and destruction, and balanced all that with the oath they took and the responsibility they have to our country and their brothers in arms are allowed to really comment on a situation like this. The rest of us who have not are just idiots and have no valid right to. He will be judged by those that have the right to judge him and have been there.

  • November 22, 2008

    8:05 a.m.

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    VietNamVet writes:

    I cannot think of a valid reason to go AWOL. When one joins the service, he swears that he will serve his country. There is no room in the service for a lance corporal to make the moral decisions about any given conflict. He should have thought about that before he joined. Perhaps he (and the Corps) would have been better served if he had just served his jail time for the burglary he committed and been done with it.

  • November 22, 2008

    8:33 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Curtis writes:

    Michael - I think everyone in this country has a 1st amendment right to comment on any issue.

    VietNamVet - I think one of the most important things we can do as a human being is to make moral decisions about evey action we make.

  • November 22, 2008

    9:06 a.m.

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    hikingartist writes:

    Freeman, you have no right to judge Jeff or anyone else and the war (occupation) in Iraq was not justified. We can't cover all the points in this short space, but at the end of the day, it is the US that is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and injuries in Iraq with its needless invasion. Do you think the average Iraqi cares wherther their child is killed by Saddams henchmen or errant US bullets? Is it better that Iraqis died in their markets and streets by the benevolent US hand rather than a psychopathic Saddam? Their are 2 sides to everything, war is no different, and it's moralistic jerks like you that give fighting for freedom a bad name. Believe it or not, there is more than one way to win a war.

  • November 22, 2008

    9:10 a.m.

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    mt writes:

    What if he was a gopher trying to outwit a fox, would we not applaud him then also. What if you were to post something that relates to this article would we possibly not make fun of you then? Point is he was a Marine plain and simple. He did not join a supremacits gang he joined the proud Marine Core. Those who have not served and only complained and protested the military have no right to comment on the criminal proceedings conducted by the military on their own personnel. We service men have sacrificed to give you the right to live a whole an free life then you turn around and crap on us for the way we did it. Be proud of yourself.

  • November 22, 2008

    9:11 a.m.

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    Michael writes:

    Curtis - I knew without doubt there would be someone like you using your 1st Amendment right to say you can comment on this. You are correct, the 1st Amendment gives you the right to do so. But that "right" to bloviate is balanced against your knowledge of the situation. You also have the "right" to comment on how to design a Boeing jetliner or how to build a nuclear submarine - but if you lack the expertise and knowledge to do so, your words are just clatter and noise.

  • November 22, 2008

    9:21 a.m.

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    Michael writes:

    Do you think the average Iraqi cares wherther their child is killed by Saddams henchmen or errant US bullets? - YES. I think just like anyone that the Iraqis would rather die fighting for freedom than being slaughtered like sheep. Ask the French, the Fillipinos, the Belgians, the Dutch, the Chinese, the S Koreans, or the many other countries and people that the US has liberated over the decades if there was a difference between being killed by the Nazis, the Japanese, the N Koreans, etc. or dying with or even by American forces in their fight for freedom. I know that answer already.
    Is it better that Iraqis died in their markets and streets by the benevolent US hand rather than a psychopathic Saddam? Agan...YES. There is a huge difference in dying in the fight to claim your country back from extremists, tyrants, terrorists, and more than simply being killed for entertainment or by being persecuted.
    Those that cannot see this difference cannot be debated on this topic due to their blind hatred for this war and our President for invading Iraq.

  • November 22, 2008

    9:46 a.m.

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    mt writes:

    Sorry about the miss spell of corps. I was army, so my bad.

    Hot Fang- I presume you are guessing you are talking to a white man right now. Are you so racist that you think whites are the only ones allowed to fight and die for their country? Would my brothers and sisters be allowed to join a white supremacist gang? My taxes also paid for my salary, the road you drive on etc. We soldiers also PAID taxes and some gave their lives for twits like you to be able to spit in our face and say what you want (although a coward like you would never say it to our face). You would rather let your taxes pay someone else to fight for you. We soldiers protect the country against would be attackers that want to take away your rights and abilities to speak freely. And yes it was the soldiers that allowed you to find the time to curse at what we do. Stand there and preach all you want about what you know but realize that if it wasn't for the military you would be preaching in a different language.

  • November 22, 2008

    10:26 a.m.

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    Michael writes:

    freeman2night - Thank you, thank you, and thanks again to you and all your brothers in arms for being "moralistic jerks". God bless you for recognizing that although the Iraq War may have been badly mismanaged at times, that the mission was and is an honorable one. That it is not about conquest and oppression.

  • November 22, 2008

    10:48 a.m.

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    johnson writes:

    freema2night, I applaud your comments sir. And I thank you.

  • November 22, 2008

    12:09 p.m.

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    haloguy628 writes:

    Even Jeff Englehart who is quoted above and who seems to be the cause celebree (for all the wrong reasons) for specimens like HotFangs says that he felt fulfilling his obligation was important. Here's his quote from above:

    ------------------------------------------------------------------
    "I did feel that fulfilling my obligation to my contract was the personally responsible thing."
    ------------------------------------------------------------------

    I personally don't agree with and support Jeff Engleharts position, but he has my respect because he did upheld his part of the contract and then voiced his opinion on the war. That is very important distinction that conveniently escapes bozos like HotFangs and all of the cohorts supporting Herring. There are proper ways to demonstrate against and work toward change if one does not agree with what is happening or the policies in place.

    I personally believe that we should have focused on Afghanistan and Al Quaida there and not invaded Iraq. I also don't agree and am pretty scared by some of the changes that were instituted post 9/11, and the curtailment of civil and personal freedoms by the Bush administration. All of it based on fear mongering by the Bush administration and designed to increase power and control the government has over us citizens.

    This however did not compel me to go and do stupid things to change it. No, I waited for elections and voted the bozos out. In other words I used the proper method to get what I wanted.

    Lance Herring OTOH seems to me like somebody who only cares for himself. All of the facts are pointing toward his flawed character and selfishness. It is almost comical to me to see how he managed to harness the discontent and anger created by the past eight years to his personal benefit. I must admit he is very good con man.

  • November 22, 2008

    12:16 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    GetReal writes:

    I wonder how many angered, outraged and totally unsympathetic vets were interviewed and dismissed by The Rocky for their manufactured puff piece story on Hering, before they settled on going with these somewhat critical but amazingly understanding three.

    Is anyone really believing this gives a fair representation of how the majority of vets feel towards a deserter?

    Apparently, it's what the RMN wants you to believe.

  • November 22, 2008

    12:28 p.m.

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    LS writes:

    Thank you freeman2night, for your service and commitment. I believe it takes a braver a soldier to defend this unpopular war, than for one not to after doing tour(s) the Middle East. Hats off to you sir.

  • November 22, 2008

    3:38 p.m.

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    ptcruiser writes:

    Hotfangs, I hope your being sarcastic, because he is a panzy, I, like freeman2night have been to Iraq(x2) and going again, and unless I just woke up it is an all volunteer force. He had no courage by staging his disappearance, ruining his father, friends life. His service to basic human decency was to waste valuable time searching for his turn tail self. Bet they can't wait to get his name on the rolls for "Vets against Iraq war"

  • November 22, 2008

    4:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Garip writes:

    It would appear that none of you really knows what this issue is about. The kid didn't run from the military, per se. He was running from a group of idiots IN the military that made thier own rules. Under the circumstances, who can blame him? Certainly now me. I'll wait to see ALL the information before passing judgment. But, since the military protects its own, it may never come to pass that any one of us really knows the truth.

  • November 22, 2008

    9:01 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    haloguy628 writes:

    Garip, check the facts. The idiots you speak of were already convicted and in the brig when he deserted. They were just convenient excuse for Lance and his supporters when he decided to run from commitment.

    You can try to muddy the issues and sew confusion, in the end the truth is obvious. Herring is just selfish liar, cheat, deserter, and weakling. It is always somebody or something, but never him that is guilty of wrongdoing.