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Army Deserter Receives German Peace Prize
February 8, 2009
While millions of American Military Members continue to bravely serve our country in harms way, one US Army deserter or should I say coward, received a German Peace Prize on Saturday, for being a coward. This Army Deserter, SPC Andre Shepherd, who is originally from Cleveland Ohio, is currently attempting to claim political asylum in Germany. On Saturday, Shepherd was awarded the Munich American Peace Committee’s annual prize, during a protest at a major security conference that occurred in southern Germany.1
Shepherd had served one tour in Iraq and had returned to Germany where he was stationed, when he went AWOL a year and a half ago. He applied for asylum in Germany on November 26th of last year, claiming he morally objected to the war in Iraq. After his deployment and subsequent return to Germany, he began to explore options. He eventually went AWOL on April 11, 207 from the Katterbach base in the middle of the night, showing to the world, what a coward he really is. What happened to the Oath he took when he enlisted in the Army, the Code of Conduct and Army Ethos? It’s obvious that he’s someone who doesn’t realize the significance of those. He’s lived underground in Germany since that time.2
This turns my stomach for so many reasons. I find it despicable that SPC Shepherd is being rewarded in this manner for his actions, when in all reality, he should be spending many years in Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks. According to publicity about the award from the Munich American Peace Committee, Shepherd was given the award “for his courage and conviction in spite of the possibly extreme punishment from the US authorities and for publicizing your convictions to five other soldiers the courage to also leave the army and push for peace.”3
My response to that is, ‘What a load of utter crap!’ If he really was such a courageous person, one would think that he’d have the guts to go through the appropriate process to see if he was eligible for Conscientious Objector status. Sure the process is a lengthy one, but it’s morally the ethically the right way to go about it, instead of being a coward and turning tail and running. His petition for asylum was heard by German authorities on Wednesday and is currently under consideration. I would hope that German authorities will do the right thing and turn him over to US Military authorities. Hopefully that’s exactly what they’ll do and Shepherd will spend some much deserved time locked up in Leavenworth. It’s the right thing to do.
- http://www.military.com/news/article/February-2009/us-deserter-receives-german-peace-prize.html?col=1186032307786 [↩]
- http://www.mc-network.de/Andre%20Shepherd.html [↩]
- http://www.military.com/news/article/February-2009/us-deserter-receives-german-peace-prize.html?col=1186032307786 [↩]
Comments
7 Responses to “Army Deserter Receives German Peace Prize”
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So he went AWOL and foud a place that likes him. (good). What we don’t know is why did this happen in the first place.
Let him stay over there and when they get tired of paying for his life of peace, where do he think he is going to go!?
Mr. Shepherd has told us all that he does not want to be free any more, so let him enjoy his life and don’t get ourselfs in a pickel.
We whom have served, this is a set-back to us all, that in this centrey some of us still go astray.
Rember, that there is a Prize for being a coward, it is the German Peace Prize.
I hope Mr. Shepherd knows that he is on the reenter list as a trader.
What makes him so sure he will live in peace with himself?While men and women yes women leaving their kids at home so they can help in Irak.Must make him feel very proud.I as vet urge every soldier or vet that knows his were abouts to make his hiding place open because he isnt free.He is scared to pick up his prize.And like we all say surprizes come from above! I hope youre familie is proud also!!
i don’t want to rush to judgement. …….
1. perhaps he did yake the wrong way out.
OR
2.Did he see or hear things that made him say NOT FOR ONE MORE DAY,i cAN NOT BE A PART OF THE WAR FOR OIL?
YOU MUST REMEmBER most of teh world and even a couple of our politicians voted against this action and knew it had nothingn to do with 911 and was a bout oil control and profits .
What did he learn in germany? who assisted him and why?
after our own doj TOOK CHENEY S OLD COMPANY ON -HALIBURTON HAD TO PAY MILLIONS IN FINES and GIVE UP REBUILD CONTRACTS TO OPEN BIDS .
HISTORY WILL SHOW IT WAS sham gone bad .it was a money maker they had no clue of the real politics and problems that wouldnt allow us to get in bomb the hell out of them take opver and and get out. WE OWE (see our economy and the world economy) paying with our children’s TRILLIONS FOR THAT MISTAKE.
fighting in iraq where the terrorists were Not - and there were no other major terriorists actions planned in teh USA- and our other FEDERAL agencies took care of thE TERRORISTS and terrorism was continuing in other parts of the world. UNTIL THOSE CONUNTRIES DID THIER OWN WORK.
SO LET’S GET THE WHOLE STORY.
WHAT DID HE SEE /HEAR/ KNOW ?
HE DID COMPLETE A TOUR. HONORABLY so i wonder….
WAS HE MORALLY REPULSED OR REPULSIVE? We need facts to find out.
sorry onthe typos.
You all think you are so high and mighty writing your blogs from behind your computer and judging this man who served this great country in a war that was founded on greed and deception. The author of this original blog should just take his place on the battle field. Then no one will have to panic about one less young American fighting to make Cheney rich.
Detlef, actually I’m the author of this article at A Soldier’s Mind and I stand by my story and my views of Shepherd. If you can’t accept that I’m entitled to my own opinion, then I’m really sorry for you. That’s the beauty of living in the United States, WE have the right to our own opinions!!!! I have friends and family members who have served in Iraq. Not once but several times and guess what? Even though they didn’t particularly enjoy being deployed and away from friends and family members, they served honorably and proudly, because THAT WAS THEIR JOB!!!! If Mr. Shepherd didn’t wish to honor his contract with the military and serve his country, then he never should have placed his signature on the dotted line. He could have followed the official protocol for contienticous objector status, but instead, he chose the cowards way out.
Any true American that has gone over there and put his life on the line for his family and friends will find this dude a coward. I personally have volunteered for two tours over there, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I have seen and heard things that will make you curl up in the fetal position and cry for your mommy. Sheppard is weak in every sense of the word. Give him the award who cares but he knows he’s a coward his family knows he’s a coward and the rest of America knows he’s a cowards. This may be a war for oil or your country didn’t agree with what we did. The bottom line is we are over there fighting to bring each other back regardless what it’s over. So Sheppard, I wont give you the respect by calling you by your rank that you don’t deserved. I don’t care what you saw or heard you took a COWARDS way out of protecting your brothers and family, you are a true coward and never welcome back into my beautiful country. Oh and I pray to god that I never run into your weak ass protesting in the streets of SF because I’ll own you!!!!
Well I see most of you have bad things to say about him, well i’m not going to pass judgement because some of you are quick to call him a coward when you may have not served yourself, also he didn’t run out off iraq he served his tour, now being in the military myself i can’t say i would have done the same but atleast he had the balls to do what he felt was right, now how many of you would have comfort him if he couldn’t sleep at night because of people that he killed? I signed up to protect the U.S. liberating some other country wasn’t in that oath i said. nor was dying for iraq, if anyone else has a issue with it then i suggest you buy a gun and get a plane ticket and finish the job, any takers?