Deserter Charles R. Jenkins Sent to Prison
65 year old Sgt. Charles R. Jenkins, who deserted the Army and defected to North Korea was court-marshaled for desertion, soliciting other service members to desert, aiding the enemy, and encouraging disloyalty. He pled guilty to the charged stemming from his desertion 39 years ago. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, demotion to private, and a dishonorable discharge.
According to the AP report, Jenkins issued a statement during his court-marshal where he explained himself thusly:
He said he began thinking of fleeing because he was afraid he would be transferred to dangerous daytime “hunt and kill” patrols in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas, and feared he could not lead a squad into fighting.
“I started drinking alcohol,” he said, bursting into tears. “I never drank so much before.”
Jenkins said he was also convinced he would be sent to Vietnam.
“I knew Vietnam was combat, and jungle warfare,” he told the court. “I’d never been in the jungle in my life. How could I lead soldiers there?”
After 10 days of planning, he headed for North Korea with a white T-shirt tied to his rifle as a flag of surrender.
“I walked slowly and arrived in the early morning because it was dark and mines were everywhere,” he said. “It was a no man’s land.”
Jenkins said he intended to ask the North Koreans to send him to the Soviet Union, and thought he would then be returned to the United States.
Instead, he said, he was treated harshly in North Korea and forced to teach English to military cadets from 1981 until 1985, adding that refusing to do so would have brought “hardship to me and my family that would never end.”
“I refused to teach for three days once,” he said. “They came to my house, tied me up and beat the hell out of me.”
My personal feeling is that it was a really, really stupid act by a really, really ignorant guy. He clearly had no idea what he was getting himself into and clearly got much more than he bargained for. The Far Eastern Economic Review has a very good article about what Jenkins said he experienced in North Korea.
At his sentencing, his defense lawyer, Capt. James Culp, said four decades in North Korea was punishment enough. I would have to agree with the defense lawyer. However, he could not just be let off with a “time heals all wounds” type of sentence. I think 30 days in jail is a fair and reasonable sentence as it show leniency to someone who has suffered a great deal, but also serves the needs of justice. Justice tempered with a healthy does of mercy is a good thing in appropriate circumstances, and I believe this is just such a circumstance.