Let me start things off by saying that he was apprehended because he was careless. If you're going to commit a crime in the United States and flee to another country then don't return to the United States. D'uh! When it comes to crime this is an entry level mistake. For example, despite what you may think of Roman Polanski he fled prosecution and has never returned to the United States.
Now that I have that out of the way, I think this guy should serve time if he is convicted. He didn't receive his draft card and book it for Canada. He voluntarily enlisted, went through basic training for the Marine Corps and then fled the country before deployment. This sounds like someone who did not want to honour their commitment. It's not like the Vietnam conflict was a secret in 1968. It was on the nightly news and it is safe to say that a reasonable person could assume that enlisting in the United States Armed Forces could result in their deployment to Vietnam. It's not like he was having a ball at basic training and then was shocked to hear that he was being deployed to Vietnam upon completion.
If you're gonna dance you gotta pay the piper.
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