Draft dodgers agree: parents hit hardest
The following story, last of three about Nebraska draft dodgers
now living in Canada, was written as an assignment in the UNL
School of Journalism Depth Reporting class. The author is a
senior from North Platte.
by Mary Huffman
Winnipeg, Manitoba-As Doug Milander watched the
Northwest Orient jet fade into the clouds this summer with his
wife, Mary, on board, it was, he said, "almost too much to bear."
Her destination: Elm Creek, Neb. It was her first trip back to
the United States since their decision to flee to Canada in
violation of the United States Selective Service Act in August
1969.
She was only about five hours from her former home, but her
husband found it difficult to imagine the freedom to come and go
across that long unguarded U.S. Canadian border.
"It was really hard watching her leave," Milander said. "But
she had to get it out of her system. She had really been looking
forward to it."
Their phone bill during her month in Nebraska: $82.
Not less than a month later, Mrs. Dale Fechner also made a
trip back to Nebraska-to her hometown of Omaha. Her husband
stayed in Winnipeg.
The draft dodgers' wives can come and go freely, but the
dodgers themselves know if they cross the border it's a $10,000
fine or five years in prison. So they don't risk coming to
Nebraska.
Of the Nebraska draft dogers in Winnipeg who consented to
interviews with a visiting American reporter, Milander, formerly
of Norfolk, is the only one who has not been indicted-yet.
He could try to come back. But, he asks: Why use Canada
when we needed it to escape from the States and then turn our
backs on it when it's safe?
"I've never killed anyone yet. You defy you country and you
are apathetic. . .1 could head some draft dodging group here, but
why? I'll just sit back and look out for myself."
Meanwhile, Milander's parents have been on the receiving end
of repercussions to his exile. They said they would rather not talk
about it. The other parents feel the same way. What can they say?
Milander said: "It was embarrassing to my parents. I was the
first evader from Madison County."
In Albion, Neb., Dale Fechner's parents have been "bothered"
by townspeople's reactions, Dale said.
"I test people out and ask them what they think of dodgers,"
Fechner said., "and I understand my father is starting to do the
same. It's not so bad now as when I first left."
The Fechners are the only couple who have been inside the
United States since their immigration. They moved to Canada
before he was inducted, and went back to Nebraska a year ago
August on vacation.
"We weren't really happy with the way things were. It seems
like everything is backward in Nebraska," Fechner said.
Now the Fechners are looking forward to Canadian
citizenship, which they will apply for after living in Winnipeg five
years.
"We'll let Jeromy (2-year-old son) choose if he wants to be a
Canadian citizen," he said.
All of the draft dogers keep in contact with home more by
telephone than by letter. It takes a letter four or five days to get
from Winnipeg to Nebraska.
Their parents visit at least once or twice a year. They are a
Pony Express service to and from home to deliver messages and
packages to all the exiles.
The last time John Dietz' parents went to visit, they had an
alternative reason for making the trip. They were looking for real
estate near Winnipeg, with the possibility of retiring in Manitoba.
"We've noticed how Winnipeg is much like Lincoln, with
rolling hills around the city," they said, relaxing in their Omaha
home. "But we don't want to live right in the city of Winnipeg."
There is one drawback. Their son John, who was the first
Nebraska draft dodger in Winnipeg, will be eligible for a Canadian
passport in about 2 years. He could then visit Europe.
"We're not going to follow the boy all over the place," his
father said.
When Dietz picked Winnipeg on the map, he took into
consideration the proximity for his parents, who would make the
trip by car or bus. Now they are saving for retirement near
Winnipeg.
Dietz' mother and father, Eugene, 62, and Ruth, 56, say they
don't blame their son for not going to the war. Struggling to keep
back the tears, Mrs. Dietz said she is both happy and sad her son
is exiled in Canada.
"We're very much against the war, so why should he even go if
he doesn't believe in it?" they asked.
They are eager for news about John. And they pointed
proudly to a 5x7 glossy picture of John at his last job, at
Manitoba Centennial Corp. It is displayed on the bookcase in the
living room-the most prominent place.
"Doesn't he look like a Viking. . .a typical Canadian?" his
father asked. His mother pulled out a scrapbook with news
clippings and pictures of John at the University of Nebraska.
"We hated not to see him get his diploma," they said. Dietz
left the country two months before graduation.
Both Dietz and his parents recalled how the FBI came to the
graduation ceremony and asked friends if they had seen him
around.
The draft dodgers themselves are more relaxed talking about
their familes than the other way around. They're sensitive, but
not afraid to talk.
They joke about not ever being able to return, how they miss
cornfed Nebraska beef, and they ask questions about the
University:
"Is Professor Lee still there? Mow has the campus changed?.
. .Have they changed hours for the girls in the dorm?" -
Dietz wanted an update on the racial situation in Omaha,
.and he didn't know Ernie Chambers was in the Legislature.
The Fechners were surprised to hear that Norbert Tiemann is
no longer governor. "Who's this Exon?" they asked.
When they get together, especially with another Nebraskan,
the conversation turns to "back home."
And there's the inevitable fear of a sickness or a death in the
family.
"I've been lucky,"- said Dietz. "No relatives have really been
sick."
"The FBI checks out funerals, you know," Dietz said.
Milander volunteered: "What bothers me most is that I can't
go back for my parents' funerals."
This is one of the consequences the draft dodgers didn't really
think about when they cut their ties with America. They were
younger then, and so were their parents.
Johnson, who said his father cried when he fled, also said his
parents have calmed down since he came to Winnipeg about a
year and a half ago. But when he asked them if they would be
interviewed, they said no.
"The real bummer," Johnson said, "is not being able to go
back when your parents die. They devote their entire lives to you.
. .and you won't even be there. . ."
Johnson has said just what was on their minds. . .they all
agreed.
Not that they are going to sit there and brood about it. . .it
just happens to be something very close to them. And the
parental visits are getting fewer.
Dodger Paul Norton's wife Sylvia of North Platte wrote from
Toronto: "We are sorry Paul cannot visit the United
States-especially as his parents are getting older and it gets harder
for them to make the trip. . ."
Their only hope about ever returning, although they don't
really think about it, is if an amnesty is granted.
"But we're established here now. Why pick up and start all
over again?" asks Dale Fechner.
If there were an amnesty, the draft dodgers would not return,
they say. However, they would jump at the chance for a visit with
friends and family.
Presidential candidate Sen. George McGovern D-S.D., has
urged general amnesty for all those "who went into exile or to
jail" to protest the Vietnam war.
Until that happens, the draft dodgers will continue to salute
the Maple Leaf and continue to go on living and working in
Winnipeg, Vancouver, Montreal, Waterloo. . .
Which raises the question: How do Canadians react to the
American immigrants? Do the Americans pose a threat to the job
market?
The official Canadian line: "Canada welcomes people of good
character and in good health, who have the education, training,
skills (or qualifications) and personal attributes to settle there
permanently and to share in Jhe country's growth and
prosperity,"
On the other hand, "Most Canadians are slightly
anti-American," said Ron Goodrich, draft resistance coordinator
in Winnipeg. "I'm a Canadian myself, and when Canadians see
Americans turn their back on their country, that's one star for
their opinion. . .but it's not on a personal basis."
One Canadian said "It's not that they're taking jobs away. .
they're really helping our country with their talent."
Turn to page 8.
D
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D
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Attitudes . . .
Continued from page 2.
about being a homosexual to
avoid military service.
"They say they find it
impossible to find work," he
said, but once the statement is
on their record that's
"falsification of a government
document and there's nothing
you can do."
MCCLAUGHLIN SAID
homosexuality "disqualifies"
anybody from military service,
so non-gays claim it to prevent
service and gays who want to
enlist lie about their sexual
preference.
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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1971
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
PAGE 3