Biography
David Hemler was a United States Air Force airman who deserted on February 10, 1984, aged 21, from the 6913th Electronic Security Squadron at Augsburg in West Germany, and hitchhiked through Denmark to Sweden. He attributed his desertion to pacifism — he had become involved with a pacifist church — and to his opposition to the policies of the Reagan administration. He lived in Sweden under an assumed name for twenty-eight years, telling no one his real identity, and came forward in June 2012, then aged 49, married with three children and working for a Swedish government agency; he said he had decided to stop as his children grew older, and contacted his parents and brother in the United States a few weeks before going public.
He was still listed as an Air Force fugitive when he came forward in 2012. Present residence and military-case status unverified: no dependable recent confirmation has been found of where he now lives or whether the desertion case against him remains open. He is recorded here as currently in exile on the assumption that he remains abroad.
