CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — It was crushing debt — not a desire to avoid military service — that led a sailor from Missouri to leave his naval base and return home, the sailor told a newspaper.
Seaman Apprentice Justin Burns was arrested May 26 at his home in Cape Girardeau, about 100 miles south of St. Louis. Also arrested at the home was Seaman Recruit Zachari Valentin, 20, of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Both were listed as deserters from the Carr, a guided missile frigate stationed in Norfolk, Va.
In an e-mail and interview with the Southeast Missourian newspaper published Friday, Burns said he and his wife, Brittany, were $22,000 in debt, in part because of a kidney ailment that left her hospitalized. Burns said the couple were trying to make $2,600 in monthly payments on $2,200 in monthly pay. He said he knew what he was doing when he failed to return to his ship on March 14.
"Some people call me gutless and say I was scared and ran from my duty," Burns wrote. "To them, I say this — it was not the fear of my duty to my country that I left. It was the fear of my duty to my son and wife. To fail them would be the biggest loss of all."
But Burns said he always intended to eventually return to the ship, noting that many sailors do not get discharged for lengthy unexcused absences. "However many days you are absent are added to your contract," he said.
Since the arrest, both sailors have been returned to the Carr. Chief Petty Officer Tom Kreidel, a spokesman for the Surface Force Atlantic public affairs office, said several disciplinary options are under consideration.
Burns' mother, Wendy Way of Cape Girardeau, said she hoped people won't judge her son harshly.
"He's making a decision that he feels he had to do," she said. "I support him, and I urge other people not to rush to judgment unless they are in the same situation."
Valentin was in Cape Girardeau at Burns' invitation. Burns would say only that Valentin was "having trouble adjusting to Navy life and nobody wanted to help him out."
Valentin was returning from his parents' home to Norfolk to turn himself in just prior to the Memorial Day weekend when Burns said he received a call from his shipmate. Burns asked him to come to Cape Girardeau and they would return together. Before they could leave, Burns said, Cape Girardeau police made the arrests.
Burns first reported to Norfolk on Aug. 6. His son, Landon, was born Aug. 30, and his difficulties with the Navy began when he sought housing assistance to bring his wife and son to Virginia. The Navy refused to pay for the move. Burns paid the $3,000 cost himself.
A short time later, his wife became ill with a kidney infection and was hospitalized for nearly a week, he said. By March, medical bills totaled $13,000. With other debt, he owed $22,000.
"Everyone seemed more than happy to give free advice, but when it came down to really doing something to help, no one seemed interested in helping," he said.
The ironic thing, Burns said, was that he joined the Navy to be able to support his family.
"Without a college education, I didn't have that much available," he said. "I expected good medical coverage, a steady paycheck and my family to be taken care of."