Agustin Aguayo Agustin Aguayo ( born c . 1971 ) is a veteran of the Iraq War . After several failed attempts to attain conscientious objector status , he deserted his unit in Germany in September 2006 to avoid redeployment to Iraq . He was convicted of desertion by a court martial March 6 , 2007 and served six months in prison . His trial led Amnesty International to declare him a prisoner of conscience , and made him a hero to the American and European anti - war movements . Background . Agustin Aguayo is a U . S . citizen who was born in Guadalajara , Mexico . He enlisted in the United States Army in 2002 to earn money for his education . The following year , Operation Iraqi Freedom began . Aguayo was trained by the Army as a combat infantryman . After his advanced individual training he was stationed in Germany , and was soon deployed to the Middle East . Though Aguayo was not anti - war at the time of his enlistment , he stated that he became anti - war as a result of his experiences in the Army . In February 2004 , he applied for conscientious objector status , but was denied , reportedly by a vote of two to one by the three - person panel . He was deployed to Tikrit , where he served a year as a combat medic . In 2005 , he sued in federal court to force the Army to recognize him as a conscientious objector , but his suit was denied . Imprisonment . Agustin Aguayo was notified his unit would be returned to Iraq and instead missed his unit ' s movement to that theater of operations . When military police came to his home in Schweinfurt , Germany on September 2 , 2006 , he climbed out of the bathroom window , going AWOL for 24 days . On September 27 , he turned himself in at Fort Irwin in California , stating that " It is the right thing to do . . . I ' m not a deserter or a coward . " On March 6 , 2007 , Aguayo was convicted of desertion by a court - martial in Würzburg , Germany . He was given a sentence of only eight months ' imprisonment , rather than the possible maximum of seven years . Aguayo told the court that " I tried my best , but I couldn ’ t bear weapons and I could never point weapons at someone . " An army prosecutor dismissed Aguyao ' s reasoning , stating , " His service was going to be important as a medic regardless of whether he was carrying a weapon or not . " He was given a bad conduct discharge and his rank reduced to the lowest grade . Following his conviction , Amnesty International named Aguayo a prisoner of conscience , arguing that he had taken " reasonable steps to secure release from the army " and that he was " imprisoned solely for his conscientious objection to participating in war " . Release and activism . As Aguayo had already served 161 days in prison , he was released on April 18 . He then returned to his family in Los Angeles . On his return , he spoke of his experiences before an audience of antiwar activists , who gave him what the " Los Angeles Times " described as " a hero ' s welcome " . " Der Speigel " also described him as a " hero " to the US and European anti - war movements as a result of his trial . Aguayo began a speaking campaign at U . S . schools , describing his activities by saying , " I want to bring young people awareness . We ask them to sacrifice so much yet we don ' t educate them about the realities of war . " He received a German peace award on December 21 , 2007 . Family . Aguayo has a wife , Helga Aguayo , and two daughters .