| Four decades after he vanished from his Army unit, a frail, tearful, 64-year-old American soldier pleaded guilty Wednesday to desertion, saying he wanted to avoid dangerous duty on the Korean peninsula and Vietnam. Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins was given a 30-day sentence and a dishonorable discharge, but the judge recommended suspending the jail term. The decision is up to the military, which was expected to rule on the recommendation soon. The plea, which came during a court-martial at this Army camp outside of Tokyo, was part of a bargain with U.S. military officials to win Jenkins a lesser sentence. The maximum sentence in his case was life in prison. |