London War Resister Support Group

Timothy Clarence Richard was born in Anaheim, California on July 22, 1982 to a Canadian father and a British mother. Having moved to Iowa when he was 11, Tim decided to enlist in the Iowa Army National Guard in 1999 at age 17, while he was still in high school. Tim decided to enlist because of promises to pay for University, and a sense of patriotic duty. He always knew that he may be called upon in a time of war, but he trusted the leadership of America to make the right decisions regarding war and diplomacy.

Tim served six years, eventually reaching the rank of specialist (E-4). Although he attempted OCS and ROTC, Tim felt more comfortable in the enlisted ranks, and didn’t wish to continue beyond his contracted date of release in November 2005. When the war in Iraq ensued, Tim decided he wanted nothing to do with the war, and decided to simply not reenlist. The government, however, had other plans for him.

On the dawn of his senior year of study at the University of Northern Iowa, Tim received a phone call from his National Guard unit, informing him that he had been tapped for a mission to Iraq, despite that his contract was set to expire in less than 4 months. In fact, the US Army had changed his release date from November 2005 to December 2031…well beyond the 6 years he had agreed to in his contract. Staring down the barrel of stop loss, Tim reported for training with a unit that wasn’t his own at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Despite the squalid conditions left in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, or the lack of proper equipment, training ensued.

During training, Tim started to have an overwhelming feeling that this war isn’t right, and wanted nothing to do with it. Having ruled out filing as a Conscience Objector (given the military’s very narrow standards), he was left with very little recourse. During a training exercise, in which the military was training him to kick down doors and hold people at gunpoint, Tim was armed with blank ammunition. During the course of the exercise, he wound up ‘shooting’ two unarmed ‘civilians’ (paid actors by the Army). No one caught him. No one said a word. It was then Tim practically threw away his rifle in disgust and decided to leave for Canada, the land of his father’s birth.

Tim was greeted with open arms by the War Resister Support Campaign of Nanaimo, BC, and in a mere matter of months obtained his Canadian Citizenship. Now a full citizen of Canada, he is continuing studying vocal music performance at the University of Western Ontario, in London, ON. He recieved his Bachelor's degree in Vocal Music Performance in June 2008, and is currently working towards a Master's degree. In addition, he is active in the peace movement. Tim wants all US War Resisters living in Canada to be given the same opportunity that he has had, and be given a chance at a better life, working for peace.