January 28, 2006	Saturday	Zilhaj 27, 1426

FORT WORTH, Jan 27: A Vietnam-era Marine Corps deserter who was arrested this month after more than 36 years on the run will not face a military trial, officials said.

Ernest Johnson Jr, 55, was discharged from the military, partly because of his failing health, said Marine Lt Lawton King. Mr Johnson has said he suffers from prostate cancer.

Johnson, who used the surname McQueen throughout his life, was arrested on Jan 12 on a federal warrant for military desertion. He left Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in 1969 because he opposed the Vietnam war, he said after his arrest.—AP