An Eastern Carolina native arrived in the Japanese hometown of his wife Tuesday, nearly four decades after deserting the U.S. Army and fleeing across the world.
Charles Jenkins is from Rich Square in Northampton County. He left his Army unit in 1965, spending 39-years in North Korea and creating the longest desertion case on U.S. record.
He recently turned himself in and spent one month in prison. Jenkins told reporters he plans to spend the rest of his life in Japan.
