Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) a deserter.

1919		Soda Springs (ID) Chieftain 22 May n.p.: At the present rate of rounding up deserters or ‘Awols,’ as they are called, it will be necessary, perhaps, to maintain the American military police bureau in France for another year.
1921		in A. Cornebise Amaroc News (1981) 20 Feb. 103: Why should we help the A.W.O.L.’s in this country that are now stranded civilians!
1921		Dos Passos Three Soldiers 399: Then the M.P.’s started cleanin’ up Strasburg after A.W.O.L.’s, an’ I beat it out of there.
1937–8		Doc Quinn [ex slave] in Yetman Voices from Slavery (1970) 244: About a year after the War [US Civil war] started de master got one of dese A.W.O.L.’s from de army.
1952		B. Appel Plunder (2005) 206: The MP raiders refused to be bought off by the crapshooting awols.

2. in non-milit. use, absence.

2024

J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 105: [T]he omnipresent dank and her boys’ awol causes her to tut.