Second World War soldier to abandon traitor (9)

I believe the answer is:

desertrat

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'second world war soldier' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.

'abandon traitor' is the wordplay.
'abandon' becomes 'desert' (desert can mean to leave or abandon).
'traitor' becomes 'rat' (rat can mean a treacherous person).
'desert'+'rat'='DESERTRAT'

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for desertrat that I've seen is " Soldier".)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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