[bricklayer]

The date of the alleged desertion and the official end of the war were so close that possibly soldiers were just saying “let’s go home”....but,we’ll never know.

You are right, though. People for the most part want to think only the best of their forebearers.

[decimon]

The date of the alleged desertion and the official end of the war were so close that possibly soldiers were just saying “let’s go home”....

I thought of that when I read your post. An official discharge may have been seen as an unnecessary formality.