I have been doing some research on family. A family member was in the USMC in 1906. We found him on the recently released Muster Rolls of the USMC. It seems he served for a time and then was declaired a deserter with a $10 reward posted for his return. That was the last entry on the USMC Muster Rolls.
Family history (oral) tells us that he enlisted in the US Army in 1918 and survived the Flu epidemic and survived to be dischared later. We don't know how long he served in the US Army.
My question is, "Is it possible that he could have enlisted in the US Army while being carried on the USMC rolls as a deserter?"
I'm just not familiar enough with how those things worked in 1918.
Any help on this delemma would be most appreciated.
My faather enlisted in 1917. He filled out his own papers and the recruiting sargent never asked any questions. The army took what ever you told them at face value and didn't check into your past. This was not any thing new. During the civil war there were hundreds of men that joined the various state units to collect the enlistment bonuses then deserted and joined another unit for the same thing. A case in point was a soldier named John Kiele. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallentry during the Indian war's in Kansas. He was shot and killed in Hayes,Kansas by James Butler Hickok. At the time of his death he was a member of the 7th Cavalry. It was later learned that he had enlisted & deserted four times during the civil war. To answer your question . It is very possible that the chain of events happened just as you think they did.
