On September 12, 1918 at the age of 20, Mike registered for the draft with the Local Board for Division No. 2, for the County of Dane, Wis. He received notice On November 5, 1918 that he was to report to the local board named below at the Court House, Madison, Wis., at 2:00 pm on the 10th day of November, 1918 for military duty.

He reported for duty and was to be entrained on 11 November 1918 at the Madison station. Early in the morning, those in charge said that they were waiting for an important message. Around 11:00, they announced that the war was over and that they could immediately go back to their homes.

The names of the September 12 list were being classified according to the questionnaire when the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. Wisconsin was sending about 15 thousand men to camp to the camps. Those that were entrained were intercepted before reaching the mobilization camps or turned back by the railroad later in the afternoon, November 11, upon official orders that the men must be returned to the local boards and honorably discharged.

He applied to the Wisconsin State Board to received the $50.00 bonus, which he received. However, the federal government did not pay anything since he had not reached camp.

Emil Allen