This is a family legend at this point and my grandfather has died so no way to find out details, but the story (told by him) was that after his ship got back to California after the surrender in Japan, he and his buddy just ....left. As in, got off the ship and just went back to Mississippi, didn't tell his commanding officer, etc. He was a farmer and the only son in his family and had 3 young kids so he said he figured the war was over and he was needed at home more. Wouldn't this have been desertion? (If so, there were never any consequences to my knowledge).
Was there any kind of large-scale "mustering out" after the war for those who didn't plan to stay in the Service or was it just a chaotic rush towards home by whatever means necessary?
Edit: punctuation
Edit 2: I just asked my mom and she remembered another part of the story. She said her dad (my granddad) always maintained that if they hadn't left when they did, they would have had to stay for "months" more bc that's what all the others on the ship were saying. This scared them bc of how much they were needed at home (farming, taking care of older relatives/kids) so they saw their chance and took it. He said others that didn't leave were stuck in California for months before they could leave to get back to their families. Seems like the Navy would want to get sailors who weren't career back home, on the other hand, the whole ship can't up and leave at the same time, right?
My father described a similar account, so I would like to add his recollection here in the form of a reinforcement to this question: was this typical (he volunteered in January 1942 and was in the European Theater by early 1943)?
My father was on a ship in the Panama Canal headed to a base to prepare for the invasion of Japan when they heard that the first bomb had been dropped (documentation indicates that this part can be verified). The ship turned course and headed for California. He was discharged in Southern California, but not before he was offered medical exams and dental work. He refused all of it, wanting to get home in the Bay Area as soon as possible. He indicated the army gave him an immediate discharge and sent him on his way.