A Young Soldier's Regret
Valentine D. Little, a 21-year-old immigrant juggler, was arrested in Seattle for deserting the U.S. Army after being misled by recruiters about his enlistment age.
Valentine D. Little, the heavy and lightweight juggler whose stage name is 'Prof. Morris,' was arrested yesterday by Bailiff Bob Hamilton on a charge of being a deserter from the United States Army. Little is only 21 years old and admits he is a deserter. A native of Bavaria, he says that when 19 years old he enlisted as a private at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. As he was under age, he believed he could desert without punishment. Little said, 'I served nine months in the army and in that time I got all I wanted. I was under age when I enlisted and was deceived into enlisting. The old folks in the old country were very much displeased with me for enlisting and told me if I was fool enough to become a soldier I should have come home.'
“I was under age when I enlisted and was deceived into enlisting.”
Recruitment practices often preyed on vulnerable youth and immigrants, a critique of the military machine that echoes throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Little's story captures the tension between immigrant dreams and the rigid reality of the U.S. armed forces.
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