Max was inducted into the army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He did his basic training at Camp Roberts in California. Troup carriers took them across the Pacific, around Tasmania and Australia and into India. They traveled by slow truck convoys around Mt. Everest and into China. Max thought of this as a great adventure and would take every chance he could get to see as much as possible. He was discharged in 1945 at Camp Chaffee in Arkansas. He moved to California in 1953. His 3 brothers Rex, Joe and Don and his brother-in-law Tom Ralston also served in World War II.