My grandfather did the exact same thing. But he was in conquered France and did it to avoid being drafted by the Nazis.

Edit: There were also a stories of other people in the village finding other ways to avoid the Nazi draft. One of them pretended to be deaf and managed to avoid falling for a few tricks the Germans played on him in an attempt to expose him, such as dropping a coin behind his back. Another one reported to the draft medical examination after purposefully biking over an insanely long distance. When he arrived he was completely exhausted and the doctor deemed him too anemic for military service. All of those in the village who couldn’t dodge the draft were sent as cannon fodder on the eastern front and never returned, except for one “lucky” individual who lost a leg.