In late Fall 1918, the men were transferred from Fort Alcatraz to the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, arriving on November 19, eight days after the end of WWI. Within two weeks of arriving, Joseph died on November 29 followed by Michael on December 2. The U.S. Army's official verdict was that both men had died of pneumonia contracted during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. However, Hutterites were convinced they had died from mistreatment. The brothers were buried in the Rockport Colony with the word "martyr" appended to their grave markers. In what was felt by the community to be a deliberate and tactless act was the U.S. Army's decision to return the bodies outfitted in military uniforms.