Eddie Slovik
Edward Donald Slovik (
February 18,
1920 –
January 31,
1945) was a private in the
United States Army during
World War II and the first
American soldier to be executed for
desertion since the
American Civil War.
Although over twenty-one thousand soldiers were given varying sentences for desertion during World War II – including forty-nine death sentences – only Slovik's death sentence was carried out. Since then, there have been no executions for desertion in the
U.S. armed forces.
Slovik was born in
Detroit, Michigan. As a youth, he was arrested several times; the first time, when he was twelve, occurred when he and some friends broke into a foundry to steal some brass. Between 1932 and 1937, he was caught for several incidents of petty theft, breaking and entering and disturbing the peace. In October 1937, he was sent to jail and
paroled in September 1938. After stealing and crashing a car with two friends while drunk, he was sent back to jail in January 1939.
In April 1942, Slovik was paroled once more and obtained a job at the Montella Plumbing Company in
Dearborn. There he met his wife Antoinette Wisniewski, whom he married on November 7, 1942. They went to live with her parents. Slovik's
criminal record had led him to be classified as unfit for duty in the U.S. military ("4-F"), but, shortly after his and Antoinette's first wedding anniversary, Slovik was reclassified as fit for duty ("1-A") and subsequently
drafted by the Army.
Slovik arrived at
Camp Wolters in
Texas for basic military training on January 24, 1944. In August, he was dispatched to join the fighting in
France. Arriving on August 20, he was one of twelve reinforcements assigned to Company G of the 109th Infantry Regiment,
U.S. 28th Infantry Division.
While enroute to his unit, Slovik and a friend, private John Tankey, took cover during an artillery attack and became separated from their detachment. The next morning, they found a non-combat
Canadian unit and remained with them at the rear of the front for the next six weeks. Tankey wrote to their regiment to explain their absence before he and Slovik reported for duty on October 7. No charges against them were filed.
The following day, October 8, Slovik informed his company commader, Captain Ralph Grotte, that he was "too scared" to serve in a rifle company and asked to be reassigned to a rear area unit. He told Grotte that he would run away if he was assigned to a rifle unit and asked him if that would constitute desertion. Grotte confirmed that it would and refused his request for reassignment, assigning him to a rifle platoon.
The next day, October 9, Slovik approached an
MP and gave him a note in which he stated his intention to "run away" if he was sent into combat. He was brought before Lieutenant-Colonel Ross Henbest, who offered him the opportunity to tear up the note and face no further charges. Slovik refused and wrote a further note stating he understood what he was doing and its consequences.
Slovik was taken into custody and confined to the division stockade. The divisional
judge advocate, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Summer, again offered Slovik an opportunity to rejoin his unit and have the charges against him suspended. He also offered Slovik a transfer to another infantry regiment. Slovik declined these offers, saying "I've made up my mind. I'll take my
court martial."
The 28th Division was scheduled to begin an attack on
Hurtgen Forest. The attack was common knowledge in the unit and casualty rates were expected to be very high. Men indicated they preferred to be imprisoned rather than remain in combat and the rates for desertion and other crimes had begun to rise.
Slovik was charged with desertion to avoid hazardous duty and court martialled on November 11, 1944. The prosecutor, Captain John Green, presented witnesses to whom Slovik had stated his intent to "run away". The defense counsel, Captain Edward Woods, announced that Slovik had elected not to testify. The nine officers of the court found Slovik guilty and sentenced him to death. The sentence was reviewed and approved by the divisional commander, Major General
Norman Cota.
On December 9, Slovik wrote a letter to the Supreme Allied commander, General
Dwight D. Eisenhower, pleading for
clemency. Desertion, however, had become a problem and Eisenhower confirmed the execution order on December 23. The execution, by
firing squad, was carried out at 10:04 a.m. on January 31, 1945, near the village of
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. Slovik was twenty-four years old.
Slovik was buried in the
Oise-Aisne Cemetery in
Fère-en-Tardenois alongside ninety-four other American soldiers executed for crimes such as rape and murder. Their headstones bore numbers rather than names. In 1987, forty-two years after his execution, Slovik's remains were returned to Michigan and reburied in
Woodmere Cemetery, Detroit, next to his wife Antoinette, who had died in 1979. Slovik's wife and others have petitioned seven
U.S. Presidents, but Slovik has not been pardoned.
Slovik's execution was the basis for a 1954 book by
William Bradford Huie (see below), made into a 1974
TV movie starring
Martin Sheen, entitled
The Execution of Private Slovik. Slovik's death is also portrayed in a scene during the 1963 film
The Victors.
Kurt Vonnegut mentions Slovik's execution in his novel
Slaughterhouse Five.
*
List of individuals executed by the United States military*
The Execution of Private Slovik by William Bradford Huie.
*
Eddie Slovik at findagrave.com.
*
The Sad Story of Private Eddie Slovik*
The Execution of Pvt. Eddie Slovik from
The Detroit News.
