Learn Our History Today: On December 23, 1944, during World War II, Private Eddie Slovik of the 28th Infantry Division was ordered to be executed for the crime of desertion, the first time such a thing had been authorized since the Civil War. Slovik had been drafted into the army in January 1944 and was trained as a rifleman, much to his dismay as he despised guns. In August, Slovik was sent to Europe to fight with his division as a replacement, and the 28th surely needed him as they had taken massive casualties during the fighting in France. Soon after his arrival, Slovik and a companion became lost on the way to the front lines, unable to find their way in the chaos of battle. They ended up being taken in by a Canadian unit, fighting with them for several weeks until being reunited with their own men on October 5. Slovik received no reprimand for this escapade, as replacements getting lost was nothing new in the European Theater, but just one day after he returned, Slovik took off again. However, the private was quickly found and return, signing upon his return a confession of desertion. His commanding officer offered him a chance to take the confession back and continue fighting like nothing had happened, but Slovik refused saying he was too scared and too nervous to fight. The officer advised him that the consequences would be serious if he refused to fight, but Slovik remained convinced he could go on no longer and as a result he was confined to the stockade to await trial. In less than two hours, Slovik was convicted of desertion and ordered to be shot by firing squad, a sentence which Dwight D. Eisenhower endorsed on December 23. Slovik attempted an appeal, but in the end it was unsuccessful, and on January 31, 1945, Slovik was shot to death by firing squad.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 13:08:32 +0000
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