Private Eddie Slovik
Slovik one of five children.
He grew up in a poor neighborhood in Michigan. Like many other people during
that time it was the 1930s and the depression was still going. He began
to steal things at the age of 11. His father not really on a steady employment
and frequently out of work. So food and other things were very scarce.
He stole food quite a bit but no one ever caught him at it. When he turned
12 he was caught breaking into a factory with several of his friends and
placed on probation for a year. At 15 years old he quit school to start
earning his own living. At 17 he was charged with having cheated the drugstore
he worked at out of some money and with stealing a lot of items from the
store. He was then sentenced to six months up to ten years confinement
and then sent to a state reform school. After Nine months of his sentence
he was paroled and placed on probation. A year after he was released Slavik
and his friends stole a car and then wrecked it. Slovik at that time escaped
arrest but turned himself in the next morning. He was then sentenced to
2 to 8 years in a state reformatory. The world war two began while Slovik
was in custody when Slovik was released April of 1942 The united states
had been bombed at pearl harbor and many other difficulties were taking
place. A lot of the men were not being drafted because of his record he
was considered unfit. He then met a cripple girl and was five years older
than himself. He fell in love with her immediately and they married in
November of 1942. The first year for him was a great one he had a good
job and was keeping out of trouble. They had saved up and bought a car
and found out they were going to have a baby they were both very happy.
November 7, 1942 The day of his first anniversary Slovik received notice
that he may be changed to a 1-A instead of a 4-f 1-A meaning he would be
qualified to be drafted and the 4-F being he wasn't. The reason for that
change was that they had been fighting for almost 2 years and they were
short handed and needed more soldiers. And on December 22 1943 Slovik received
a letter that he had been selected. On January 24, 1944 Slovik became one
of the 16,000,000 who were to serve in WW two. Slovik was not happy about
any of this he felt as if they were going to draft him they should of done
so as soon as he got out of prison not when he had his family and finally
a good job. After a month of being in the forces he learnt that his wife
had miscarried and then went to Red Cross to try and get a Hardship release
they quickly denied it. After Slovik finished basic training at Camp Wolters
Texas he went on to the battlefields of France. Him and other troops dropped
off to go find there unit were getting there first glimpse of war dead
bodies and animals were lying around as they walked throughout the forest
areas. But before they could reach there destination they were captured
in a bunch of artillery fire and were forced to abandon their trucks. Nine
of the others were able to make it to their unit on foot but Slovik and
another troop were unable to find the others or the unit they had been
assigned too. They linked up with Canadian Tanks Corps and started to fight
with them for the next month in a half. They had sent a letter to their
division telling that they had gotten lost and were still trying to make
their way back to their assigned unit. They did catch up with their unit
in Elsenborn Belgium.
Slovik did not want to be in
the Army and had let it be known from the very beginning he missed his
wife very much and wrote her about 2 letters a day on average. He didn't
want to go into combat because he didn't want to be killed he just wanted
to get back to his wife in Detroit. When the two of them Slovik and Tankey
met up with their company commander Slovik told him he was not intending
to fight. And turned and started to walk away. Tankey told him that he
shouldn't do that he should come back because he could be charged with
desertion. Slovik still refused.
The next day Slovik turned
himself into the Military police and handed them the following confession:
I, Pvt. Eddie D. Slovik
#36896415 confess to the desertion of the United States Army. At the time
of my desertion we were in Albuff in France.... They were shelling the
town, and we were told to dig in for the night. The following morning they
shelled us again. I was so scared nerves and trembling that at the time
the other Replacements moved out and I could not move.... I told my commanding
officer my story. I said that if I had to go out there again I would run
away. He said there was nothing he could do for me so I ran away again
and I'll run away again if I have to go out their.
(he had signed it)
Pvt. Eddie D. Slovik
Slovik had made his choice.
He would rather go back to a jail house than into combat. He was confined
in the Army stockade at Rocherath, Belgium. A little time later he was
brought in front of a court-martial committee in Germany. He was charged
with two accounts of desertion to avoid hazardous duty. Slovik had three
choices one to testify under oath, two to testify with an unsworn statement
or three remain silent. He chose to remain silent. He had pleaded not guilty
and the court-martial itself only took one hour and forty minutes the board
found him guilty. The sentence was To be dishonorably discharged from the
Army, forfeit all pay and allowances due to him and to be shot to death
with musketry. The sentence seemed harsh although no one was worried because
there was not an account of anyone going through with an execution because
of desertion. There had although been similar sentences but none had been
carried out. Slovik's case was seeming to be ongoing with a lot of people
saying go on with the execution He wrote General Dwight Eisenhower and
basically pleaded his life explaining his situation over again. It did
not help General Dwight Eisenhower confirmed and was the last person to
need to review it he said that Eddie Slovik should be sentenced to death.
Eddie Slovik was to die away from French civilians so he was brought to
St. Marie aux Mines twenty miles away from the German border where he was
to face a firing squad. He spent the last of his hours with a Chaplain
and reading letters that had been saved for him from his wife. Then a military
officer came to him and said Take it easy on us and on yourself. Slovik
then replied I am ok Then added something to the fact that they aren't
shooting me because of desertion on the United States Army they are shooting
me for the bread I stole when I was twelve. He was led the next morning
to a post that had been placed there just for him. A black hood was placed
over his head and the firing squad marched out into the garden. Twelve
Young soldiers were facing him there rifles aimed at him then the command
FIRE came they all fired in unison and Slovik's head slumped forward. Out
of the 40,000 soldiers who were tried for desertion during World War two
forty nine which were actually sentenced to death fro their crimes. Slovik
the man who just wanted to go home so much that he was trying to live and
defied the Armies rules thinking he would be safe in the Prisons. Was the
only Man who actually died. And the first person to be executed by the
Army since the Civil war. Two War and over 37 years he is still the first
and no one else has become the second. His wife died only a few days before
Congress had the opportunity to over look the case to see if she would
of got life insurance benefits and other things she thought was due to
her.
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