The Execution of Private Slovik

[huntssurplus]

The Execution of Private Slovik by William Bradford Huie is probably one of the best books I have read in recent times. I read the whole thing in only about 3/4 days, even with my busy schedule I couldn't put this book down. The book is a research book focused on the events that led up to and then during the Execution of Private Slovik. Private Eddie Slovik was the only American soldier executed for only desertion in the last 150 years. At the time of his execution, the last time an American Soldier had been executed by the United States for desertion was 1864. While there have been other American Soldier who have been executed in the past 150 years besides Private Slovik, they were executed for reasons such as Rape, Murder, and other extreme and grotesque crimes, usually with them being committed to the local civilian population.

 

There are many reasons for Eddie Slovik execution, but I won't go into detail about them here, if you would like to learn more, I would recommend reading the book! The book lays the facts, and while the author hints towards his owns opinions on the matter, in the end the book allows you to decide for yourself whether or not Eddie Slovik's execution was justified. It will also perhaps give you a new look towards many famous leaders from the Second World War including General Norman D. Cota, General Eisenhower (who was president at the time of the book being written), and President Roosevelt.

 

There was a movie made in the 70's as well based on the events and Huie's book starring Martin Sheen.

 

I'd give this book a solid 9/10.

 

Enjoy!

 

[Bodes]

I do remember the movie, even though it has been quite some time since I've seen it....Seems I remember it being a depressing movie, Slovik being a sympathetic figure....Bodes

[patches]

Got it on my shelf, if I'm not mistaken it's the only in depth book written on this, now or then.

[GIKyle]

The really interesting aspect of Huie's book is that he was able to interview a lot of individuals associated with the event including Slovik's widow, soldiers from his unit, and a couple soldier's from the execution party. I thought the interviews with the latter were especially eye-opening because they (in my mind) removed Slovik as the sympathetic figure mentioned above and provided how soldiers felt about his actions. One quote from the firing squad that sticks out is the man who said "If only one bullet hits Slovik, it will be mine."

[Bodes]

One quote from the firing squad that sticks out is the man who said "If only one bullet hits Slovik, it will be mine."

Seems to me, some American firing squads supposedly mixed blank rounds into their rifles with the live ones....This was intended to leave ambiguity in the minds of those who had fired the shots.....Not sure however if this was the case when it came to the Slovik execution, or whether or not this really happened?....Bodes

[themick]

Seems to me, some American firing squads supposedly mixed blank rounds into their rifles with the live ones....This was intended to leave ambiguity in the minds of those who had fired the shots.....Not sure however if this was the case when it came to the Slovik execution, or whether or not this really happened?....Bodes

 

 

Bodes, I've heard this many times also, including from my Dad who was 22 years in the Corps. It may be so, but realistically, when you shoot you will know whether you had a blank or not by the kick of the rifle. Blanks don't kick.

 

Steve

[Bodes]

 

 

Bodes, I've heard this many times also, including from my Dad who was 22 years in the Corps. It may be so, but realistically, when you shoot you will know whether you had a blank or not by the kick of the rifle. Blanks don't kick.

 

Steve

Just telling the shooters blank would be employed may serve the same purpose...Just by giving them an emotional out, in a situation where one American soldier is asked to execute another, may wind up being a god send...Bodes

[huntssurplus]

Seems to me, some American firing squads supposedly mixed blank rounds into their rifles with the live ones....This was intended to leave ambiguity in the minds of those who had fired the shots.....Not sure however if this was the case when it came to the Slovik execution, or whether or not this really happened?....Bodes

 

In the book, they do mention that one out of the 12 rounds was in fact a blank. It was loaded in randomly without the men of the firing squad knowing who would have the blank loaded into their rifle.

 

Hunt

[huntssurplus]

The really interesting aspect of Huie's book is that he was able to interview a lot of individuals associated with the event including Slovik's widow, soldiers from his unit, and a couple soldier's from the execution party. I thought the interviews with the latter were especially eye-opening because they (in my mind) removed Slovik as the sympathetic figure mentioned above and provided how soldiers felt about his actions. One quote from the firing squad that sticks out is the man who said "If only one bullet hits Slovik, it will be mine."

 

I would have to agree, it seemed many of the men were not sympathetic to Slovik at all. Although some were mentioned to have been obviously distraught throughout the whole ordeal. I think they didn't really know much about Slovik though besides that he was a deserter and had a criminal record. In the end though they all ended up shooting to kill.

 

Hunt

[Bodes]

 

I would have to agree, it seemed many of the men were not sympathetic to Slovik at all. Although some were mentioned to have been obviously distraught throughout the whole ordeal. I think they didn't really know much about Slovik though besides that he was a deserter and had a criminal record. In the end though they all ended up shooting to kill.

 

Hunt

Guess I was actually referring to the way Sheen portrayed Slovik in the movie......Seems I remember him pandoring for sympathy as to his plight...But like I said before it's probably been since the movie's release since I saw it....In fact, it may have been the movie that I remember the deal with the blank round....Bodes

[huntssurplus]

Guess I was actually referring to the way Sheen portrayed Slovik in the movie......Seems I remember him pandoring for sympathy as to his plight...But like I said before it's probably been since the movie's release since I saw it....In fact, it may have been the movie that I remember the deal with the blank round....Bodes

 

I haven't been able to see the movie yet, unfortunately it is not offered on any of the multiple streaming services I have looked at. But, from the book, it seems Slovik tried really hard to gain sympathy and be exonerated for his crimes. In the end however, when the execution day came, while he never personally spoke to any of the men in the firing squad, in fact when asked if he had any last words he said he had none, he had the chaplain spread on a message to the men in the firing squad to shoot straight and make it quick for him. Apparently this helped as in the book it says the men felt much better after this.

 

Hunt

[patches]

I think Slovik stated it the best, "They're not shooting me for deserting the United States Army, thousands of guys have done that. They just need to make an example out of somebody and I'm it because I'm an ex-con. I used to steal things when I was a kid, and that's what they are shooting me for. They're shooting me for the bread and chewing gum I stole when I was 12 years old"

 

 

As Huie found out when researching his project was that 38,000 Officers and Men (10 % where interestingly officers) was court marshaled for Seeking to Evade Hazardous Duty, most in the MTO and ETO the exact same charge Slovik was given, and some of these I suspect were real criminals, committing offensives while in the Army.

[huntssurplus]

I think Slovik stated it the best, "They're not shooting me for deserting the United States Army, thousands of guys have done that. They just need to make an example out of somebody and I'm it because I'm an ex-con. I used to steal things when I was a kid, and that's what they are shooting me for. They're shooting me for the bread and chewing gum I stole when I was 12 years old"

 

 

As Huie found out when researching his project was that 38,000 Officers and Men (10 % where interestingly officers) was court marshaled for Seeking to Evade Hazardous Duty, most in the MTO and ETO the exact same charge Slovik was given, and some of these I suspect were real criminals, committing offensives while in the Army.

 

I'd have to agree, that quote really sums it all up. I was definitely surprised with the officer count as well, but I guess most of them were citizen-soldiers just like the enlisted men were.another interesting thing Huie noted was the difference between the amount of deserters in the MTO/ETO opposed to the PTO. As Huie noted and I would have to agree the situations in each theater were different. In the PTO the combat time was not continuous like it was in the ETO/MTO thus giving soldiers more a break from combat. And because of the area there wasn't really a way to get away unless you snuck onto a vessel of some sort. Pretty interesting stuff for sure.

 

I actually bought two more books on the same sort of subject to read since I was so interested and captivated by Huie's book. I bought:

The Fifth Field by Colonel French L. MacLean and,

The Deserters: A Hidden History of World War II by Charles Glass

 

Hopefully they give me some more insight into this topic. Anyone read these before?

 

Hunt

[patches]

 

I'd have to agree, that quote really sums it all up. I was definitely surprised with the officer count as well, but I guess most of them were citizen-soldiers just like the enlisted men were.another interesting thing Huie noted was the difference between the amount of deserters in the MTO/ETO opposed to the PTO. As Huie noted and I would have to agree the situations in each theater were different. In the PTO the combat time was not continuous like it was in the ETO/MTO thus giving soldiers more a break from combat. And because of the area there wasn't really a way to get away unless you snuck onto a vessel of some sort. Pretty interesting stuff for sure.

 

I actually bought two more books on the same sort of subject to read since I was so interested and captivated by Huie's book. I bought:

The Fifth Field by Colonel French L. MacLean and,

The Deserters: A Hidden History of World War II by Charles Glass

 

Hopefully they give me some more insight into this topic. Anyone read these before?

 

Hunt

I recall reading a book on the New Georgia Campaign, an officer, a I believe a XIV Corps Staff Officer related a lot of men, Infantry mostly, the 43rd Div and 37th Div, not so much deserted but just skyed out, though in the strictest sense it could be considered desertion at worst, AWOL to a less, and left the line individually and went to this particular beach area, shucking off uniforms and gear, naked or in their skivvies and just swam and stuff, the O, along with a few other EMs, he had to round them up a few days with no real penalties or repercussions meted out, he related how he understood, even he felt the urge to let himself go and join them at certain points.

[huntssurplus]

I recall reading a book on the New Georgia Campaign, an officer, a I believe a XIV Corps Staff Officer related a lot of men, Infantry mostly, the 43rd Div and 37th Div, not so much deserted but just skyed out, though in the strictest sense it could be considered desertion at worst, AWOL to a less, and left the line individually and went to this particular beach area, shucking off uniforms and gear, naked or in their skivvies and just swam and stuff, the O, along with a few other EMs, he had to round them up a few days with no real penalties or repercussions meted out, he related how he understood, even he felt the urge to let himself go and join them at certain points.

 

Interesting, but when you think about it, if you were to try and go AWOL during a battle in the PTO, unless it was the Philippines, you really had no where to go but swim I guess!

 

Hunt

[Bodes]

I think Slovik stated it the best, "They're not shooting me for deserting the United States Army, thousands of guys have done that. They just need to make an example out of somebody and I'm it because I'm an ex-con. I used to steal things when I was a kid, and that's what they are shooting me for. They're shooting me for the bread and chewing gum I stole when I was 12 years old"

 

 

As Huie found out when researching his project was that 38,000 Officers and Men (10 % where interestingly officers) was court marshaled for Seeking to Evade Hazardous Duty, most in the MTO and ETO the exact same charge Slovik was given, and some of these I suspect were real criminals, committing offensives while in the Army.

Yet ironically enough, he was the only soldier executed for desertion since the Civil War....Bodes

[patches]

 

Interesting, but when you think about it, if you were to try and go AWOL during a battle in the PTO, unless it was the Philippines, you really had no where to go but swim I guess!

 

Hunt

Or you could live like Colonel Kurtz on some Tropical Isle somewhere, like Robin Crusoe or something .

 

Hey wasn't there some movie from the 80s or something were a GI deserts or something out in the Pacific on some island and lives as a king among a jungle tribe Have to look around for that.

[The Rooster]

Hey wasn't there some movie from the 80s or something were a GI deserts or something out in the Pacific on some island and lives as a king among a jungle tribe Have to look around for that.

 

Farewell to the king.

 

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097334/

[patches]

Hey wasn't there some movie from the 80s or something were a GI deserts or something out in the Pacific on some island and lives as a king among a jungle tribe Have to look around for that.

 

Farewell to the king.

 

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097334/

Yeah that;s the one

[GIKyle]

I'd have to agree, that quote really sums it all up. I was definitely surprised with the officer count as well, but I guess most of them were citizen-soldiers just like the enlisted men were.another interesting thing Huie noted was the difference between the amount of deserters in the MTO/ETO opposed to the PTO. As Huie noted and I would have to agree the situations in each theater were different. In the PTO the combat time was not continuous like it was in the ETO/MTO thus giving soldiers more a break from combat. And because of the area there wasn't really a way to get away unless you snuck onto a vessel of some sort. Pretty interesting stuff for sure.

 

I actually bought two more books on the same sort of subject to read since I was so interested and captivated by Huie's book. I bought:

The Fifth Field by Colonel French L. MacLean and,

The Deserters: A Hidden History of World War II by Charles Glass

 

Hopefully they give me some more insight into this topic. Anyone read these before?

 

Hunt

I've read the 5th Field and it provides a really good overview of the ETO's dishonored dead. I would disagree with Slovik's statement as to why he was executed vs. the others. Not knowing which of those 38k cases Huie researched were similar to Slovik's makes it a hard comparison to make in my opinion. What we do know is that Slovik's confession of desertion - in which he states that if put back on the line he will desert again - was quite damming. Additionally, Slovik's case gets to Eisenhower for final adjudication of his death sentence as the Ardennes Counter-Offensive is beginning. As the commanding general, when you have units breaking down under a significant onslaught and a private who is refusing to fight not because of shell shock or other extenuating circumstances, what message do you want to send to the ranks?

 

Granted, the Army arguably failed from the beginning by even accepting Slovik who expressed his desires not to fight from the very beginning and acted on them at first chance. However, the Army as a bureaucratic machine does not always pay mind to the needs of the individual in its move to accomplishing a mission, wo which I am sure many here might attest.

[patches]

Hey did Slovak's execution stop troops from desertion???

[huntssurplus]

I've read the 5th Field and it provides a really good overview of the ETO's dishonored dead. I would disagree with Slovik's statement as to why he was executed vs. the others. Not knowing which of those 38k cases Huie researched were similar to Slovik's makes it a hard comparison to make in my opinion. What we do know is that Slovik's confession of desertion - in which he states that if put back on the line he will desert again - was quite damming. Additionally, Slovik's case gets to Eisenhower for final adjudication of his death sentence as the Ardennes Counter-Offensive is beginning. As the commanding general, when you have units breaking down under a significant onslaught and a private who is refusing to fight not because of shell shock or other extenuating circumstances, what message do you want to send to the ranks?

 

Granted, the Army arguably failed from the beginning by even accepting Slovik who expressed his desires not to fight from the very beginning and acted on them at first chance. However, the Army as a bureaucratic machine does not always pay mind to the needs of the individual in its move to accomplishing a mission, wo which I am sure many here might attest.

 

I would have to agree with most of what you said. Slovik was given multiple chances to return to the line and be forgiven for his crimes, but he refused to destroy the note and sealed the deal when it came to his trial. And while Slovik's execution can really be blamed on no one but Slovik himself, the reason he was sentenced to death and his execution carried out was because of Eisenhower and Cota, and in a sense Roosevelt.

 

As Huie noted in his book, the sentence of Death has to be approved by both the division general and the theater general after the initial sentence is carried out. When deciding whether or not to approve Slovik's execution, Cota was informed of his past criminal record, and when being told that Slovik was a felon he decided to approve the sentence. A similar story with Eisenhower. The problem is that Slovik was never a felon. And most of his crimes were due to a troubled youth. And Slovik had already done his time behind bars for those crimes and before he was drafted, living a good, law-abiding life with his wife.

I feel that if it had not been the Ardennes Counteroffensive, like you mentioned, Eisenhower might have chosen differently, or at least should have chosen differently. The same reason could have been given to why Cota approved it as well seeing how the 28th had been engaged in the brutal fighting during the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest.

 

To the point of using it as a countermeasure, I would think it would have been pretty ineffective. But that is just my personal opinion. Unless there is a statistic that showed if it had been effective we can really only guess as to how much it would have worked. But one thing we do know is that most likely, if Slovik had been given 10, 20, 30 years, etc.. no one would have ever known his name like they do today. His execution was purposely published and distributed to the troops. But I doubt if there had been no execution that anything would have drastically changed. Again, this is just my opinion.

 

In the end though, while I believe the execution in a moral sense was wrong, it is very apparent why it was carried out, and why Eisenhower had allowed it. Again as Huie mentioned in his book though, if there had been one more step and it all fell onto Roosevelt to make the final decision, there would have been no execution. From a General's perspective it is a lot different than that of a civilian, especially a politician.

 

If there is at least one thing we can agree on, it would have to be Slovik had some bad luck in life.

 

Thanks for the response though! Really enjoy talking about this subject. Perhaps my perspective will change some more with my upcoming readings!

 

Hunt

[huntssurplus]

Hey did Slovak's execution stop troops from desertion???

 

Don't know. If only there was some interviews or statistics out there that mentioned Slovik when it came to that topic. Maybe some other members can comment on this.

Hunt

[patches]

 

Don't know. If only there was some interviews or statistics out there that mentioned Slovik when it came to that topic. Maybe some other members can comment on this.

Hunt

Was even reported, no right,, except for the witnesses, who no doubt told more people, but there seems not that many right, I mean did it make out to the PI or Okinawa in the rumor mill, India??, Slovik's buddy Tankey, he never knew of it for years right, and that letter he wrote, no one knew about that either, just the immediate officers involved right oh and and the cook he showed it to, he probably told some buddys about the letter, and they told a few buddys about the letter and so on and on, but it's not like it was printed in YANK or Stars & Stripes

[Bluehawk]

I read that book as a high school student, in 1962.