The Execution of Private Slovik

Private Edward "Eddie" Slovik was a soldier in France during World War II.  He is the only person to be court-martialed and executed for desertion from the United States military since the Civil War.

    As a child, Slovik was tried and convicted of multiple crimes, including petty theft and disrupting the peace.  A few years later, he was sent back to jail for stealing and subsequently crashing a car while drunk.

    In the military, Slovik quickly found out that he "wasn't cut out for combat."  He asked his commander to be reassigned from the front-line rifle company to something non-combative.  His request was denied, and he was forced to fight.  He deserted the next day, giving a letter to a cook.  He was pressured by many people to destroy the letter and return back to combat, but Slovik refused.  After spending time in prison, he decided that jail time was far preferable to a life on the battlefield.  He was taken into custody.

   Slovik was tried by a court made up of staff officers, because everyone else was in bloody combat in the Hurtgen Forest.  He was found guilty and sentenced to death.  His sentence was approved by Major General Norman Cota.  Slovik wrote to President Eisenhower asking for clemency, but due to the rise in the number of desertions in France, Eisenhower did not grant his wish.  Instead, Eisenhower approved the execution order.  Slovik assumed that he would spend some time in jail after being discharged dishonorably for his desertion, like so many others that he knew.  He likely never expected to be executed for his crime.  

    He was shot and killed by a firing squad of twelve.  No one felt remorse for him, believing he was getting what he deserved for betraying the country.  However, even Slovik himself knew that he was not being killed for his desertion, saying "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."  Due to the rising number of desertions and the increasing desperation of the army, Eisenhower needed to put a stop to this problem.  Slovik was an easy choice for execution due to his past.  After Slovik was killed, desertion rates decreased as people realized their potential fate.  

    Eddie Slovik's name became commonplace as his story gained notoriety.  Many believed that his execution was an injustice in the circumstances he faced.  Most notably, Frank Sinatra aimed to tell his story in Hollywood by making a movie titled The Execution of Private Slovik.   However, he never achieved this goal because he worked with the Kennedy association.  His plan to make this movie earned him the label of a "Communist sympathizer".  Because John F. Kennedy was running for President, his association quickly shut down Sinatra's goal to prevent backlash toward Kennedy himself.  However, Slovik's story has been told through multiple books and movies in later years.  

Sources:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-execution-of-pvt-slovik

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-last-american-soldier-executed-for-desertion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Slovik