The HORRIFIC Execution Of Eddie Slovik - The American Shot For Desertion In WW2

During the First World War, many soldiers were shot and executed for military offences such as desertion or cowardice. But during World War 2, the number of men inside of the allied forces shot for these offences was greatly less. Inside of the US Army, there was only one man executed for desertion during the conflict, despite a number of death sentences being handed out for those soldiers who refused to fight or abandoned their posts. Eddie Slovik was the only American executed for desertion in the Second World War, and he was treated rather unfairly.
As a young man, he was in trouble a number of times with the police and he was even sent to prison. However he was then drafted into the American Army following D-Day and the Normandy Landings to replace soldiers who had died. He was caught up in intense fighting as he made his way to the frontline and he had been called into a front line rifle division, and he was a man scared of conflict. After being caught up in intense shelling, he refused to fight when he was united with his unit, and he wrote a note refusing to fight after he walked away from the advancing soldiers. He was offered a number of chances to fight and return to his regiment, but refused and he was court-martially. Slovik believed he would only serve prison time, but he was surprisingly sentenced to death.
At the time of the conflict in 1944, The US Army were preparing for the Hurtgen Forest offensives and the Battle of the Bulge, and desertion figures were rising. Dwight Eisenhower confirmed that Slovik's execution should go ahead to deter other soldiers from abandoning their post and the army. Because of this he was brought in front of a firing squad inside of a small French village and was shot dead, being executed for deserting. He was the only person in the Second World War to be executed in this manner for the crime of desertion inside of the American Army. Eddie Slovik's case is incredibly sad and tragic, and it's believed he was made a scapegoat.
So join us today as we look at, 'The HORRIFIC Execution Of Eddie Slovik - The American Shot For Desertion In WW2.'
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[@TexasEngineer]

Father Smith was Slovic’s Chaplin at his execution and the priest that married me and my high school sweet heart in 1972, San Antonio, Tx. I had gotten out of the Army a month and a half before the wedding. He did not make us wait and take the church’s usual premarital classes. I think he knew about his fellow vets and too good care of them. Next year will be our 50th anniversary. Father Smith was very remarkable and there is a nice newspaper article about him.

[@garyolivier792]

Wow!! That's great !! Thank you for posting this and congratulations

[@TexasEngineer]

@@garyolivier792 One of the interesting things about Father Smith was he attended our reception and I saw him talking to my grandfather and discussing France. Father Smith was in France in WW II. My Grandfather served in France in WW I. They did a lot of comparing how it was. In WW II my Grandfather was in the Pacific (New Calidoni and Australia).

[@mmaben]

That is remarkable-what an interesting connection to history.

[@patcola7335]

Did this 'Father Smith' lead anyone to salvation in Christ ? I hope this Slovic fella received Jesus before he was executed.

[@TexasEngineer]

@@patcola7335 Only Pvt Slovic and Father Smith know that answer. Confidentially means Father Smith never mentioned those details. All I know is that Father Smith was the best priest I have ever known and was loved by his parish and was higly praised in the newspaper.

[@josephstabile9154]

Thanks for the video. Slovik wasn't a scapegoat; he was an example. Timing & attitude are everything in life, and Slovik's timing & attitude couldn't have been worse at that moment in history.

[@italiagrl70]

@@Slug002 I’m sorry but I disagree, if he was a victim then so was every other American soldier who was drafted. It was a horrible war, but everyone did their duty, as horrible as it was, they had to put a stop to Hitler, and to just stomp his feet and not want to be apart of it, well get in line, many didn’t want to be apart of the war, and many left their wives and children and died in battle, he just wanted go home to his wife, have her lie to the Red Cross about having illnesses she didn’t have so he could come home, begged his commander if he could just sit in a corner somewhere and be left alone, maybe in todays coddled world he could have cried and begged for a easy station and they would have given him that, but there was nothing easy about WW2 for anyone!

[@seerstone8982]

It didn't make sense to kill him, then hide the execution from knowledge, not much of a deterrent to other deserters.

[@nomdeplume7537]

He wasn't a scapegoat. That implies he was convicted for something he didn't do or had very small role in. He was an example. The two are miles apart

[@cobeer1768]

This is the same guy who thinks executing a nazi is brutal.

[@mikearmstrong8623]

He was a scapegoat. He was one of the only US soldiers killed for desertion over a long period of time. Many, many were convicted. One was executed. I don't believe in forced military service or the death penalty. BUT, if you are consistent, you execute EVERY soldier convicted of desertion. They made an example ("SCAPEGOAT") out of Slovik because he was a loser.

[@nomdeplume7537]

@@mikearmstrong8623 Scapegoat: a person who is BLAMED for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults OTHERS, especially for the reason of expediency. Make an example of : Punish (a person who has done something wrong) as a way of warning other people not to do the same thing. example : "Although it was his first offense, the judge decided to make an example of him and sent him to prison. So, which one of those 2 definitions seem to correlate with what have here ... ?

[@simonkevnorris]

I agree he was made an example. I wonder if the other deserters had been in action and then deserted?

[@jimwiese3814]

Hard-hearted and obstinate response, Alexander. Did the penalty fit the crime, you might ask. Honesty and too much info to a rigid system vs murder or treason that the law was conceived for?? THE SENTENCE WAS MILES APART FROM THE PENALTY THE LAW WAS DESIGNED FOR!! GEEZ! Harsh you are and Sad too, Dude! (I pray you never get to sit on an honest and neutral jury, Sir.) Sad to the max.

[@martywilk9716]

Years ago I was watching the movie with my dad. He was a WWII infantry combat veteran and he asked me why are they making a fuss about this guy? Surprised, I said "because they shot him"! My dad replied, "they shot a lot of people."

[@garrysekelli6776]

Somehow I'm guessing that your dad joined the military willingly and wasn't drafted.

[@martywilk9716]

@@garrysekelli6776 He was drafted. He hated the army.

[@garrysekelli6776]

@Marion Delgato obviously. Like duh.

[@robertgiles9124]

@@garrysekelli6776 You mean he might have been a guy who hated Nazis? Garry mut be a Nazi lover.

[@garrysekelli6776]

@@robertgiles9124 yes it would be interesting to know if the original guy who posted this if that guys dad hated nazis. Also what are your thoughts on nazis?

[@markescartin6613]

All of this long before PTSD; My father had a fast friend trained as a commando and inserted behind enemy lines( think the "dirty dozen' ) He was the master of the garote! Swift silent and deadly this man dispatched many German soldiers during the war. Afterwards he remained in Berlin on duty as part of a garrison; In 48 he suffered a nervous breakdown and was paralyzed. The next two years were spent in a succession of army hospitals and I don't know if he ever recovered. There are no wars without consequences and veterans on both sides always pay the price!

[@nuckinfuts7610]

PTSD was always there. It's long before the knowledge of.

[@jackburnell3209]

It was likely the note declaring that he was a deserter and would do it again that sealed his fate.

[@denniscerasoli6209]

If the letter sealed his fate and not the actual desertion charge he shouldn't have been executed since no one else was for desertion. When fear takes control of a person it's basically out of their hands some people can't overcome it, in Eddies case he should have been dishonorably discharged for cowardice and let him live with that. I don't think you have to execute a guy to keep the other soldiers in line most men don't want to be cowards in combat they'll do what they have to do you don't have to kill another person to keep others from deserting.

[@jimwiese3814]

How does the US Command treat PTSD people these days? (Not talking Treasonous people, or rapists and murderers here). Execute them? Think about it and I hope you can open your heart to Fair and Just when and if you do.

[@kevinpittman2517]

@@jimwiese3814 America no longer has to fight battles like throwing men in a meat grinder anymore.... if u do your training and follow your orders in our military today... u have more chances of dying in the streets of Chicago or LA than u do on an enemy battle field...

[@jimwiese3814]

@@kevinpittman2517 Kevin:. I am very much aware of this. And I agree, Sir. The discussion, however, was directed to WW 2 warfare. Not modern day battlefields and dynamics. Thank you though for being patient and objective and not overreactive like so many other commenters on this site. jim

[@MA-mh1vs]

@@denniscerasoli6209 The thing is this guy confessed to desertion twice (the 6wk separation and when he walked away) and a willingness to do so again. Now the first time in the heat of battle may not have got him executed but the second time after asking about criminal charges and not during heat of battle is a bit different not to mention saying he would do so again. Now all the other soldiers knew they could be executed for desertion but were gambling on a prison sentence and lucked out. The thing is your past crimes most certainly effect your sentence of a new crime and this may have played a part in what happened here but it may have been the second offence and the willingness to do so again that resulted in his sentence or a combination of both.

[@greghanson407]

during WW1 soldiers were sentenced to death or life in prison for desertion but were released about 6 months after the war. Slovik knew that and figured that is what would happen to him. He became the first man executed for desertion by the US Army since the Civil War, no other deserter was ever executed after Slovik.

[@Lightningslick]

Tough shit Eddie.

[@camshaft4007]

He chose poorly

[@t.m.1502]

Unfortunately we didn't make Bowe Bergdahl the second.

[@kpal2946]

@@t.m.1502 That was such a weird one

[@tallesttree4863]

@@t.m.1502 He spent 5 years getting tortured by the Taliban after going AWOL in a combat zone during a pointless war while clearly a nutcase and you want him executed. Dude you make us look dumb just stop.

[@marauderhot]

My dad lost both of his legs in Bastogne 12/22/44. He fought and watched many of his friends die or get horrific injuries. Slovik rolled the dice and lost, no sympathy from me after knowing what my dad went through.

[@Iammergeier]

Whilst I have the upmost respect for your fathers bravery, I disagree. I sympathize with slovik, who was a panicked young man, maybe even suffering from PTSD after what he has seen on the frontline.

[@everythingtechnew7400]

Do you know anything about him. Watch the film he shouldn’t have even been there. He was even medically unfit due to being born with a disability that even today and back then would exempt him from military service. This was flat out murder on one of their own & completely counter productive.

[@everythingtechnew7400]

@Marion Delgato new flash he had a disability in civilian life. He was born with it he had to have both legs broken at birth & reset. He suffered in pain with them all his short life. He stole some sweets as a child & was a passenger in a stolen car. Hardly a career criminal.

[@everythingtechnew7400]

@Marion Delgato You need help!

[@selfdo]

One of the "Screaming Eagles?" Appreciate your dad's service and my condolences for what he went through, being maimed in combat. Agreed re: Slovik, he refused to face a similar fate, so he got a CERTAIN one. Kinda the idea of military justice in the field.

[@kanyegang2810]

My step-granddad fought in WW2, and his story was both amazing, and scary!!! He would have all kinds of flash backs...

[@gusjackson3658]

My Dad was an airman in WW2. He saw a movie about Slovic and surprised me by saying that his friends should have closed ranks, shut him up and kept him close at the front to prevent this outcome. I admired Dad’s understanding of his fear. He didn’t bear a grudge. Most of us can control our fear and, right or wrong, some of us just can’t.

[@seanbrown9048]

Your dad was right about “closing ranks” but we only do that for guys we love and respect, and don’t want to see get into undeserved trouble. This speaks volumes about Slovik, and his character, that he was obviously a selfish, craven, shitheel, and his unit was glad to be rid of him.

[@jeffwarren6906]

Dads are famous for wisdom when you need it . Your Dad is a wise man .

[@jeffwarren6906]

@@seanbrown9048 - That is a great assessment of the issue ..

[@harryhouck]

My Dad served with him in the 109th, he said that besides this Slovak was a decent guy to talk to. Later my Dad was severely wounded in both legs at the battle of the Hurtegan Forest almost losing both his legs

[@xbman1]

@Cole Trickle Yes, you’re very knowledgeable about history and intelligent too. Unfortunately, your comment led me to believe that you’re a coward just like Eddie Slovik.

[@sundial6919]

@Cole Trickle look closely at the harsh depression and the subsequent social condition for a dozen years before a bloody war fighting monsters , both Germany and Japan and one begins to understand why men of that day were taught not to squat when they piss

[@royhorn2782]

@Cole Trickle You certainly have a unique and idiotic point of view.

[@larryking9951]

@Cole Trickle I assume Sir, that you have never served in the Armed Forces. And I also assume you thing concepts like countries and honor are arcane and unneeded. Thankfully, you are in a very small minority. Does letting other people bear the load of protecting you also offend you???

[@traderbychoice7560]

@Cole Trickle In times of war desertion it's punishable by death.

[@raymondparsley7442]

Some fifty two million people died during WW2, both soldiers and civilians. Eddie was one of the very few who had a choice... and he made it. The man was trouble all his life, a bad seed, deserting his post put fellow soldiers in danger. The US Army was fully justified in the action it took.

[@generalyellor8188]

So easy for you (and so many other here) to judge this guy. I wonder how many of you have been faced with this. Have you, Parsley, ever been in combat or even faced the prospects of it? Never mind that Slovik was drafted and didn't join the army voluntarily. But has anyone ever pointed a loaded weapon at you in anger? I'm betting not, so who are you to judge? The only opinions I'd care to hear on the matter are those commenters who have actually been in or near combat, and I'm not seeing any of those vets here.

[@andreasbuder4417]

The bad seed lies in the one, who spoke these words. Judgemental and entitled, a true keyboard warrior.

[@LaFonteCheVi]

@@generalyellor8188 There are millions of soldiers who didn't desert. Millions who died. Eddie spat on all of them for deserting. Most soldiers never ran, stole, or deserted. The overwhelming majority never did. Eddie was the cowardly hyper-minority. You sit there saying that we cannot judge him, but what about the millions of soldiers who can, and did? And even then, I can surely judge him for what he did compared to his peers. His peers stayed and fought. He abandoned them. Vets rarely have positive views on deserters, then or now. He was executed both as an example but also a necessity. He was given plenty of chances to save himself.

[@LaFonteCheVi]

@@andreasbuder4417 Thief, drunk, and coward. There is a reason why others got off the hook but Eddie didn't.

[@braddavis4472]

@@generalyellor8188 You are so correct , No one knows how they would react in combat situations, so unless you have been there, then you have no right to judge wether or not he should have been executed like a dog. He wasn't fit for combat, so get him home in a prison and let him rehabilitate and become a productive member of society. It's real easy to say he endangered his fellow soldiers, but he was more of a liability if he was put in to combat with his fellow soldiers, not everyone is mentally capable of being a solider in that situation .

[@tombartram7384]

The "horrific" execution. As opposed to the "nice" execution.

[@MrGoldenV]

The HILARIOUS execution of...

[@zefrem1]

Click bate

[@salag13]

It’s horrific because it was undeserved.

[@MrGoldenV]

@@salag13 The way zefram spells bait is horrific.

[@meatballs2849]

It was a "sensual" execution

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

So the Army offered him numerous chances to tear up a note, be transferred to a non-frontline unit & keep his record clean, but he decided to try blag a spell in military prison? I don't think he was a coward. He was just an idiot.

[@robele743]

No, he definitely a coward and an idiot. Paid for the lesson with his own life.

[@robinswamidasan]

I think he was an honest coward. He had some reason to believe that he would not be executed, since, at this late stage in the war (Nov 1944), no death sentence for desertion had yet been carried out. Remember, he was drafted into the army, he was not a volunteer. And he was known to be afraid of guns. Strangely, I have some respect for his honesty and convictions. And he was right. The US army needed to make an example of someone. And they chose him. BTW, Slovik was the first American soldier to be executed for such an offense since the American Civil War (according to Wikipedia).

[@Former11BRAVO]

@@robele743 Hopefully, he didn't breed beforehand.

[@Mr1963corvette]

He was not that bright. The military does not tolerate any insubordination. He never should have been drafted in the first place with his prior record for breaking the law. But the military needed lots of cannon fodder I meant bodies to serve in the military to quash the Axis powers.

[@Technoid_Mutant]

He was consciously gaming the system and lost. The Navy hates a 'sea-lawyer' and I don't imagine the Army is any more fond of 'barracks-lawyers' or whatever they call them. This fellow Raised, and Raised, and then called Uncle Sam's hand. Uncle Sugar had a straight-flush.

[@GoldenGod69]

One thing I learned in my 4 years of service in the Army, if you are going to break the rules DONT EVER ask your superiors. JUST DO IT

[@LeatherSoup-c5j]

And if you get caught deny everything.

[@GoldenGod69]

@@LeatherSoup-c5j yup exactly

[@LeatherSoup-c5j]

@@GoldenGod69 I learned that one during childhood. Your ass is in trouble either way. Might as well take a chance of getting away with it.

[@amyatrebas4265]

Compared to the many, many shot for desertion in WWI, some as young as 16, Slovak’s execution wasn’t even a little shocking.

[@Srekwah]

That is so true.

[@jimwiese3814]

Japanese and German and Russian troops shot for desertion so many thousand times. American and Canadian and British executions for desertion were rare. Stick to the facts, I suggest, when you offer opinions.

[@mikearmstrong8623]

Apples and oranges.

[@amyatrebas4265]

@@jimwiese3814 it isn’t a competition on how many. Do grow up *rolls eyes*

[@mikearmstrong8623]

@@amyatrebas4265 "How so." It was common to shoot deserters in WW1. Slovik was the ONLY deserter shot in WW2 (thousands were convicted).

[@emintey]

One of the things that deters desertion is being known and carrying the shame of being a coward and deserting your comrades, Slovik didn't care about that. He calculated that some time in prison was preferable to the risks of combat and so there was no deterrence which sealed his fate as a death sentence would in fact deter other soldiers making the same calculation.

[@jimwiese3814]

What about the Fact that a host of older mostly White Guys are sitting back off the frontline and traditionally have sent their minions into the meatgrinders... while They speak of Valor and Bravery of the Blood the young dudes have shed. So Brave indeed!!!

[@commoguru]

@@jimwiese3814 *Yawn* try harder.

[@Dutch_Uncle]

Slovik had done prison time, and probably decided that hot meals and a dry place to sleep sounded very good in comparison with the discomfort and uncertainties of combat in a European winter. He gambled and lost, again. Willaiml Bradford Huie, in "The Execution of Eddie Slovik" points out that the US Army conduced very public executions of soldiers who had committed crimes like rape and murder against French civilians. Oddly, and unrelated to the Slovik story, the film shows what appear to be Engineer units preparing bridging equipment, and what might be the Luddendorf Bridge under attack.

[@roz4747]

@@jimwiese3814 like when Michael Moore tried to get pro war senators children to enlist……..

[@kj4dx]

@@jimwiese3814 What does race have to do with anything, other than to rile all the rest of the kooks ? I'm currently in the army… Most of my leadership are young black or Hispanic guys, in their 30s, who decided to give a damn and do something for their country.

[@chrisg2739]

The irony of him bravely facing his execution but couldn’t face combat. I don’t know how I would react in that situation I would hope I went with my brothers in arms.

[@Karedu.]

He was ready to die but not ready to kill

[@chrisg2739]

@@Karedu. but in the end he indirectly killed himself.

[@statusquo5323]

Most people cope better with certainty than uncentainty.

[@shade38211]

Not what I got from this account. He stomped his feet and thought he would just get a slap on the wrist. Once he actually got convicted there was no turning back.

[@ulrichvonlichtenstein7880]

He was a product of injustice. Despite his action, he should not have been executed but instead brought home to stand trial.

[@georgegaiennie3747]

He was a petty criminal who should never have been drafted. He had no moral compass or just didn’t give a damn. Under different circumstances, he may have been imprisoned. The US Army just lost nearly 20,000 men in the Ardennes and the leadership was in no mood to be lenient. He wasn’t a scapegoat; he was guilty beyond all doubt. Desertion in war is a capital crime. Wrong time, wrong place. The fact that only one deserter was executed during the war speaks well of the Army in that regard.

[@Dutch_Uncle]

"The worst of men must fight, and the best of men must die" - From a song somewhere. Perhaps "Ruben James" by Woodie Guthrie?

[@jimwiese3814]

Someone with a moral compass enough to be honest about his convictions?? One willing to stand up for his principles? Hurtgen was a slaughterhouse that was tactically and strategically unnecessary. Did those generals get medals for bravery and promotions while tens of thousands died and were maimed for the sins of stubborn behind-the-line decision makers? Tell me what is fair here, George Gaiennie? At least you are man enough to use your real name, unlike so many of these cowardly commenters. Thank you for that.

[@allonifrah3465]

@@jimwiese3814 Principles? What principles could a man who refuses to fight Nazism possibly have? Get out of here. Slovik was a coward and the only people defending him here are other cowards. He admitted to being terrified; He never spoke of the war being against his principles. Slovik was more useful dead, as fertilizer for the flowers on the graves of the honorable, courageous US soldiers who stayed and fought and overcame the Nazis after the war. Off course, tactical mistakes were made, but fighting Nazism was the right thing to do obviously. The way you seem clearly upset with the US liberation of Nazi occupied territory and the final invasion of Germany itself, makes you sound not only like a coward but also like a Hitler fanboy.

[@Maax1200]

They even gave him several chanses to take it back after the fact. Never through they would give a deserter that many chanses.

[@johnnyforsyth7260]

I see a lot of unqualified judges casting their meaningless sentences on this unfortunate soldier. I am a combat veteran and I would never presume to know what anyone else goes through, soldier or no. War is hell, and that war was hell within hell. I feel sorry for Eddie and all the others whose lives were tragically cut short in that conflict. All we can do now is try our hardest to ensure a war like that never happens again.

[@florinivan6907]

The decision for war doesn't depend on us if by us you're referring to the average to slightly above average person. The decision for war depends on the elite. When and if they reach the conclusion that their only solution to a problem is war they'll chose war. Your input in this is irrelevant.

[@johnnyforsyth7260]

@@florinivan6907 War can begin with all of us, especially the less than average. It begins with parents teaching children old prejudices, it begins when the ignorant refuse to learn from the past, it begins when those who feel the most fear and anger support war. The so called elites don’t go to war without an army to follow them. They don’t fight and die, the people do. To believe the world is manipulated and controlled by the elite only, is naive and foolish. Every single one of us is capable of changing the world in small ways or large. To say so, and to believe so, is certainly not irrelevant.

[@florinivan6907]

@@johnnyforsyth7260 The average person only ever matters if they chose the Lee Harvey Oswald route. Because they could start a war right now and almost everyone would fall in line. You don't get to the top if you don't have a basic understanding of human psychology. And the truth is most people fall in line. Pure and simple. Its the way its been for millenia. Its not naive its just the truth. People listen because why would they assume otherwise? Or why should they risk it.

[@johnnyforsyth7260]

@@florinivan6907 That’s a very pessimistic and defeatist attitude. That attitude is what allows wars to thrive. It doesn’t have to take an assassination or an act of terror to change the world. That’s how the ignorant act, and the ignorant follow. Choose to not follow, and you’ve already made a choice in the right direction. We all make our own choices, and we all have the power to change our environment. It’s that simple. The greatest nations are built on the collective will of their people, not their leaders.

[@florinivan6907]

@@johnnyforsyth7260 I don't believe in greatness. If anything chasing greatness is what creates fanatics unable or unwilling to see they might be wrong. If you chase greatness you'll never look behind you and see what is left. Chasing mediocrity is better nobody is gonna kill everyone for that. And nations don't technically exist. They're just a term to refer to a certain way of organising a society. Collective will doesn't exist as a living breathing thing you can touch. Its only in a metaphorical sense. These are all abstract concepts if you tried explaining them to an alien assuming you could communicate and they'd actually were curious to listen their reaction would be more along the lines of 'these creatures are so primitive still chasing nonexistent concepts and putting emotions above cold hard facts'.

[@johnajax631]

Can't comment but he sure didn't do himself any favors.

[@carlosandleon]

you just commented

[@angelicupstart1977]

Seconded

[@josephderrico6254]

Slovik got what he deserved. He tried to game the system and he lost. The soldier, PVT John Tankey, Slovik went AWOL with returned to his unit with no charges. He was later wounded, received the Purple Heart and returned to America to lead a long and peaceful life. Slovik could have done the same. His commanders did not want to court martial him. Slovik asked for it. Slovik was a petty criminal who thought a couple of years in prison for desertion was an easy way out. All soldiers feel fear when faced with combat. It is how you handle that fear when facing the horrors of war that makes you a soldier.

[@Alex462047]

Being who he was, he should never have been drafted in the first place as an ex-con. Or maybe the US Army decided it wasn't against drafting, then shooting people completely unsuited to soldiering. I see the whole thing as a useless waste of life.

[@fredpearson5204]

@@Alex462047, you're right, he never should have been in the Army. The whole thing wasn't a useless waste of life, however, because Slovik was a useless human with a long record of making poor decisions and taking the easy way out. His was a useless life and his death was no loss except to the people he had been disappointing his whole life.

[@meyrickgriffith-jones3908]

Absolutely - the difference between AWOL, (having sat on the boards of one or two Courts Martial) and desertion is intent to return. So if one returns you can be done for absence and not desertion. Not that my presence on the Boards were during wartime, but that is the legal difference (under Brit Military Law). I don't have much sympathy for Slovik. I think you are right - he tried to work the system. None of my lads in Northern Ireland wanted to go into action etc, but we had been paid the Queen's shilling. Assuming the story is correct as presented in the video, I can't see any court martial finding him not guilty of desertion, and the penalty for desertion is death, or such lesser sentence which the court may impose. (and be confirmed by the Appropriate Superior Authority)

[@josephderrico6254]

@@Alex462047 Many ex-cons were drafted in WW2 because of manpower requirements. Most served with honor and were decorated. Slovik wasted his own life, not the US Army. He could have sucked it up and did his duty to his country and his fellow soldiers. I do not think he was a coward. I believe he just did not want to risk life or limb when he could ride out the war in a nice warm prison cell.

[@Alex462047]

@@fredpearson5204 It was a waste of life. What is the point of drafting somebody unsuited to soldiering, against Army regulations, only to shoot the bastard later? Anybody could have told you that he was only going to end up in trouble. The guy was starting to straighten out on civvy street. Married and living life would probably have been a much better way for him to go. The Army should have left him alone and picked somebody else. Also, Eddie was at least directly honest about his intentions. Most guys weren't, just to avoid the worst punishments. That is a fact that doesn't seem to have been taken into account. It is just assumed that he was cynically gaming the system. I don't see that in him, he just wanted out. What he did wasn't right, but the Army was wrong to shoot him for it.

[@halibut1249]

Slovic thought he would get prison time only. It's understandable he would think that, no other deserters had been executed. He was also unapologetic about deserting his fellow troops. So they made an example of him to deter other soldiers from pulling the same cowardly stunt and expecting only prison/ dishon discharge.

[@alphabeta4150]

Actually, as his defense counsel wrote after Slovic's appeal, Slovic was innocent of the crime charged. He never fled from the battlefield. He only warned that he WOULD "run away" if sent back, which is exactly what he should say to avoid leaving his comrades defenseless during battle. He had frozen, and then went AWOL before, but not during battle. His defense counsel, a lay person, admitted he was too incompetent to raise the issue at the time. He was guilty of lesser crimes that carried prison not death. His execution was also illegal because clemency petition went to General Cota instead of the President. The Army never went by the book at any stage. Slovic was not even an "example", except of the incompetence of makeshift military field courts. Not comparable to the desertion defendants who actually were guilty.

[@halibut1249]

@@alphabeta4150 - I don't know how the military code defined desertion in 1944 and whether Slovic's actions met all elements of that definition. My guess is that his note saying he would "run away" again if sent back to combat was taken as an admission of desertion. The court seemed to put alot of focus on the note and wanted him to retract it. Slovic must have been warned of the consequences. Ironically he was afraid of the battlefield but not the firing squad. Maybe he was toying with the military tribunal in a game of high stakes brinksmanship. He seemed defiant even at the end, almost suicidally, never broke from his resolve not to fight in combat.

[@kaisercc]

His name is Slovik.

[@petersinclair3997]

@@halibut1249 The consequences of battle are prolonged with unknown outcomes. A firing squad outcome is known and quick.

[@peterfrandsen1948]

His real crime was his incredible stupidity in writing his own death warrant and refusing to tear it up in spite of several requests.

[@JulieBirTV]

He was honest and naive. He should have been granted mercy.

[@peterfrandsen1948]

@@JulieBirTV He was offered numerous opportunities to tear up his confession letter.

[@pigdroppings]

American Officers rarely went to the front line.....you could get killed up there. The ground troops were controlled by sergeants not officers. I have read a few frontline combat soldier's stories and they basically state the same thing...the officers stayed far behind the combat line. ( Visions from a foxhole... The men of company k (1972))

[@dalepadgett568]

He was a deserter and he said he would desert,, He did so desert with a letter claiming and proving his actions in his own hand he wrote.

[@hisdadjames4876]

Slovic sounds like a decidedly dodgy and selfish character, as well as a coward. Not saying that justifies execution but, in times of war, when so many other terrified people are dutifully fighting on and often dying, I can understand why he was killed. Pretty well all armies through history have resorted to this as a method of maintaining discipline and ‘morale’ in the face of the enemy, so I guess it works and arguably the greater good (as they perceive it to be) is served.

[@mikearmstrong8623]

What is a coward?

[@Mrcheesythumbs]

@@mikearmstrong8623 read a dictionary

[@Ziggy_Moonglow]

@@mikearmstrong8623 Look in a mirror.

[@mikearmstrong8623]

@@Ziggy_Moonglow What an immature @hole!

[@mikearmstrong8623]

How many wars (where brave soldiers fight and die) have been about religion, or testosterone contests between narcissistic leaders. Maybe it's time the young lessors who wind up getting killed get smart about this; but that's another thread. The gist of this discussion has been there were a few thousand convicted "cowards" in WW2; only one was executed. Think about that.

[@joeavent5554]

There is an US military graveyard in France which is walled up with hedges so that no one may peer inside. No persons are allowed to visit. French contract caretakers maintain the cemetery. The graves are marked with very small plates with numerical identification. All graves are those Americans executed in the ETO. I saw a video about this some years ago. The US flag is not allowed to fly over their plot. The bodies were buried facing away from other American dead buried in the adjoining plots. Plot E is the proper designation. 98 graves...

[@robertomeara3469]

Disgraceful but not surprising.

[@spdrcr74]

That’s sad.

[@chuckschillingvideos]

Are you suggesting these "soldiers" deserve some sort of recognition or commemoration?

[@joeavent5554]

@@chuckschillingvideos I was informing those whom care to know the disposition of criminals convicted of murder, rape, etc. They are demoted to E-0, issued a Dishonorable Discharge and executed by hanging or rifle fire depending on the crime. They are not Soldiers whilst executed. I happen to be a former regular Army Military Policeman, retired US ICE agent and retired TX ARNG MP.

[@chuckschillingvideos]

@@joeavent5554 Joe, thanks for the response. Understood.

[@gordoncolston2819]

stalin famously said, “it takes a brave man to be a coward in the red army” (where desertion had also become a problem). amazing the american army gave this man so many chances. the moment his cowardice was shown, forget letter writing, slovik wouldn’t have lasted two seconds in the red army.

[@StevenCodeBlack]

That's because when it came to desertion In the Soviet Army, there were no arrests or court martial hearings involving it. Soviet Commissars would just draw their weapons and shoot anyone on sight who they saw fleeing from battle or turning back and running away and the fact that the person was seen or found running away or deserting is enough for them to already be found guilty at that point in the Red Army.

[@AKAngelKingAK]

@@StevenCodeBlack He actually used lots of prisoners, thought being that they would be more likely to fire upon there own people. He promised them freedom after the war if they fought but did not which they were sent back and they became part of what is called the bitch wars within the the theives world because one of their rules is to never join military

[@patrickgragg5602]

Wouldn't have even been a story

[@saltycreole2673]

As a Vet, desertion is such an insult to those of us who faced danger and death, I can see why he was shot. I'm sorry for his family but not him. I believe his cowardice was an affront to those who never made it home alive. I just cannot abide a repeated coward in battle.

[@skcyclist]

I just talked to a man, Dan Conroy of Colorado, who said among his Father's PTSD horrors were five purple hearts, and being among first wave on D-Day, and being one of five shelled survivors of a regiment 1,000 strong was being part of the execution of Eddie Slovak. What is really strange here is that I had never heard of Eddie Slovak until today after talking to Dan and then not 3 hours later having this video appear on my KZbin feed. Must be important enough for me to share this tragic story. Dan's father died at age 58 succumbing partially to the injuries and horrors of world war II.

[@jimwiese3814]

Sincere sorrow for the loss of Dan's father. I have heard of Eddie S's story for decades, by the way. Since 8th grade, if I recall. But none of this basically has anything to do with Slovaks deployment into France, Sir. Or his probable PTSD or Facts and Circumstances surrounding his execution. If he was a coward he would not have clung to his honesty or convictions, would he? The punishment obviously to me did not fit the crime. Other executions were for Rape and Murder. You open up your Heart and Then Do the Math, I suggest.

[@garynelson9538]

@Steve Close that's a cool story. Pvt Slovic was from Hamtramc Mi. A small Polish City within Detroit Mich. As a child, I'm sure I've rode my bike pass his house many times without knowing it. There is nothing here indicating his home. And now Polish Town(Hamtramc) is majority Middle Easterners. Reading your post now, if I ever located his home, I will send a picture of it to you.

[@chrismaurer2075]

@@garynelson9538 2 years ago I found his grave in southwest detroit.

[@77teddy77]

@@garynelson9538 HIS NAME IS SLOWIK...POLISH FOR NIGHTINGALE, NOT SLOVAK....SLOVIC OR SLOVAK, IN POLISH ALPHABET THERE IS NO LETTER V.........

[@RubyBandUSA]

You could have stopped right after "being among first wave on D-Day". That right there is 'nuff said.

[@SorMaflaria]

Had he been in the red army he would not have been given time to reach the cook

[@Retroscoop]

But the end result is the same, whether you're shot by an angry "kommissar" or by unfriendly fire.

[@gary_overman2812]

I think that the army bent over backward to keep Slovik from destroying himself. But the incredibly stupid note that he presented to the cook and the MP and then up the chain of command was what did him in. He gambled and lost. And his criminal record quite likely did play a part in Eisenhower's decision to carry the death sentence out, but I don't see that as necessarily wrong.

[@cincinatus90]

You think that man deserved to die? What kind of sicko are you? Grow up.

[@silverpairaducks]

@@cincinatus90 yes, he did and he knew it too. He knew what the punishment was. He had a duty not to the Allies or the United States but to his fellow soldiers.

[@carlosandleon]

@@cincinatus90 Desertion is punishable by death.

[@gary_overman2812]

Yes!! This was in time of war and desertion was becoming quite a problem, so Eisenhower seems to have decided that an example had to be made and Slovik was it. Slovik was under the impression that all he would have to do was serve a few years in prison and then be with his wife and live happily ever after, while the other men in his outfit were fighting and dying to defeat the Nazis. Please note the tone of my response in contrast to your personal attack on me. In your own words: grow up.@@cincinatus90

[@dcrose001]

@@cincinatus90 aww such a ignorant little beta

[@Lovelylove4everyone]

He stuck two fingers up at the military, that's why they made an example of him. He asked for it.

[@matthewwhitton5720]

Oh, how very gracious and sympathetic of you. Doubtless you’d have been the proverbial G I Joe unleashed. Knife clenched between your teeth, rushing with delight toward a flamethrower-toting Waffen SS lunatic.

[@Lovelylove4everyone]

No, I meant that was the army's way of looking at it. I feel sorry for all those guys.

[@reyganbriggs6785]

​@@Lovelylove4everyone I don't feel sorry at all.

[@PizzaPartify]

⁠@@reyganbriggs6785a man didnt want to fight so they killed him. It is something to be sorry about.

[@ssg25uret6]

As a combat veteran I’ve got no sympathy for deserters. He was given numerous opportunities to do the right thing and refused. He got what he deserved. I know it sounds harsh, but freedom is not free.

[@vangestelwijnen]

Eddie was just making bad choices during his short life. Despite people trying to help him. Sad, but that's how it goes.

[@louiseogden1296]

Unwitting reference to Vonnegut there -- he uses 'and so it goes' quite a lot in Slaughterhouse 5 to signify the resignation of the situation.

[@vangestelwijnen]

@@louiseogden1296 Thanks for bringing that great Billy Joel- song up!

[@PL-up5ig]

The problem is that is difficult to commute the sentence of someone that planned a crime, committed the crime multiple times and says that he will do it again.

[@wyocoloexperience7025]

Excellent job! Another great video.

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@daviddoran3673]

The French army had mutinies after the disastrous Chemin de Dames offensive in 1915.....so they publicly shot the leaders "pour encourage les autres".....to encourage the others....

[@namvet1968]

Have you seen "Paths of Glory"? Great film about France in WWI. With Kirk Douglas.

[@snuffle2269]

There was a lot of desertion in WWII with men leaving their units and being absorbed by either crime in gangs or finding a love and leaving to start a new life. By all accounts Slovak was made a sort of example. I would imagine many of the wooden posts in the opening scene were me arrested by MPs for criminal activities after they were listed as AWOL. In start contrast is Desmond Doss who refused to carry a rifle because of religious beliefs but won the MOH for rescuing 75 wounded on Okinawa.

[@chrispoe8404]

You Sir, are correct! I would add that the MOH is earned, never “won”. He WAS used as an example!

[@Former11BRAVO]

Slovik had as much in common with Desmond Doss as you or I do with a Martian bacterium. The two names shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence, although, I understand and agree with your sentiment.

[@macsdaddy3383]

In case you did not quite grasp the narrator's accent, he is English (British), or a British speaking computer generated voice. In any event, those stakes you saw in the video's opening segment are of a memorial in the UK to those British Soldiers who were executed by the British Army for desertion/cowardness during the 1st World War. (Hence the statuary of the guy standing against one of those posts with a target hanging over his heart.) Desertion and cowardness was quite high in a British Army still heavily influenced at the time by Victorian norms' and where, almost to a man, the commanding officers of those troops back then were all from the aristocracy, privileged, very well to do, or political leading families--- there was no such thing as PTSD being heard of by this lot) during WWI. Hundreds of soldiers accused / tried for it were summarily executed in the field as it was a very common practice then.

[@mikefrasard7596]

doss was saving lives eddie was running away to save his!!!!

[@SlavicUnionGaming]

its called hacksaw ridge.

[@denniscerasoli6209]

The strange part about it is he faced his execution like a brave man he didn't whine.

[@andrewmorgan5950]

Crazy huh

[@mattharrell6880]

As long as he died who cares how it happened.

[@sikazfuc]

@@mattharrell6880 change "he"to "you" and your spot on

[@mattharrell6880]

@@sikazfuc I did my duty, got shot 7 times. So you can kiss my ass.

[@sikazfuc]

@@mattharrell6880 So what

[@florinivan6907]

Slovik should never have been assigned to the infantry. His criminal record should have had him assigned to rear area duties. This is a textbook example of what happens with a draft in place. Sure you get your men but you also reduce standards and allow persons that have no business serving in uniform to enlist. Draftee armies by default are just civilians forced to fight. It only works as a desperation measure when all else has failed.

[@allonifrah3465]

Don't you think that W.W.2 was a rather desparate situation that required such desparate measures? Had the US army left out the draftees and only sent soldiers who had voluntairily enlisted, do you think that D-Day and the following assaults on the Nazis would have still been succesful? I doubt it. Had they not sent that overwhelmingly large invasion force, there would have been a real chance of allied defeat. Not just for the D-Day mission, but for the entire war. They wanted to give the Nazis no chance of survival. I can't blame them. Not only were they trying to defeat Nazi Germany, but they were also racing against the Soviet Union for who would get to occupy most of Germany and the rest of Europe after the Nazis would be defeated. I really doubt that D-Day would have been succesful with only voluntairily enlisted US soldiers, purely on account of numbers.

[@jorgeromero7532]

Different times my friend.. now anything over class b misdemeanor wont allow you to enlist.. or so it was when i went in years ago

[@bastianweitemeyer6033]

KrEBeCKErSLANDStreetSPDListEIneinEMROomAsklepsiosROToRENgelmANN

[@farmalmta]

The fortunate aspect is that it kept Eddie from reproducing.

[@jamesboydston5477]

Well he brought that on his self

[@Technoid_Mutant]

I think that what the Army feared was that Slovik had a SYSTEM that others could use. Slovik was explicitly trading his duty for a prison term. How could the command otherwise stop this from spreading?

[@mikearmstrong8623]

Lots of guys had a system (knew they would just do time and not be executed), but weren't shot. If the army was genuine, they would have executed more after Slovik (I'm not advocating that). The execution was hushed for years; so much for the "example." Most of the guys imprisoned for desertion were released shortly after the war.

[@BobbyTucker]

Personally, I think he got his just rewards, he seemed to think he could commit crimes against the citizens and the government but he couldn't stand up and fight like a man. I wasn't in the Military but it wasn't for not trying, I failed the physical twice because of a hearing impediment. I regret I didn't get to fight for my Country. One more thing, he wasn't the only one executed, what about all the Servicemen who were killed by enemy fire? They gave their lives for their country, it doesn't matter, they died for their country, what made Eddie Slovik any better? To all those brave men and women who did, thank you for your service.

[@Technoid_Mutant]

@@BobbyTucker I'm a war vet and don't think very ill of the fellow. He could have done something even more horrible in the face of the enemy; when his shipmates needed him and his weapon badly. From that point of view Slovik was considerate. I would not have shot the man, but I would surely have given him a prison sentence so long that the fellows who fought would be well-established before this man saw his chance to go forward.

[@Technoid_Mutant]

@@mikearmstrong8623 I'm not for shooting anyone at all, even the enemy so long as he minds his manners. There's a difficult balance for a free people fielding a conscript army. The Soviets and Germans shot LOTS of their folks for much lesser crimes than Slovik's. Had he been in the Red Army, his sentence would have been carried out within minutes of his presenting his objections to an officer. He'd not have lasted much longer in the German Army and not much longer than that in the English. Our treatment gave the fellow all the chance he could have to defend himself before a jury.

[@mikearmstrong8623]

@@Technoid_Mutant I get your point. However, it really doesn't address some of the anomalies of his case. Only guy shot for desertion since the CW (tens of thousands convicted). NEVER should have been drafted (he was 4F for years). He probably was mentally ill. Google "Rabbi Eichorn Slovik" for an account of how Slovik was "selected." In our country we have a thing called "equal protection of the law." SLovik didn't get that.

[@danditto6145]

He was executed, because he admitted his guilt, he conspired to escape his duty and spend the war in a safe prison cell and he repeatedly refused attempts to rejoin his Unit to avoid execution. He basically manipulated himself into his own execution. Everybody wanted him to tear up the note and rejoin his unit. He forced the Army to follow the Uniform Code of military justice to implement the law as established by Congress.

[@sidneymoore2231]

Ahh Eisenhower made an example out of this guy, to deter others from doing the same thing.

[@-agent-47-80]

@@sidneymoore2231 ...as he should have

[@RatchetandSly]

@@-agent-47-80 Lmao the only people affected by his death were his wife and later in the 80's, another WWII vet who thought it was wrong that he was not buried in the United States and convinced Ronald Reagan to see to it that he was buried next to his wife. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that the one and only U.S. soldier executed for desertion in the second World War made an example of anything.

[@charlesterrizzi8311]

@@RatchetandSly Are you saying that the threat of death would not affect a person? The whole world is so afraid of getting sick look at what they do. Men are governed by fear

[@RatchetandSly]

@@charlesterrizzi8311 Regular civilians, certainly. People fighting in a war they don't know will end against battle hardened nations' armies? They face death on the regular. What difference does it make to these men?

[@jrlehfeld6442]

In time of war, you don't leave your unit in the lurch. Cowardice in the face of the enemy if why he was executed. Given a number of chances to return to duty or reassigned to a different unit. Fair trial, pure and simple.

[@allonifrah3465]

Yup he was a coward. And the only people who are defending him here are other cowards. So to y'all cowards that want your cowardice to remain under the radar: Don't defend this coward Slovik. All you're doing is blowing your cover. :)

[@barringtonsmith9147]

Pity you

[@barringtonsmith9147]

@@allonifrah3465 If my IQ was a little lower I'm sure that even then I would not be able to join with your sentiment,

[@traderbychoice7560]

@Party beast The irony is that most teens in those days wanted to join the war effort. And many of the ones that got behind in America killed themselves for not being able to go.

[@vetertee]

@J R Lehfeld, you can only call someone a coward if you have seen action in similar circumstances and fought bravely yourself. No other person has the right to call this man a coward.

[@mikehisaw2712]

Just appreciate the sacrifice all our soldiers dealt with. Thank God for the ones that came home and let us know about what they endured. It is easier to have a friend, than enemy.

[@MrShobar]

"...the ones that came home and let us know about what they endured..." And many didn't. I remember some of them.

[@EEF-jz8rv]

nobody asked

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

Death warrant signed by Norman Cota division commander of the 28th Infantry Division, and deputy division commander of the 29th Infantry Division on D-Day. Played by Robert Mitchum in the movie The Longest Day.

[@janicegilbert4029]

I thought the movie was called "V-Day"?

[@samiam619]

@@janicegilbert4029 Sorry, it’s “The Longest Day”. From a book by Cornelius Ryan. The quote was supposedly said by German General Rommel.

[@matttippo8325]

Thanks for the info

[@waynecoulter6761]

I find it ironic that Eisenhower refused Slovik's appeal and ordered him executed. Eisenhower had castigated General Patton at length and put a personal letter of reprimand in Patton's record for slapping two soldiers in Sicily whom he (Patton) felt were cowards. One of them was indeed sick, but the other had deserted his unit more than once in an attempt to avoid combat. The initial accusations were presented to Bradley, who was Patton's #2. Bradley sat on the report in hopes things would die down. The accusations made it to Eisenhower who then read the riot act to Patton, personally reprimanded him and closed the affair. It was later, after the story was reported by known communist sympathizer Drew Pearson that the story was broken here in the US causing a huge Anti-Patton firestorm. Patton was correct in what he did. In slapping him, berating him and having him sent back to the front, he gave the soldier a chance to regain his sense of honor and manhood. After dressing down Patton for his treatment of a deserter, I find it quite ironic that Ike would refuse the appeal which would result in Slovik being executed.

[@kenzpenz]

I was an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam. One day while on patrol and returning to base camp. We were not far from base camp when suddenly, I heard a commotion coming from several soldiers at the rear of the platoon. I held up the platoon and walked back to see what all the noise was about. Much to my surprise and later anger, I was told that a soldier was complaining that he had lost his government issue glasses. When I asked him what his problem was, he claimed without his glasses he was totally blind and was unable to walk with us . I tried to BS him by saying OK then stay here. He quickly reached out and grabbed onto the jacket of a nearby soldier and with his other hand he felt out in front of himself as to protect himself from low hanging jungle plants etc. The other soldiers brushed him aside and told him they didn't believe him. He began to scream and cry begging us not to leave him behind, and he would do other duties at base camp. I told him OK and to move out, and with that his eyesight instantly returned. At base camp I took him to the Commander's bunker. He was told he would face courts martial if he refused to do his duty. I was told he was going to LBJ which was a joke for Long Bien Jail. With that I was assured he was going to prison for desertion. Approximately one week later we were returning to base camp by chopper and just as I jumped off the chopper I reached around to grab my ruck sack and a voice said, that's OK LT I got it, and slung it over his shoulder. Much to my shock it was the soldier that was "blind " and headed to LBJ and had been assigned duties around the Commanders mess tent. I wigged out and stormed over to the commander's hooch demanding to know what was going on. I was ordered to depart and return to my platoon, as the "situation" with the blind soldier had been resolved and to Shut up. PS the soldiers glasses had mysteriously returned without explanation . The name of that Base camp was 3Tango or 2Tango if I recall. NOW here comes to good part. During the night a bunch of VC mortared the base Camp and it was completely destroyed. Some genius had ordered all the trucks with Arty rounds, 81mm rounds and everything else one can imagine. To make matters worse, Fuel trailers were attached to the trucks. The trucks were parked hub to hub. The reasoning behind this was so it cut down on the number of men to guard the trucks. The VC loved that and hit those trucks and that crap exploded and burned for hours. I foolishly got out of my hole to go check on some one and a mortar round hit nearby and that ended my first tour in Vietnam.

[@jacobmccandles1767]

And the douche bag? What happened to him?

[@hisdadjames4876]

@@jacobmccandles1767 Hopefully, he was guarding the trucks🤞

[@hisdadjames4876]

See my other comments, if you wish. Anyway, RESPECT to you for doing your duty in Vietnam. Must have been awful and terrifying, but apparently not enough to turn you blind with fear. 👊🏾

[@reynaldoflores4522]

If his eyesight was really so bad, why was he drafted in the first place? .He could've claimed for an exemption or at least been assigned to non-combat duties.

[@diegovega6545]

TRUMP GOT AN EXEMPTION FOR LESS THAN THAT!!!!!!!

[@Icriedtoday]

You’re dead wrong. Slovik was Bragg and taunting the US military. He thought that he’d get off just as he did after taunting the home town cops. Slovik was wrong

[@StypeR19]

Wrong but death no way. It’s really a disgusting especially at todays standards

[@rogerdale9909]

A career criminal with a complete lack of respect for authority or following orders. It's not like he was the only soldier that wasn't scared in war. The difference is that HE RAN and dclared he would RUN AGAIN if ordered to do what every other soldier in Europe was doing, fight the enemy. NOTHING "horrible" about his execution whatsoever.

[@Quij123]

It is a human beings choice whether they destroy there own minds with killing

[@rogerdale9909]

@@Quij123 It's a human being's choice whether they fight tyranny, death camps, and ovens or simply close their mind and eyes to it, until it comes for them.

[@Silvavdp]

It's a human being's choice whether they fight for tyranny, money, religion, oil, etc... war is made by the old greedy cunts for the young to die in it. He was a career criminal but there is no excuse for war deaths, any of them make it the camps, soldiers or executions.

[@MoosefromCanada]

Amen, and Roger that! I’m a Veteran3 tours , 🇨🇦my Grandpa was in Holland Belgium WWII. His stories were told to me only twice….both times he snuck some extra shots of Crown Royal behind the “high Comissioner’s back (Gramma 🤣). Stories and artifacts that I have to remember always

[@Emilyhildegaard1]

So he was executed for desertion. This is not the first time and ought not to be the last. Think about his friends and fellow soldiers that STAYED and died honorably.

[@paullynn8205]

"died honorably". the words of someone who has never faced a bomb or a bullet.

[@Aureus_]

@@paullynn8205 exactly

[@alfonso87ful]

So you think mohamed ali should have been shot also? The poor guy turned himself in… he obviously just could not handle so much violence.. death penalty was just absurd..

[@bullnukeoldman3794]

The man made his own choice - go along with his unit where he may have been killed or desert and ensure he would be killed. Whether or not he chose wisely only he knew for sure at the time of his exection.

[@jimwiese3814]

The POINT IS, sir, that soldiers were ALMOST NEVER EXECUTED for DESERTION. But for rape and murder and Treason. Nothing was "ensure (ed)". Words have consequences. Your premise is false and unfair. Close-minded even! Sad.

[@bullnukeoldman3794]

@@jimwiese3814 He knew the risk when he did what he did - the sentence for desertion in the face of the enemy remains death to this day. That it was an "almost never" in that time is moot - he chose to do what he did in spite of the well known possible consequence and lost his roll of the dice in an arguably political time. Neither false nor unfair in my estimation. Slovic followed the same path, desertion over and over despite attempts of leadership, even military judges, to redeem himself. He received what he was apparently asking for. How long did you serve under the UCMJ?

[@thunderK5]

Good piece, but it needs to be made clearer in the intro that Slovik was the only American shot for desertion. As others have noted, there were other American soldiers executed during WWII but these were for murder and rape, which at the time were capital crimes for civilians as well.

[@MrShobar]

Except "The Dirty Dozen". :-)

[@mikearmstrong8623]

The only American shot for desertion since the civil war.

[@Former11BRAVO]

As they should be today, but we're now "understanding/sympathetic" of criminality - even encouraging of it. It's sickening and a lot of decent, wholly innocent people are suffering for it.

[@t.m.1502]

The only disgraceful thing about Private Slovik's execution is that we didn't make the same example of more cowardly deserters.

[@gcprost]

My grandfather fought for the French during WWI. By the end of the war many men had little or no uniform left. They were poorly rationed so everyday men would go looking for food. Desertion was also a problem, so officers were performing summary executions to men out of uniform and who didn’t have a good explanation for their position away from the front.

[@Guido_XL]

It is said that if the German army could have battled France a bit longer than it could (the entry of the US in this battle prevented that condition), that France would have collapsed under the strain and Germany would have won WWI at the Western front as well, as it did on the Eastern front against Russia.

[@SlavicUnionGaming]

@@Guido_XL Germany didn't win anything on the eastern front, also the tsar was an incompetent bastard. got what he deserved in the end.

[@Pisti846]

Young men die for the ambitions and greed of old men.

[@1020donny]

Isvan, We were fighting Hitler, Mussolini and Imperial Japan for Christ sake, and they declared war on us.

[@Pisti846]

@@1020donny You proved my point.

[@1020donny]

@@Pisti846 I don't see how I proved your point? Given that this discussion pertained to WW II and we were not fighting against the greed and ambition of old men, (Hitler was 43, Mussolini was 39 and NAZI Party and Fascist Party members spanned a broad age range of people who fought fought for ideological purposes), the United States was fighting for its survival as a free democracy. We were fighting what can only be described as evil. Do you not see the necessity of war when everything is at stake or are you just an anti-American fascist sympathizer? Some causes necessitate fighting and war. Chamberlain believed as you do and his inaction and desire for peace at all cost precipitated the deaths of 70 to 85 million people. I'm not saying war is a good time or fun but in some instances outside of our control it becomes necessary for ones survival and freedom.

[@marknorris3769]

ww2 has been glorified over the decades , my father-in-law passed in 2021 , he was 17 on a ship in pacific when japan surrendered , he never had to witness the carnage of land warfare , in 1996 i met a man , through his sister , who never left his house , hardly even his room , as he was a japanese pow and tortured , and deeply emotionally scarred , extreme ptsd , i left england soon after , he would be 100 by now , surely sadly gone , his entire life stolen , by an insane german aggression , who can ever imagine the gruesome meat grinder those land battles were ? impossible to imagine , my father dodged that horrible war by 10 years , and spent his decades as a tenured university professor , never missed a meal , and his only emotional trauma in life was , when was his next meal , on d day how could any sane soldier run across those beaches knowing they would be slaughtered ?? sure this guy was a scapegoat , not everybody is capable of running into machine gun fire , war is insane , in 2021 why are any of us still selling warmongering as a geopolitical strategy ?? it's f crazy

[@donaldshotts4429]

I don't know if WW2 was glorified as much as it was necessary unlike most wars.

[@adamosak6864]

No, he got what he deserved. Our country depends on soldiers who do their job with honor and courage. Who knows how may men died because of his actions or inactions.

[@arrjay2410]

I was vaguely aware of this story. Thanks for the factual details.

[@grantsmythe8625]

My dad was in the Korean War and he told me about this story. He was disgusted with the Army.

[@Bunkerhillburning]

Eddie Slovak was not the only American GI sentenced to death and had this sentence carried out. There were 96 American GI sentenced to death for crimes and all were executed. Please reference author Colonel French L. MacLean's book published in 2013 " The Fifth Field ". The book is available on Amazon.

[@patrickvolk7031]

He's the only one executed for desertion. The others were rape and murder cases.

[@islandblind]

You're right. I was going to say something similar. Eddie Slovak was the only American soldier executed for cowardice and desertion. The other 95 were executed for crimes like rape and/or murder.

[@jimwiese3814]

Thanks for pointing out the facts, Sir. But does that somehow excuse the overkill of a system and the draconian penalty for an honest if off-kilter soldier? Read Patrick Volk's next comment. I agree with Pat!!

[@jamesfrancis1950]

C book stolen valor. Greatest generation is a myth. American desertions were rampant but press was censored.

[@petergouldbourn2312]

He should not have been shot for bad nerves and battle fatigue. This execution was an outrage. Poor guy. 🇬🇧

[@BADD1ONE]

What about all the wealthy Americans that got out of the draft?

[@MrAeronca100]

With his criminal history his execution might have prevented further more serious crimes when he returned home

[@mikearmstrong8623]

His criminal history was for petty shit.

[@davejohnson5847]

@@mikearmstrong8623 It seems to always start that way, but now he has firearm training and little concience for others around him.

[@mikearmstrong8623]

@@davejohnson5847 His what not a lack of conscience. He suffered from an Anxiety or Panic Disorder. Give him a job washing jeeps and he's fine.

[@daskritterhaus5491]

ah, so he was actually executed for 'futurecrime' didnt tom cruise do a movie about that? what a concept. executed for something he *might* do.

[@richardlangdon712]

With desertion running high during an all out counteroffensive by the Germans, it was deemed necessary to make an example out of someone to discourage others from doing what Slovik did. The man himself gift wrapped their choice of who to make an example out of. The man was given every chance imaginable to turn around and do the right thing. He was even given multiple chances to tear up the single most incriminating piece of evidence against him and he still wouldn't do it. He was openly declaring desertion during a time of war and intense combat operations. It was a perfect storm against him. Had his desertion occurred during any other part of the war, or at the very least torn up the letter, he would have lived.

[@eac1235]

So ask yourself this...if he was being shot as an example then why wasn't it broadcast on AFN or articles published in Stars and Stripes newspaper? Hell his own wife didn't find out for 9 years what happened. She knew he died in Europe but couldn't get benefits. Then she finally found out that he'd been shot for basically not shooting people. After Slovick was executed desertion actually increased for 3 of next 5 months. Go figure huh? Only a man with mental health problems would have continued on a path to self destruction. He broke under the strain of one night of shelling and tanks. I've been in combat and have seen very strange things. One of my friends in Somalia had a really bad 3 day stretch ,if he wasn't a hero it was damn close. Several years later we had a reunion of sorts it was July 4th and we went to see fireworks, it was a large group of us. Well my friend disappeared we thought he went to the bathroom or something. We found him under a car crying and shaking. It took alot to get him out. With that being said he could have possibly wound up in Iraq or Afghanistan which was only a few short years later. Had he of been there and had the same kind of panic attack/flashback or whatever he could have been labeled a coward and kicked out of the military. Sometimes a person can be heroic and then they are broken ,there's nothing left in the tank. My friend is mostly normal these days but it took years of therapy and work .

[@Swellington_]

I imagine battle is scary for the bravest of men, particularly this era of war, but that's part of it I assume but a soldier can't leave his fellow soldiers to pick up the slack, you gotta get in there and dig with em, so yeah, I hate that for the young man but you can't do that man, it's unfair to the rest of the soldiers, that's my 2 cents ✌️

[@MrShobar]

Unless you've been there with them, don't judge them.

[@unitedchainsofamerica]

so first he's on fit for duty, but then conveniently re-classed when they need him... Legendary hero!!!

[@mickymondo7463]

The American military executed several servicemen during WW2, not just Slovik, several hangings were carried out at Shepton Mallet prison which had been given over to the US military to house American servicemen who had been convicted by military tribunal for various offences. Several were exectued for murder as well as rape.

[@mikearmstrong8623]

Apples and oranges.

[@ltkreg]

This poor fellow should have never been assigned to a combat unit in the first place. RIP.

[@mightyfloppers7527]

The war demanded his duty to the country, poor fellow my ass, how about the many that died during his quest to flee? Where is their parade? He knew the rules, he had opportunity to move to other units, he was a coward, and sealed his own fate.

[@andreaslindenau1190]

How can a man without honour can be sent to war ? A shame for his comrades and even for the enemies.

[@rosssiren5258]

Now we just let them go about their normal civilian duties....times have changed!

[@richardwallace853]

Slovik is more of a suicide than victim. His actions pretty much left the Army with no choice. They certainly gave him plenty of chances.

[@EmpowerUOnline]

Desertion is as bad as treason. Both deserve the same punishment.

[@marauderhot]

Slovik's actions put other soldiers at risk. Then you have the other end of the spectrum, Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector who won the CMH and saved men.

[@richardbossman9875]

*EARNED the MOH*

[@Dutch_Uncle]

The time to claim conscientious objector status was/is at the very start of the process, when registering for Selective Service, also called the draft. Slovik did not do this, and was happy to be deferred on the basis of his criminal record. By the time he had gone through training and was actually in a combat unit, it was too late. It is a case of bad timing and his feeling that he could beat the system.

[@mikearmstrong8623]

@@Dutch_Uncle Every one but him beat the system.

[@spacecadet35]

Whoever would have thought that being a criminal, he was also a coward?

[@harryclark6602]

People on here are saying he was a coward. Tell me what a coward is. I served in the Navy during Viet Nam. IN boot camp they didn't teach us how to be brave men during combat. They told us to do what we were told or we would be sent to a federal prison. When the ship I was on would go somewhere in Nam that was a bad place, Many of the career enlisted men would sit in the mess deck with helmet on and flak jacket. They had us 17 and 18 year old guys topside working our butts off and maybe a round might explode near the ship. Do I think those men on the mess deck were cowards? I sure do. What about the cowards who ran away to Canada instead of serving their country? After it was all over President Ford said those men could come back home and would not serve prison time. Look what Jane Fonda did. Oh well, life's not fair.

[@13612]

A coward is an easy call out, walking in the shoes of whomever is not as easy as it may sound or seem sometimes. Perhaps he was, but is that his fault...what is a fault? You can't blame a person for a fault, it's like a tree that splits down the middle...it's just in their nature. The fault rests withing the military for having not done a better job in screening the people coming in. A criminal should have never been allowed to enlist to start with.

[@chef2224]

This wasn’t brutal, he was a waster and a liability, properly tried and punished

[@lloydwalters4252]

Why is there a monument commemorating these cowards, who were shot? That's insane, they were executed for a reason and don't deserve to be remembered or mentioned in the same breath as men, who did their duty.

[@fullclipaudio]

The monument shown is that for British soldiers who were shot during WWI - some as young as 16. Unlike the Americans in WWII that gave Slovik every opportunity to recant and just go back to his unit, the British army were very heavy-handed.

[@lloydwalters4252]

@@fullclipaudio ty, that makes much more perfect sense

[@pennypackmtb2542]

Being left on a battle field by a deserter is like a death sentence. However our military recently did this to the entire Afghanistan Military. Maybe those in charge of our desertion should be reminded of the consequences.

[@yepiratesworkshop7997]

If you'd said that about the Kurds and how Trump just left them helpless, I'd agree with you. But the Afghans had more than a decade to "man up" and turn their country into something. It's not that they couldn't -- it's that they wouldn't.

[@pennypackmtb2542]

@@yepiratesworkshop7997 I agree about the Kurds, was catastrophic, but we left the Afghans in the middle of the night without warning, just like a deserter. Just gone. Leaving everything. They had know knowledge as to why. I think they could had done better, had we given them a heads up and not to "RUN" as we did. It was panic city. Also the Trump administration had ISIS begging for mercy. This Administration wasn't keeping them in submissions and aloud them to continue to grow and take over more territories. Not a big fan of past or present leadership, but I think it would had worked better under the other. If we knew they "WOULDN'T" then why the **** leave billions of dollars of cutting edge technology behind? Like giving a terrorist nation millions of dollars. Oh yeah, Obama did that.

[@yepiratesworkshop7997]

@@pennypackmtb2542 Well, it was a crappy deal, for sure. But they were given a couple of months 'notice' we were done dealing with their crap. The political corruption and the corruption within their own army corps made any kind of good outcome impossible. More effort should have been made on getting our Afghan 'allies,' translators and such, out of there. But it all had to end sometime. Unless the Afghan people were willing to stand up and make their government accountable, it was always going to end this way.

[@pennypackmtb2542]

@@yepiratesworkshop7997You didn't have your feet on the ground. Your listening to what the politicians want you to believe.

[@yepiratesworkshop7997]

@@pennypackmtb2542 Did you have your feet on the ground there? If so, in what capacity?

[@cironar]

He was doing fine until he started to feel like he was special (by refusing to tear that defection note). He could've written any kind of notes at any given time in the future if he choose to defect again; but no, he wants to cause as much drama as possible. It is sad that he paid for it in front of a firing squad.

[@jimwiese3814]

"Feel like he was special"?? Or being honest and standing up for his principles?? Too bad more people do not have the courage and strength to do that. What do you say to that? By the way, why can't you stand up and be "special" enough to use your Real Name"? I assume you are not a dog, as pictured in your MO?

[@shahrulamar5358]

@@jimwiese3814 😃😃😃

[@ninjaked1265]

@@jimwiese3814 he wasn’t standing up for his principals

[@Saltee323]

Stand up for his principles? What principles, Cowardice? He wasn’t a conscious objector. He was a simple coward. Interesting you would consider that principles? Same principles as yours perhaps?

[@jimwiese3814]

@@Saltee323 Cheap punk ass comment. You don't know me but you have certainly shown who you are. You too quick to judge; an angry defensive self, hey? At least you are enough of a person to use your real name, unlike so many of these Monday Morning QBs who hide behind tags. Maybe there is hope yet for you to become more fully human and grow up, dude! Drop your implicit bias and walk a mile in someone else's shows, heh? In the meantime... Sad.

[@lonegroover]

Horrible, but Slovik chose to avoid a responsibility that had caused the deaths of many others. For them, Eisenhower had no choice.

[@jimmccormick6091]

he wasnt a scapegoat. He basically threw himself on the sword. He had more than a few chances to get rid of that note, but, he didn't. What he never realized was that by running away, he was leaving all his buddies with one less guy to carry the load. I'd bet they were afraid too, but, they stayed put, next to their comrades. I know that youtube is full of dime store journalists, who are learning that words like "horrific", and "tragic" mean more views, but, it's called sensationalism. A 75 year old story, that was already told isn't any great shakes. The fact that Eddie felt he was being scapegoated for stealing bread and chewing gum, and not for leaving his comrades in the lurch says it all.

[@brianperry9108]

I personally had watched a man desert and he told me he was going too in advance. I shrugged it off as a joke. I personally could not understand why he did it prior to us leaving the states. War is a funny thing that definitely plays tricks on a mans mind. However, It’s the man to your left and right that gets you through it. Desertion is no joke and a increadably low move and I feel that this mans execution was justified. It’s an honor to go into battle with true patriots and having old glory raised up high. We’re Americans and freedom will always have a price to pay for it.

[@randywatkins3306]

As an old soldier and Vietnam Veteran this is very disturbing ! Military scape goat !😢 how sad is that !

[@crusty21]

Eddie found out the hard way, honesty NEVER saves an ex-con and his cowardice made him squeal on himself and attempt redemption....good luck with that. There are no good people in war.

[@rogerdavies6226]

I have no exception to the story and result. But to call this "HORRFIC kind of begs the issue.

[@jayo3074]

I think it's wrong to murder deserters. Not everyone is built for fighting and killing. Why not just imprison him.

[@allancrow134]

I agree, why not find them some other non-combat assignment that needed doing?

[@jayo3074]

@@allancrow134 I think their argument is that if they let him off the hook then many other thousands would do the same and it would weaken the army

[@allonifrah3465]

@@jayo3074 Exactly.

[@boxculture]

00:08 “A number of servicemen farting for the allied nations…”

[@Deruwugen]

The fact that troops who conducted the Biscari masscare got off with but a few years of imprisonment yet this boy got shot out of fear of his own life is just a disgrace.

[@1020donny]

He's was not a boy, he was a grown man who understood the situation.

[@tluns810]

I think I would have chosen combat, at least you have a weapon to fire back at those shooting toward you.

[@jacobmccandles1767]

He may have been used as an example, but an example needed set. Who more appropriate than a man with a note that says "I did it, I'm not sorry, and it will happen again."

[@myday805]

They were all scared. The fella was given many chances and he ignored them and was even told on many occasions by those in authority to get rid of what equated to his confession of refusal to fight, refusal to follow legal orders. This isn't a man out of his mind with shell shock, as it was known at the time. This man was thinking clearly and deliberatey. I see no injustice here.

[@fearlessfosdick160]

He was hardly treated unfairly. He was a jerk and a coward who tried to game the system. It was the fact that he was so blatant about it that left the Army with little choice other than to have him shot. Slovik was offered ways out over and over again, and he refused all of them. I have never experienced a single pang of remorse for this guy and doubt that I ever will.

[@williamwilson6499]

Of course you didn’t feel any remorse. You had nothing to do with it.

[@grenvillebamford1205]

Visited the National Arboretum and saw this memorial, very moving.

[@spiderreed350]

They should not have kept trying to put him back to the front lines.I would not want to be fighting next to him on the front lines, he'd get me killed.

[@CaptVII]

This was wartime US Army, not the peace corp. Imagine if all the "scared" soldiers were given a pass from the front lines. We'd all be speaking German right now.

[@justinwillingale2086]

@@CaptVII ahhh no you would be speaking Russian as Russia would of just taken all of Britain as the Americans would of pulled out and England occupied by the reds at the end of it.

[@carlosandleon]

@@CaptVII you say that like it's a bad thing

[@Annonymous0283745]

@Trend101Warrior it wasn't kept secret.

[@CaptVII]

@Trend101Warrior Perhaps it was the wanton arrogance of him writing that note. How many of the other 20,000 deserters wrote a note and then refused to retract it after given multiple chances?

[@ironfistdave8571]

Yeah he probably got drafted too and didn’t want to kill people just like my grandfather somehow he stuck it out and made it back home but his mind was never the same or even normal.

[@jeffreyroberts7438]

It has been shown that many servicemen were suffering from trauma and mental issues during the First World War. To have shot these individuals is a completely national disgrace.

[@Technoid_Mutant]

I'm one of those veterans who is suffering from trauma and mental health issues. Not to upstage anyone. It is hard and not well understood by the community of free people.

[@roberteckert]

Good. He dishonored those who died fighting the Nazis. No mercy.

[@roz4747]

“Wow unto you judges”

[@paolo8470]

Poor soldier ..... his crime was that of being afraid, and not knowing how to fight on the front line. No one was born to die in war.

[@reddawgrup1779]

No one was born how not to SHOOT BACK either!! Cowdice is something I'll never understand in situations like this.... His... Yours.... Or your neighbors family could be next!!!! Shoot to KILL!!! I thank God for the men and women who knew WHAT they were fighting for and for their WILLINGNESS to lay it on the line when CALLED upon!!!!! May I be one worthy of following in THEIR footsteps when CALLED upon!!!!!! 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲

[@donjennings9034]

I lost an uncle in the Battle of the Bulge and another uncle (brothers) was wounded twice in Italy. I was fortunate to live close to my surviving uncle in Texas. He had to kill a German soldier with his field knife and didn't like to talk about it. His nerves were actually very affected by combat. He told me before he died of cancer in 2001 that all these years of living were a bonus as he never expected to survive the war. He was scared, too. He spent the rest of his life with one eye. The real question is not why Slovik was shot, but why only him? They were all scared. In memory of Pfc. Everette White, 273 Field Artillery Battalion, RIP Soldier.

[@ssherrierable]

No you definitely did not but there is never a shortage of outrageous stories posted in the comments here on KZbin. You got your likes now your ok? Let’s scroll down to read some more fairytales…

[@donjennings9034]

@@ssherrierable Did not what?

[@hemming57]

Here's the problem: The Army covered it up for years. Execution is designed as a lesson to anyone who deserts. Lot's of people deserted. Only Eddie was killed for it. There would have been no desertions of people knew they would be killed for it.

[@james-jo5ju]

Execution has never been a successful deterrent for anything ever.

[@patrickmulroney9452]

EXACTLY!!

[@michaeldavies4871]

@@james-jo5ju he never deserted again, did he? Problem solved.

[@michaeldavies4871]

Here’s the problem, the army never covered up anything regarding this execution. Plenty of people including his family obviously knew. They may not have publicized that he was the only one executed for desertion, but that’s hardly a cover up.

[@hemming57]

@@michaeldavies4871 Why single him out?

[@cjalisyas]

THE BEST EXISTENCE IS NONE EXISTENCE. KNOW LIFE, KNOW PAIN. NO LIFE, NO PAIN. ANTINATALISM.

[@kiatakenzo1540]

Slovik was so confident that he''ll get a prison sentence. oh well lol