Eddie Slovik
Eddie Slovik | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edward Donald Slovik February 18, 1920 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | January 31, 1945 (aged 24) Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, Grand Est, France |
| Criminal status | Executed by firing squad |
| Conviction | Desertion |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Military career | |
| Nickname | "Eddie" |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Service years | 1944–1945 |
| Rank | Private |
| Service number | 36896415 |
| Unit | Company G, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division |
| Conflicts | World War II |
| Spouse |
Antoinette Wisniewski
(m. 1942–1945) |
Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920 – January 31, 1945) was an American soldier who was court-martialed and executed for desertion during World War II. He was the only US serviceman to have met such a fate since the American Civil War, though in 1902, during the American-Philippine War, two American soldiers (Edmund DuBose and Lewis Russell) of the 9th Cavalry Regiment were executed for "desertion to the enemy". Although over 21,000 American servicemen were given varying sentences for desertion during World War II, including 49 death sentences, Slovik's death sentence was the only one that was carried out. The case was brought to public attention by the 1954 book The Execution of Private Slovik by William Bradford Huie, later made into an NBC 1974 television movie.