The Execution of Private Slovik by Dell Pub Co

	Title: The Execution of Private Slovik Purchase Item Manufacturer: Dell Pub Co List Price: $1.25 Our Price:
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The Execution of Private Slovik by Dell Pub Co A Supposed Example for an Army Deserter Gone Awry
Thank you, William Bradford Huie, for this wonderful, fully documented historical book about the execution of Private Slovik near the end of WWII. Private Slovik said he would never shoot his rifle and the Army knew this. He deserted briefly but returned on his own initiative. Yes, he had a court-martial, for which he pleaded guilty. (Everyone else that deserted and caught either pleaded not guilty, was locked up, or just hid out for the remainder of the war, knowing that they would never be court-martialed after the war was over). Private Slovik was "executed" to set an example for potential deserters. But if this was for an "example" why was it kept a secret, even from his wife, for many years, and it was only through the author that his wife (and the rest of the world) found out about his execution years after the war was over. General Eisenhower was the approving authority, but funny how his memory of this event became vague. A must read.
The Execution of Private Slovik by Dell Pub Co JUstice Was servd..
Exclellent book - He got a 'bum rap' but so did a lot of other guys. hmdodd - WW II Veteran
The Execution of Private Slovik by Dell Pub Co execution of eddie slovik
bought this book for a re-read. gave my old tiny paperback long ago to a library. recently visited the miltary cemetery in France, the site of his former interrment. first learned of pvt.slovik via tv movie starring martin sheen, in early 1970s.
The Execution of Private Slovik by Dell Pub Co An Interesting Yet Tragic Story
When I was reading this book, I could not stop reading it and never got bored reading it. Here is a tragic story of a young American man, Eddie D. Slovik, who had straightened out his life, after a life of spending approximately a total of 5 years in reformatories and jails for petty crimes and thefts, then found a steady job during World War II on the home front, and married a strong woman, whom he loved very dearly. Then, his promising life as a truly reformed ex-convict with a potentially bright future was abruptly disrupted and ended, when he was drafted into the Army as a "replacement private" to fight in the final bloody stages of World War II. It was the first tragedy in Private Slovik's short life for this to happen to him, as he went from being classified by his local Draft Board from 4-F (not fit for military service and when the US Military did not want any part of him) to 1-A (immediately available for military service). His promising life truly was wasted and went up in smoke. The second tragedy in Private Slovik's life is when he was the only soldier in World War II to be executed for desertion, since the U.S. Civil War in the 1860's. Despite desertion during time of war is very wrong and a very serious offense, and in my opinion should be severely punished, it was unfair to single him out for execution. "Although over twenty-one thousand soldiers were given varying sentences for desertion during World War II--including forty-nine death sentences--only Slovik's death sentence was carried out." (Source/Cited from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Slovik). Private Slovik should have of course been tried by General Court Cartial, then given a sentence of prison or should NOT have had his execution actually carried out. Thus, he would have been given a new start and a second chance in life in Post-World War II America. This is among one of the worst injustices carried out during the final stages of this war. This book is definitely a must read for those who are interested in military history and/or studying the history of World War II. I highly recommend this book, both for the study of history and an as an excellent novel, good for both serious study and for recreational reading.
The Execution of Private Slovik by Dell Pub Co Typical "Blame the World" for everything tripe
Slovik got what he deserved. He did not give a rip about his fellow soldiers. He was a deserter and a traitor. A perfect example of why capital punishment is a good thing.
The Execution of Private Slovik by Dell Pub Co Product Description
In late August 1944, a drab convoy of raw recruits destined to join elements of the decimated 28th Division lumbered along a windy French road strewn with dead animals, shattered bodies, and burning equipment. The invasion of Europe was in full swing, with German forces hastily retreating in face of the Allied assault. Throughout 1944, with mounting casualties worldwide, the United States draft dug deeper for infantrymen, including those who were previously considered unfit for service. One of those draftees traveling through the carnage in the French countryside was 24-year-old Eddie Slovik, a petty thief from Detroit who had spent his youth in and out of reform schools. Eddie’s luck had recently changed, however, with a steady factory job and marriage to Antoinette, a beautiful girl who gave Eddie hope and security for the first time in his life. But their honeymoon—like that of many other newlyweds during World War II—was interrupted by the call to service... Coming under intense artillery fire, the troops were ordered to jump and dig foxholes. In the morning, Eddie Slovik and a friend found themselves alone. Separated from his unit, Slovik joined a Canadian outfit and traveled with them for six weeks, cooking and cleaning for them, before finally reporting to the 28th Division. He carried a rifle but no ammunition. He was assigned to a platoon but walked away. Refusing to fight, Slovik was arrested, court martialed, and condemned to death. Hundreds of soldiers were tried for desertion during World War II and sentenced to die, but only Eddie Slovik paid the price, supposedly as a deterrent, yet word of the nature of his death was never officially released. In The Execution of Private Slovik, considered to be among the best investigative books ever written, William Bradford Huie reconstructs this entire story in order to find out what made Eddie Slovik an unlikely pacifist and why the U.S. Army decided to cover up the affair. With the full cooperation of the Department of the Army, including the officers in charge of the court martial, and through interviews of persons who knew Slovik and the hundreds of letters that he sent to his wife, Huie reveals how Slovik’s case reached General Eisenhower at the moment when American troops were reeling from a sudden massive German counterattack that jeopardized their hard won advances. Slovik seemed resigned to his fate and, despite a written plea for clemency, Eisenhower approved the sentence. In Eddie Slovik, the author finds a hard luck depression era boy, good natured, poorly educated, who when faced with the reality of war realized that he simply could not kill another human being. M! ilitary justice was carried out and those involved remain steadfast in their belief that the right thing was done, but Huie shows that, in death, Eddie Slovik has much more to tell Americans about life and duty to one’s country.

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