Customer Reviews

The Execution of Private Slovik

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I could not put this book down once I started. "Wow" is all I could say at the end. This is an incredible World War II story of how an uneducated kid from Detroit full of lovesickness for his new bride ended up being shot for refusing to fire his gun in anger. He was accused of desertion--but it isn't that he ran from fighting it was the fact that he refused to fire. When he became separated from his unit after a night time artillery barrage, he ended up being a productive member of a Canadian reconn group that found him and another guy. He acted as their cook. It was then that he took to carrying writing paper in his ammunition pouches. And he wrote to his wife every day until he died. When he finally was able to get back with his unit, he did not want to fight. Instead of finding something else for him to do, the Army ended up killing him. He apologized according to the priest who spoke to him as he was tied to a post and he told the priest to let the boys know that he didn't blame them for what they had to do. The irony, of course, is that thousands--THOUSANDS--of American soldiers deserted duty during World War II, including officers, yet only Slovik was executed. The book opens with the author contacting the other guy who got lost with Slovik and he was stunned that Eddie Slovik was shot. He had absolutely no idea. The impetus behind the book is that the whole story was hushed up--the author happened to stumble upon a reference right after the war and began his investigation--so that even though at the time the reason given for killing Slovik was to create a deterrent for desertion, no one outside of the small execution group ever found out! I enjoy reading military history and I highly recommend this book.

This book is an exceptionally written work covering the life of Private Eddie Slovik. It covers his disadvantaged childhood leading to brushes with the law, mostly of the petty theft variety. The picture that develops is of a fundamentally weak man who would get by just fine if he had a crutch to lean on. He was lucky enough to have a strong wife who guided him and provided the emotional support he needed. Slovik appears to have been a bit stupider than most, but a decent guy. He, along with many others, did not have the spine to be fired at by enemy soldiers, although by all accounts, he was very poised at his own execution. His case seems to have been arbitrarily picked for execution. Multitudes of GI's were sentenced to death for desertion, Slovik's admitted crime, but only Private Eddie Slovik was actually killed. Another reviewer has referred to the "whining" which makes up part of the letters to his wife. The terror and uncertainty prevalent in wartime is certain to affect even stronger characters. The effect of war on Eddie Slovik was such that he could not bear it. Although I believe that no human is fit to be a soldier, we are made for far better things, the drafting of a man like Eddie Slovik shows that arbitrariness of the draft of WWII that lead to the militarization of thousands of men who would not be stable under combat circumstances. Huie writes this in a style that makes you forget there is an author. About as objective as one could really hope to be, the facts of the case are still so moving as to bring sobs. A compelling, tragic read.

The Execution of Private Slovik reads somewhat like a college term paper but because of the gripping subject it maintains the reader's interest. Thoroughly documented and cited, the author goes to great pains to challenge the reader to question why this event occurred. The author's question centers on whether Eddie was accurate in his belief that he was really being punished for the petty crimes of his youth. Great book for WWII buffs as well as people interested in Death Penalty issue.

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.

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.

Everyone has their own opinion about everything in life and we are all entitled to it, before forming one a person should be sure to get the facts first. I enjoyed reading this book I must say you must read it first before passing judgement on Pvt. Eddie Slovik. The book itself is an excellent read, quick reading and well written.

i wonder if some guys are just born to lose

i don't mean to sound indifferent or dismissive
but eddie slovik overplayed a real bad hand in a real high stakes game

and the sad irony was he ended up getting killed
because he was so afraid of getting killed

by the time pvt slovik's army transport ship made port in europe late fall 1944
the war was not going well in the huurtgen forest
the dark and foreboding - and now frosty - woods on the german border
where hansel&gretel had spread breadcrumbs once upon a time

since its summertime d-day landing
the allies' war machine had marched the width of france
but this forest on the german border was so dense treetops blocked out the daylight
and the tangle of limbs & branches cast spooky shadows that hid both real
and imagined terrors

now the leaves & pine needles underfoot there were a muddy mess
and not just from slushy snow but from bloody boots of scared soldiers too
and in this dreary desolation of entrenched fighting - sometimes hand to hand -
the u.s. war machine had a desertion problem on its hands
and it was going to find an answer to that problem

yank battle planners - starch creased fatigues types back in the safety of hq
with a fireplace and a brandy to repair to once their tough planning day was done
hadnt expected it
after finally getting disentangled of the normandy hedgerows
the allies had been making steady progess

but now german soldiers had stiffened and were defending homeland soil
much more fiercely than frenchmen's turf they'd taken by invasion

this in combination with the fact that the u.s army's replacement system
threw its newest infantrymen into the front line
which was now in the huurtgen
bogged down in the bloody woods of the rhineland

by fall/winter 1944 - when g.i. eddie arrived - those reinforcements
were a bunch of guys - thousands - the army had previously deemed
unfit to serve
but wars tend to deplete inventory

and these former rejects
now of necessity reclassified acceptable troop trainees
were sent where needed as needed
with no time given to 'fit in & blend in'
it was just 'get in & dig in'
war is hell
stupid too

fresh dogmeat shipped out from a replacement depot -'repple depple' - like so many spare parts
which in reality was what they were

so on one side of the fight you had battle-tested soldiers defending the fatherland
while on the other guys like eddie slovik
who'd already been told by uncle sam 'i dont want you!'
and so figured they'd never even see a u.s. army base cot
let alone a muddy fox hole on the front line
likely as not too next to some guy
they'd known since breakfast ... maybe

all this in a place that was cold, damp,
and thousands of miles away from safe warm home
and the clean sheets they'd been sleeping on
til uncle sam decided to down-grade his draft rules

gung ho warriors double timing it to the sound of the guns
these guys were not

the first result of all this madness was a horrific
american blood-letting in a dense dark german forest

the second result was a lot more bottom of the barrel draftees
like eddie slovik deciding they'd gotten a raw deal
and all this fighting and killing wasn't for them
can you blame 'em, really?

and the third result was the yankee war juggernaut
needing a poster boy to solve its now not so little desertion dilemma

you see
the men fighting the battle in the bloody forest wanted to stop bleeding
the men planning the battle in the bloody forest needed them to keep bleeding
hello pvt slovik

still eddie did a real fine job of providing the warcrazies the rope to hang him with
or more accurately the ammo to shoot him dead

he - an ex con - prewrote his desertion confession
while being awol for six weeks
after spending all of one day at the front
and when he finally showed back up he handed the note to the first officer he saw

eddie my man why so bold with the 'no sir i aint fightin' sir' move?
why not go subtle?
why not just keep getting lost?
you'd been just another awol entry on the company clerk's clipboard
just another dogface in the regimental stockade

see not getting shot at was the idea
even if it meant military prison
slovik already'd done time twice back in the states
sitting in a jail cell? not great but not too bad all things weighed
dodging explosions and rifle rounds at the front? now that was all the way bad

truth is when it came to going over the hill
eddie was one ballsy dude and with a plan to boot too
he ended his declaration of independence from the u.s. army
with the words 'AND I WILL RUN AWAY AGAIN' his caps

this buck nothing private was telling
the shiny brass generals what the deal was here
when it was the generals' cards, the generals' game,
and the generals' rules
man eddie slovik wasn't just a bad gambler
he was a dumb - cocky - gambler

it was like being table short-stack
and going all-in with 2-7 offsuit against the chip leader
no
more like some guy playing injun poker
and letting everyone except himself
look at their card before lifting it to their forehead

but that's not the worst of it

at his court martial with the death penalty a real possibility
eddie stood mute - he chose not to testify
after the war one of his judges wrote a magazine article about it
said that the judges' panel took slovik's silence as an arrogant ploy
trying to game the system

trials judge the facts and penalize the culpable
guilty for slovik was a given
what'd the judges think of eddie's brash writing beforehand
and calculated silent treatment afterwards?
not much
unanimous decision - death by firing squad

eddie was on a roll - downhill all the way

and then when the date for the execution was set
and the gamble starting looking a little bit shaky
slovik penned a letter asking for some have mercy
he wrote it to the guy who invented the eisenhower jacket
but eddie spelled the general's name 'eisenhowser'
true story
it'd been a comedy if it weren't such a frickin' tragedy

eddie slovik was a not so big not so smart
guy from the polish slums of detroit
and life sure didn't stuff his pockets full of good breaks
but he did get a couple

a beautiful woman loved him
(their wedding photograph will break your heart it really is a lovely picture)
and at least two army officers gave him a chance to tear up
the suicidal awol confession he'd written
but slovik didn't take it because

there was scuttlebutt back at the stockade
that no american soldier had been shot for desertion
since abraham lincoln was president
4 score and not 20 but at least 2 american wars before

and so eddie bet it all - boldly - that fate wouldnt go and suckout on him

and it must've looked pretty safe
but it wasn't
because in wartime nothing much is
especially an ex-con's foolhardy wager
against a war machine that held all the cards

poor eddie no joke
he got shot by a firing squad for being afraid of getting shot

the chaplain at the killing wrote slovik was the bravest man there
in the courtyard that cold early winter morning
when the u.s army shot its own soldier dead

some may shed a tear of sadness at the fatally foolish bet of a man
or try to stifle tears of rage at the insanity of mankind

but private slovik sure didnt play his cards smart
he thought his all-in was only for his hand on the table
not for the butt in the seat too
dumb bet eddie dead and dumb

yeah ... i wonder ... if some guys just are born to lose

Slovik did not even try. The guy spent not one single day under fire at the front line. However misguided was his draft or not, it was an absurd decision.

Also, reading his letters to his wife, it was the boriest parts of the book. The guy just complains and complains, then complain some more. Also, it seems his only goals are buy stuff that other people have. If he had jsut tried a little bit to complain less and get the job done, there is a good chance he would survive the war. Ok, he must have been killed, but wasn't that the end result of his calculated desertion?

I have no special sorry for this guy, other than the general sadness for someone being killed and the general absurdity of war.

As for the book itself, very good.

Is this book worth reading? Yes, but...the reader should be aware that the writer does seem to have a biased view of his subject. While Pvt. Slovik does seem to be a scapecoat for other deserters, at the same time, I doubt that others flaunted their refusal to obey orders as blatantly as he did. My father also served in the 28th Division, 109th Infantry Regiment and was undoubtedly as afraid as Pvt. Slovik. War is truly hell and I'm sure that he wanted to be anywhere but where he was, but he realized his duty to help eradicate the greatest evil of the 20th century. Thank God for the men (and women) of his generation! Were it not for them, we would not be free to live as we do today! After reviewing Pvt. Slovik's history, it would seem that his desertion was yet one more event in a life lived as a sociopath. As such, he had no redeeming value to consider nor should he have expected mercy. I reserve my tears for the thousands of soldiers who deserve them...those who gave their lives so we might live ours.

Well it doesn't take much to hate the way the military does things. Why not shot a poor frighten kid for desertion. After all did he want to fight or was he made to fight. Life is ironic Eddie isn't it. You feared guns and guns where use to do you in. You showed more courage facing death then living. This book is a good read.