Editing Eddie Slovik (section)

==Career==
In April 1942, Slovik was paroled once more. He then obtained a job at Montella Plumbing and Heating in [[Dearborn, Michigan|Dearborn]], Michigan. While working there, he met the woman who became his wife, Antoinette Wisniewski. She was working as a bookkeeper for Montella Plumbing's owner, James Montella. They married on November 7, 1942, and lived with her parents. Slovik's criminal record classified him as morally unfit for duty in the U.S. military ([[4F (military conscription)#Classifications|4-F]]), but, shortly after the couple's first wedding anniversary, Slovik was reclassified as fit for duty ([[4F (military conscription)#Classifications|1-A]]) and subsequently [[Conscription in the United States|drafted]] by the Army on January 3, 1944, from Detroit, Michigan.

Slovik arrived at [[Fort Wolters|Camp Wolters]], [[Texas]] for basic training on January 24, 1944, and was assigned to Company D of the 59th Infantry Training Battalion on January 31, 1944. On July 11, 1944, he was assigned to Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 1 at [[Fort Meade|Fort George G. Meade]], [[Maryland]]. In August, he was dispatched to join the fighting in German-occupied France, and was assigned to the 3rd Replacement Depot. On August 24, he was one of 129 replacements assigned to the [[28th Infantry Division (United States)|28th Infantry Division]]. He stayed in the division rear area overnight, before being assigned along with fifteen other men to Company G, [[109th Infantry Regiment]] on August 25, 1944.

===Desertion===
While en route to his assigned unit near [[Elbeuf]], France, Slovik and Private John Tankey, a friend he met at Fort Meade, took cover during an artillery attack during the night and became separated from Company G. Company G moved on the next morning, inadvertently leaving Slovik and Tankey behind. Slovik and Tankey found a [[Canadian Provost Corps|Canadian military police]] unit that had occupied the town and remained with it for the next six weeks. Tankey wrote to his and Slovik's regiment to explain their absence before the Canadians made arrangements for them to return to duty with their unit on October 7, 1944.

The following day, October 8, Slovik informed his company commander, Captain Ralph Grotte, that he was "too scared" to serve in a front-line rifle company and asked to be reassigned to a unit in a rear area. He then told Grotte that he would run away if he were assigned to a rifle unit, and asked his captain if that would constitute desertion, resulting in a court-martial. Grotte confirmed that it would, refused Slovik's request for reassignment, and sent him to a rifle platoon.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 1, 2007 |title=Pvt. Eddie D. Slovik |url=http://www.detroitpolonia.org/articles/eslovik.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027054007/http://detroitpolonia.org/articles/eslovik.htm |archive-date=October 27, 2010 |access-date=October 25, 2010 |publisher=West Side Detroit Polish American Historical Society}}</ref>

The next day, October 9, Slovik deserted from his unit. John Tankey caught up with him and attempted to persuade him to stay, but Slovik's only comment was that his "mind was made up". Slovik walked several miles to the rear and approached an enlisted cook at a military government detachment of the [[112th Infantry Regiment (United States)|112th Infantry Regiment]], presenting him with a note which stated:

{{blockquote|I, Pvt. Eddie D. Slovik, 36896415, confess to the desertion of the United States Army. At the time of my desertion we were in Albuff [''sic''; "Elbeuf"] in France. I came to Albuff as a replacement. They were shilling [''sic''; "shelling"] the town and we were told to dig in for the night. The following morning they were shilling us again. I was so scared[,] nerves [''sic''; "nervous"] and trembling that at the time the other replacements moved out I couldn't move. I stayed their [''sic''; "there"] in my fox hole till it was quite [''sic''; "quiet"] and I was able to move. I then walked into town. Not seeing any of our troops so I stayed over night at a French hospital. The next morning I turned myself over to the Canadian Provost Corp [''sic''; "Corps"]. After being with them six weeks I was turned over to American M.R[.] [''sic''; "MP" - "military police"] They turned me lose [''sic''; loose]. I told my commanding officer my story. I said that if I had to go out their [''sic''; there] again Id [''sic''; "I'd"] run away. He said there was nothing he could do for me so I ran away again AND I'LL RUN AWAY AGAIN IF I HAVE TO GO OUT THEIR [''sic''; "THERE"].|Signed PvI. [''sic''] Eddie D. Slovik A.S.N. 36896415<ref name="Kimmelman">{{Cite journal |last=Kimmelman |first=Benedict B. |date=September–October 1987 |title=The Example Of Private Slovik |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/node/55767 |journal=American Heritage Magazine |volume=38 |issue=6 |access-date=October 5, 2012}}</ref>}}

The cook took Slovik to a military policeman, then to his company commander, who read the note and urged Slovik to destroy it before he was taken into custody. Slovik refused. He was brought before Lieutenant Colonel Ross Henbest, who again offered him the opportunity to tear up the note, return to his unit, and face no further charges; Slovik again refused. Henbest instructed Slovik to write another note on the back of the first one stating that he fully understood the consequences of deliberately incriminating himself, and that it would be used as evidence against him in a court-martial.

Slovik was taken into custody and confined to the division stockade. The division's [[Judge Advocate General's Corps, United States Army|judge advocate]], Lieutenant Colonel Henry Sommer, offered Slovik a third and final opportunity to rejoin his unit in exchange for the charges against him being dropped. He also offered to transfer Slovik to a different infantry regiment in the division where no one would know of his past and he could start with a "clean slate". Slovik, still convinced that he would face only jail time (which he had already experienced and considered far more tolerable than combat), declined these offers, saying "I've made up my mind. I'll take my court martial."<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 15, 2018 |title=Who's to Blame for Private Eddie Slovik's Death? |url=https://www.historynet.com/whos-to-blame-for-private-eddie-sloviks-death.htm}}</ref>

===Court-martial===
The 28th Infantry Division was scheduled to begin an [[Battle of Hürtgen Forest|attack in the Hurtgen Forest]]. The coming attack was common knowledge in the unit, and casualty rates were expected to be high, as the prolonged combat in the area had been unusually grueling. The Germans were determined to hold the terrain, and weather greatly reduced the usual American advantages in armor and air support. A small minority of soldiers (less than 0.5%) indicated they preferred to be imprisoned rather than remain in combat, and the rates of desertion and other crimes had begun to rise.

Slovik was charged with desertion to avoid hazardous duty and tried by court-martial on November 11, 1944. Slovik had to be tried by a court-martial composed of staff officers from other U.S. Army divisions, because all combat officers from the 28th Infantry Division were fighting on the front lines.<ref name="JAG" /> The prosecutor, Captain John Green, presented witnesses to whom Slovik had stated his intention to "run away". According to his defense counsel, Captain Edward Woods, Slovik had elected not to testify. At the end of the day, the nine officers of the court found Slovik guilty and sentenced him to death. The sentence was reviewed and approved by Major General [[Norman Cota]], the division commander. General Cota's stated attitude was "Given the situation as I knew it in November 1944, I thought it was my duty to this country to approve that sentence. If I hadn't approved it — if I had let Slovik accomplish his purpose — I don't know how I could have gone up to the line and looked a good soldier in the face."<ref name="JAG" />

On December 9, Slovik wrote a letter to the Supreme Allied Commander, General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], pleading for clemency.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |last=Gibbons-Neff |first=Thomas |title=Why Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will never face an Army firing squad |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/12/16/why-sgt-bowe-bergdahl-will-never-face-an-army-firing-squad/ |access-date=December 17, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post, washingtonpost.com}}</ref> However, desertion had become a systemic problem in France, and the [[Battle of the Bulge]], a surprise German offensive through the Ardennes, began on December 16 with severe US casualties, bypassing and surrounding many units and straining the morale of the infantry to the greatest extent yet seen during the war.

The case was reviewed by assistant staff judge advocate Maj. Frederick J. Bertolet, who recommended against granting clemency. Bertolet wrote: 
{{blockquote|There can be no doubt he deliberately decided that confinement was preferable to the risks of combat, and that he deliberately sought the comparative comfort of the guardhouse. To him and those soldiers who might follow his example, if he achieves his end, confinement is neither deterrent or punishment. He has directly challenged the authority of the government, and future discipline depends upon a resolute reply to this challenge. If the death penalty is ever to be applied to desertion it should be imposed in this case, not as a punitive measure or retribution, but to maintain that discipline upon which an army can succeed against the enemy. There was no recommendation for clemency in this case and none is here recommended.<ref name="kimmelman">{{cite web |last1=Kimmelman |first1=Benedict B. |title=The Example of Private Slovik |url=https://www.americanheritage.com/example-private-slovik |website=American Heritage |language=en}}</ref><ref name="nationalarchives">{{cite web |title=[Court Martial Case 290498 (Private Eddie Slovik)] Record of Trial [folder 2 of 2] |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6231404 |website=National Archives|series=Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army) }}</ref>}}

Brigadier General E. C. McNeil, the senior Army lawyer in the European Theater, and lawyers on McNeil’s staff, reviewed Slovik’s case. McNeil wrote:
{{blockquote|This is the first death sentence which has reached me for examination. It is probably the first of the kind in the American army for over eighty years - there were none in WWI. In this case the extreme penalty of death appears warranted. This soldier had performed no front line duty. He did not intend to. He deserted from his group of fifteen when about to join the infantry company to which he had been assigned. His subsequent conduct shows a deliberate plan to secure trial and incarceration in a safe place. The sentence adjudged was more severe than he had anticipated, but the imposition of a less severe sentence would only have accomplished the accused's purpose of securing his incarceration and consequent freedom from the dangers which so many of our armed forces are required to face daily. His unfavorable civilian record indicates that he is not a worthy subject of clemency.<ref name="nationalarchives"/>}}

Lt. Col. Henry J. Sommer, the division judge advocate who had previously offered Slovik a final opportunity to have his charges dismissed, wrote:
{{blockquote|The death sentence is deemed appropriate in this case. The accused
is a habitual criminal. He has never seen combat, has run away twice when he believed himself approaching it and avows his intent to run again if he has "to go out there".<ref name="kimmelman"/><ref name="nationalarchives"/>}}

Eisenhower confirmed the execution order on December 23, noting that it was necessary to discourage further desertions. The sentence came as a shock to Slovik, who had been expecting a [[dishonorable discharge]] and a prison term, the same punishment he had seen given to other deserters from the division while he was confined to the stockade. As he was an ex-convict, a dishonorable discharge would have made little impact on his civilian life as a common laborer, and military prison terms for discipline offenses were widely expected to be commuted once the war was over.