This week in 1945

A member of the firing squad:
“Try to take it easy, Eddie. Try to make it easy on yourself— and on us.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m okay. They’re not shooting me for deserting the United Stated Army—thousands of guys have done that. They’re shooting me for bread I stole when I was 12 years old.”

— Edward Donald “Eddie” Slovik, convicted of desertion, firing squad, northeastern France.
Executed January 31, 1945

On the French front lines Pvt. Slovik’s rifle unit suffered heavy shelling, and the young private attempted desertion twice. The second time he was recaptured in Belgium. In the final months of the war, Allied commander Dwight D. Eisenhower personally ordered Slovik’s execution in order to discourage would-be deserters. It wasn’t until 1987 that Slovik’s remains were shipped home to Detroit.