Private Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920January 31, 1945) was an American soldier who was court-martialed and executed for desertion during World War II. He was the first and only US serviceman to have met such a fate since the American Civil War. 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 a NBC 1974 television movie. Wikipedia
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