r***@lava.net
2014-12-01 03:15:07 UTC
A new book was released in June to favorable reviews on
a subject seldom covered by WWII historians, or mentioned
in groups such as this one. Titled "The Deserters--A Hidden
History of World War II" it was written by Charles Glass a
former war correspondent with ABC news. According to a
recent review in The Wall Street Journal, the book makes the
following interesting observations and, perhaps, some
controversial conclusions, as resulr of the author's
extensive research:
1. There were 50,000 U.S. and 100,000 British soldiers who
deserted during WWII.
2. Deserters were not always "the cowards of popular
assumption but often "rational men making a natural choice
to stay alive," some of whom had previously been decorated
for acts of bravery in action but after prolonged periods of
continuing combat had reached a breaking point.
3. Punishment for desertion varied widely depending on
the armed forces of individual countries. Of the 50,000
known American deserters who were apprehended, only
one, was executed, Private "Eddie" Slovik. Forty-nine others
were sentenced to death but the sentences were never
carried out. In the Soviet Union, 13,500 were executed
for "cowardice and desertion" by the NKVD.
4. Although the U.S. executed only one soldier for desertion,
70 other soldiers were executed for a variety of other crimes,
55 of whom were black.
5. Desertions in the Pacific theater were almost non-existent.
inasmuch as there was nowhere for a deserter to go.
6, What was commonly referred to as "cowardice" during WWII
could in today's U.S. armed forces be considered "post-traumatic
stress syndrome."
a subject seldom covered by WWII historians, or mentioned
in groups such as this one. Titled "The Deserters--A Hidden
History of World War II" it was written by Charles Glass a
former war correspondent with ABC news. According to a
recent review in The Wall Street Journal, the book makes the
following interesting observations and, perhaps, some
controversial conclusions, as resulr of the author's
extensive research:
1. There were 50,000 U.S. and 100,000 British soldiers who
deserted during WWII.
2. Deserters were not always "the cowards of popular
assumption but often "rational men making a natural choice
to stay alive," some of whom had previously been decorated
for acts of bravery in action but after prolonged periods of
continuing combat had reached a breaking point.
3. Punishment for desertion varied widely depending on
the armed forces of individual countries. Of the 50,000
known American deserters who were apprehended, only
one, was executed, Private "Eddie" Slovik. Forty-nine others
were sentenced to death but the sentences were never
carried out. In the Soviet Union, 13,500 were executed
for "cowardice and desertion" by the NKVD.
4. Although the U.S. executed only one soldier for desertion,
70 other soldiers were executed for a variety of other crimes,
55 of whom were black.
5. Desertions in the Pacific theater were almost non-existent.
inasmuch as there was nowhere for a deserter to go.
6, What was commonly referred to as "cowardice" during WWII
could in today's U.S. armed forces be considered "post-traumatic
stress syndrome."