Colonel MacLean's summary of these 96 stories of U. S. soldiers is done with immense detail and accuracy.. He covers every aspect of every case of male soldiers (no women were involved) who were arrested, convicted, sentenced and executed for desertion, rape, and murder. He emphasizes that the army high command, all the way up to General Eisenhower, were determined to send a message to all the armed forces then engaged in battle, that such crimes would not be tolerated. Along the way, the reader learns that over 70% of the men were of color, were prosecuted according to the rules, and buried in a hidden graveyard with no ceremonies. ( )

5174. The Fifth Field The Story of the 96 American Soldiers Sentenced to Death and Executed in Europe and North Africa in World War II, by Colonel French L. MacLean (read 24 Jun 2014) On March 19, 1961, I read William Bradford Huie's The Execution of Private Slovik and when I heard of this book I wanted to read it. Private Slovik is one of the 96 executed soldiers, but he is the only one executed for desertion. The other 95 were executed for murder or rape. The book tells about the crimes of every one of the 96 and that part of the book--and it is the biggest part of the book--is not pleasant reading, of course. The author discusses how he looks at the crimes and the punishment meted out, and concludes that in only 4 of the 96 cases would he have found the defendant not guilty but also finds that in only 37 of the 96 cases would he have voted for the death penalty. The author says that even though 78% of the men executed were black it cannot be concluded that race played a role in the selection of the persons to be executed. However there were 1,136 cases in North Africa and Europe where American soldiers were found guilty of rape or murder and those cases were only studied by the author as to the 96 that were executed. A more extensive study would be to review all 1,136 cases and then one would be in a better position to determine whether blacks were disproportionantly executed. As I read the accounts of the stupid and senseless crimes of the 96 that were executed I was thankful that today's criminal justice system would have spared the life of many that were executed in the forties. One recognizes that in wartime excessive time cannot be spent on courtmartials, but it is also heartening to realize that today at least in most states the justice system does not easily conclude that doing what the criminal did--deliberately and intentionally and with malice aforethought killing a person--is something the state should likewise do. It is heartening to know that capital punishment is less likely to be imposed than it was 70 years ago. ( )