The Deserters: A Hidden History of World War II

by Glass, Charles

  Ford declared that Major Walter L. Ford, “N.P. Form No. 5, Psychiatric Report in Disciplinary Cases,” 2 November 1944, two pages, Weiss Court-Martial File, Private Office of the Clerk of the Court, U.S. Army Judiciary, 901 North Stuart Street, Suite 1200, Arlington, VA, 22203-1837.

  “was suffering from” Major Walter L. Ford, “Psychiatric Report in Disciplinary Case,” 3 November 1944, Turek, Frank J., CM297854, Court Martial File, Office of the Clerk of the Court, U.S. Army Judiciary, 901 North Stuart Street, Suite 1200, Arlington, VA, 22203-1837.

  “In that Private” Turek, Frank J., CM297854, Court Martial File, Office of the Clerk of the Court, U.S. Army Judiciary, 901 North Stuart Street, Suite 1200, Arlington, VA, 22203-1837.

  “Well Sir, we” Turek Court-Martial Transcript, p. 9.

  “It was so dark” Ibid.

  “Major Wilson had” U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Albert C. Homcy versus Stanley R. Resor, Secretary of the Army, 455 F.2d 1345, opinion by Circuit Judge George MacKinnon, http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-appeals/F2/455/1345/168414/.

  “The accused was” Article of War 75: “Misbehavior before the enemy. Any officer or soldier who, before the enemy, misbehaves himself, runs away, or shamefully abandons or delivers up or by any misconduct, disobedience, or neglect endangers the safety of any fort, post, camp, guard, or other command which it is his duty to defend, or speaks words inducing others to do the like, or casts away his arms or ammunition, or quits his post or colors to plunder or pillage, or by any means whatsoever occasions false alarms in camp, garrison, or quarters, shall suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.” See William M. Connor, “The Judgmental Review in General Court-Martial Proceedings,” Virginia Law Review, Vol. 32, No. 1, December 1945, pp. 39–88, at p. 72: “ . . . a new rule of decision as to desertion was erected in the 1917 Manual thus worded: ‘Desertion is absence without leave accompanied by the intention not to return.’ Both elements are essential to the offense. The offense becomes complete when the person absents himself without authority from his place of service with intent not to return thereto. A prompt repentance and return are no defense, nor is it a defense that the deserter at the time of departure intended to report for duty elsewhere.”

  “Specification 1” Weiss Court-Martial Transcript File, p. 5. (The court reporter consistently misspelled Brechifosse, a Vosges hamlet, as “Brechitosse.”)

  When the trial Weiss Court-Martial Transcript File, p. 10.

  “It was night” Ibid.

  “Captain Simmons” Weiss was mistaken at this stage of his testimony, as he was in both drafts of his memoir. He could not have reported to Captain Simmons on his return from his time with the Resistance and the OSS in October 1944, because Simmons was recuperating from a sniper wound to his neck received on 30 September 1944. He returned to duty when Company C was well into Alsace in January 1945. Weiss must have reported to the acting company commander, Lieutenant Darkes. See Russell Darkes, “Twenty-five Years in the Military,” pp. 40 and 43. (Darkes does not mention Weiss in his memoir.)

  The court intervened Weiss Court-Martial Transcript File, p. 15.

  Defense counsel had Ibid., p. 16.

  The defense called Ibid., p. 18.

  “How did you get” Ibid., pp. 19–20.

  Major Wilson introduced Major Walter L. Ford, “N.P. Form No. 5, Psychiatric Report in Disciplinary Cases,” 2 November 1944, two pages, File: Private Office of the Clerk of the Court, U.S. Army Judiciary, 901 North Stuart Street, Suite 1200, Arlington, Virginia, 22203-1837.

  “Upon secret written” Weiss Court-Martial Transcript File, p. 22.

  “They didn’t kill” WD/Second Draft, p. 114.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  The stockade had “History: Disciplinary Training Center Branch, 1 October 1944 to 8 May 1945,” p. 1, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, ETO Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  “However, to be fair” WD/Second Draft, p. 118.

  The commanding officer Colonel Peck assumed command of the Loire DTC on 3 November 1944. See “History of the DTC Branch, Theater Provost Marshal’s Office, 1 October 1944 to 8 May 1945,” NARA, RG 498, Box 154, Records of Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army in World War II, Adm 5670 & D PM to 567E Ramps.

  “Sometimes I’d see” WD/Second Draft, p. 120.

  “honorably restoring to” Robert L. Santos, The Army Needs Men: An Account of the U.S. Army Rehabilitation Center at Turlock, California, 1942–1945, Denair, CA: Alley-Cass Publications, 1997, p. 20 (http://wwwlibrary.csustan.edu/bsantos/army.html).

  At the Lichfield Jack Gieck, Lichfield: The U.S. Army on Trial, Akron, OH: University of Akron Press, 1997.

  Guidelines set by Letter, Major General Milton A. Reckord, U.S. Army Theater Provost Marshal, to all provost marshals, 19 February 1945, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, Records of Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (World War II), Adm 5670 & D PM to 567E Ramps, p. 1.

  “a large area” “History: Disciplinary Training Center Branch, 1 October 1944 to 8 May 1945,” p. 1, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, ETO Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  The 38th Regiment Barkley, In Death’s Dark Shadow, p. 238. Based on his father’s account, Barkley wrote, “Deeper to the rear, squad huts were constructed and life was relatively comfortable for a fighting front.” See also Wood and Ashbrook, D + 106: The Story of the 2nd Division, p. 4, and “History: Disciplinary Training Center Branch, 1 October 1944 to 8 May 1945,” p. 1, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, ETO Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  “It was also true” Charles B. MacDonald, The Siegfried Line Campaign, U.S. Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations, Center of Military History, U.S. Army, Washington, DC, 1993 (originally published 1963), p. 613.

  “those back home” Whitehead Diary, p. 142.

  “That kind of propaganda” Ibid., p. 143.

  “To the veterans” Barkley, In Death’s Dark Shadow, p. 269.

  “When we reached” Whitehead Diary, p. 145.

  “By midnight the” Charles B. MacDonald, The Siegfried Line Campaign, U.S. Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations, Center of Military History, U.S. Army, Washington, DC, 1993 (originally published, 1963), p. 610.

  Neither they nor Brigadier General A. Franklin Kibler, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, et al., “Strategy of the Campaign in Western Europe, 1944–1945,” The General Board, European Theater of Operations, File 385/1, Study No. 1, p. 65. The report stated, “By the night of 15–16 December, the [German] assault divisions had closed into final assembly areas, the bulk of the artillery was in position, and reserve divisions were en route. Existing and forecast weather conditions were now most favorable for attack.”

  “Not knowing the” Whitehead Diary, p. 148.

  “No pity was” Ibid., p. 155.

  “outstanding courage, skill” Robertson, Combat History of the Second Infantry Division in World War II, p. 103. See also Second Battalion Staff, “The Second Battalion, 38th Infantry, in World War II,” p. 35. The citation, later called the Presidential Unit Citation, added, “Attacking and successfully penetrating the Siegfried Line in the vicinity of the Monschau Forest, the 2nd BATTALION was ordered to move 6 miles to the vicinity of Krinkelt where enemy tanks were driving in force. The last unit to leave the forest, the 2nd BATTALION successfully withdrew and under intense enemy artillery, mortar, and sporadic small arms fire moved to Krinkelt where defensive positions were occupied in the darkness without time for prior reconnaissance. Infiltrating enemy riflemen fired at the men as they moved into position at Rocherath. They fought off an attacking Panzer unit. Three times the enemy armor breached the main line of resistance. On one occasion ten tanks overran the positions, firing point blank range, employing spotlights to reveal their targets as the tan
k crews raked the area with machine-gun and cannon fire. Although heavy casualties were sustained in this bitter engagement, the 2nd BATTALION 38th INFANTRY, successfully repelled the fanatical thrusts, killing or wounding nearly 500 of the attacking enemy.”

  “a long natural ridge” Ibid., p. 103.

  Nor was he in a German Ethell and Caldwell, The Thirty-Eighth United States Infantry, p. 23. Since recovering from wounds suffered in Normandy and returning to combat, battalion sniper Kviatek had killed seventeen more Germans to reach a total of thirty-eight notches on his Springfield. Kviatek survived the prisoner of war camp and returned to the United States at the end of the war.

  TWENTY-NINE

  “I was not only pleased” WD/Second Draft, p. 121.

  “those having no salvage” “History: Disciplinary Training Center Branch, 1 October 1944 to 8 May 1945,” p. 3, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, ETO Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  “Cruelty or unusual” Letter, Major General Milton A. Reckord, U.S. Army Theater Provost Marshal, to all provost marshals, RG 498, Box 154, Records of Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (World War II), Adm 5670 & D PM to 567E Ramps.

  “I remember running” Steve Weiss, interview with the author, the Vosges, France, 30 April 2011.

  A Texan Weiss Ibid.

  “Hanging is considered” “EXECUTION OF DEATH SENTENCES,” 8 July 1943, sent by Adjutant General A. E. O’Leary to the Commanding General, Services of Supply, p. 1. NARA, RG 498, Box 154, ETO Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  “expressed doubt that” Judge Advocate File HWH/var, 14 September 1944, Lieutenant Choffel, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, ETO Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  Classified confidential survey “OUTGOING CLASSIFIED MESSAGE,” Dated 16 September 1944 at 0102 Hours from Lee to All Base Section Commanders, Reference No. EXO47032, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, ETO Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  Corporal Eric Klick “INCOMING CLASSIFIED MESSAGE,” Dated 16 September 1944 at 1733 Hours, from Loire Section, Reference No. LS4093, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, ETO Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  A simple check See “Oklahoma Executions,” Complete List of Executions in Oklahoma Between 1841 and 1966, http://web.archive.org/web/20080329184835/users.bestweb.net/~rg/execution/OKLAHOMA.htm. See also Texas Department of Criminal Justice, “Electrocutions 1923 to 1973,” http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/prefurman/electrocutions.htm.

  “G-1 has promised” Letter, Major General Milton A. Reckord, U.S. Army Theater Provost Marshal, to General Lord, 28 September 1944, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, ETO Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946. Technician third grade was the equivalent pay grade to a staff sergeant.

  The War Department’s War Department Pamphlet 27-4, “Procedure for Military Executions,” War Department, Washington, DC, 12 June 1944.

  “of black sateen” Ibid.

  “the lower portion” Adjutant General A. E. O’Leary to the Commanding General, Services of Supply, ETO, 8 July 1943, p. 3, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, European Theater of Operations, Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  The medical officer Emmett Bailey, a white soldier who had witnessed sixteen military executions, informed the author Alice Kaplan that he had not recovered from the experience. “It was the old KKK procedure,” he said. “It was a legal lynch.” See Alice Kaplan, The Interpreter, New York: Free Press, 2005, p. 171.

  “Every precaution will” Adjutant General A. E. O’Leary to the Commanding General, Services of Supply, ETO, 8 July 1943, p. 3, NARA, RG 498, Box 154, European Theater of Operations, Historical Division, Administrative File, 1942–Jan. 1946.

  “In the event” Judge Advocate memo, 27 September 1944, “Subject: Execution of Death Sentences,” HWH/Ext 2069, p. 4, NARA, RG 498, Box 19, ETO Judge Advocate Section, Decimal File, 1942–1945, 250.3–250.35.

  “Whether it was” WD/Second Draft, p. 123.

  “—all enlisted men” Branch Office of the Judge Advocate General, Judge Advocate General, “History, Branch Office of the Judge Advocate General with the United States Forces European Theater, 18 July 1942–1 November 1945, Washington, DC, 1946, p. 10, from the files of U.S. Army Legal Services Agency, U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 901 North Stuart Street, Arlington, VA 22203-1837.

  The bodies of Kaplan, The Interpreter, pp. 169–70. Kaplan wrote (p. 156), “In France, 130 of the 180 men charged with rape and murder were African-Americans; in Europe as a whole, 55 of the 70 men executed for rape and murder were African-Americans. . . . No one, as yet, was willing to venture the obvious: it was patently absurd that 8.5 percent of the armed forces could be responsible for committing 79 percent of all capital crimes.”

  “If the next” War Department Pamphlet 27-4, “Procedure for Military Executions,” p. 6.

  “Appropriate information will” “Procedure for Execution of the Death Sentence on the Continent,” Letter from Brigadier General R. B. Lovett, 14 December 1944, NARA, RG 498, Box 19, ETO Judge Advocate Section, Decimal File, 1942–1945, 250.3–250.35.

  “The sentence is” General Court-Martial, Orders No. 125, 9 November 1944, Private Stephen J. Weiss trial papers, Office of the Clerk of the Court, U.S. Army Judiciary, 901 North Stuart Street, Suite 1200, Arlington, VA, 22203-1837.

  “I am writing” File, Weiss, Stephen J., CM297441.P101.2, Office of the Clerk of the Court, U.S. Army Judiciary, 901 North Stuart Street, Suite 1200, Arlington, VA, 22203-1837.

  “The problem of” Letter, Major General John E. Dahlquist to Lieutenant General Ben Lear, 27 February 1945, NARA, RG 498, Box 5, Records of the Office of the Deputy Theater Commander, General Correspondence, 1945, 210.26–293 (File: 220.26. Reduction of Enlisted Men). General Dahlquist added, “We have about 5,600 veterans of Salerno still in the Division.” This meant that about 10,000 of the original contingent that fought in Italy had either died, been seriously wounded, captured, deserted or otherwise gone missing. This was in addition to the replacements who had been lost.

  “I do not agree” Letter, Major General E. S. Hughes to Lieutenant General Ben Lear, 9 March 1945, ibid.

  “I reported to” WD/Second Draft, pp. 124–25.

  At this time Colonel Julien C. Hyer, Chief, Judge Advocate Section, The General Board, United States Forces, European Theater, et al., “The Military Offender in the Theater of Operations,” Center of Military History, Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1945, File 250/2, Study No. 84, p. 3.

  At the Loire Ibid., p. 4.

  THIRTY

  “That was the best” Whitehead Diary, p. 173.

  Whitehead arrived at “Information from Locator Cards,” Whitehead Court-Martial File.

  Steve Weiss resented Whitehead’s court-martial file contradicts his memoir on this point. The file says he told an examining officer at the time of his arrest that “he was tired of fighting; went to Paris and got drunk.” See “Data for First Clemency Petition,” Whitehead Court-Martial File.

  Corley was promoted Charles B. MacDonald, The Siegfried Line Campaign, U.S. Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations, Center of Military History, U.S. Army, Washington, DC, 1993 (originally published 1963), p. 309.

  A month before William Marshall, Baseball’s Pivotal Era, 1945–1951, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1999, p. 14, and H. Allen Smith and Ira L. Smith, Three Men on Third, New York: Doubleday, 1951, p. 141.

  In Paris the Whitehead Diary, p. 177.

  In the dreams The 1930 U.S. Census stated that Uel was three years younger than Alfred Whitehead.

  “So we took” Whitehead Diary, pp. 180–81.

  “Of course, no black” Colonel Julian C. Hyer, Chief, Judge Advocate Section, General Board, United States Forces, European Theater, et al. “Legal Phrases of Civil Affairs and
Military Government,” File R/013, Study No. 85, p.10.

  Another deserter advised Whitehead Diary, p. 184.

  “we stole more” Ibid., p. 185.

  “In the eleven” “History: Criminal Investigation Branch, 1 October 1944 to 8 May 1945” (Theater Provost Marshal), NARA, RG 498, Box 154, Adm 567C & D to 507E, Ramps, p. 6.

  “Informal G.I. markets” “Army & Navy: G.I. Black Market,” Time, 2 October 1944. See http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,933146,00.html.

  The Criminal Investigation “History: Criminal Investigation Branch, 1 October 1944 to 8 May 1945” (Theater Provost Marshal), NARA, RG 498, Box 154, Adm 567C & D to 507E, Ramps, p. 2.

  Al Whitehead prospered Whitehead Diary, pp. 192–93.

  An army telegram “War Department Messageform,” 13 December 1945, from General Eisenhower to Commanding Officer, 9th Replacement Depot, APO 545, Whitehead Court-Martial File.

  On 12 and 13 July Robertson, Combat History of the Second Infantry Division in World War II, pp. 156–57.

  Whitehead nonetheless wrote Whitehead Diary, p. 194.

  “During his confinement” “Informal Routing Slip—HQ 9th Reinforcement Depot,” signed A.R.W., Whitehead Court-Martial File.

  The sentry assigned Whitehead Diary, p. 196.

  “Due to the relative” “Informal Routing Slip—HQ 9th Reinforcement Depot,” signed A.R.W., Whitehead Court-Martial File. Corporal Shumate was not held responsible for “negligence,” as guarding prisoners in different locations was “obviously more than one man could accomplish.”

  “I rolled over” Whitehead Diary, p. 197.

  “A search for” Letter, First Lieutenant John F. Conley to Commanding Officer, 9th Reinforcement Depot, APO 545, U.S. Army, “Subject: Escape of Prisoner from Confinement,” 24 July 1945, in Whitehead Court-Martial File.