Only one American soldier—Edward "Eddie" Slovik—was executed for desertion during the war, it is by no means proved that the U.S. Army was over-severe toward deserters. Slovik was unlucky in his timing—he deserted in northern France in October 1944 and his trial the next month took place during the Battle of the Bulge. But 49 other Americans who were condemned to death during the war avoided the firing squad. Place Pvt. Slovik beside the 13,500 Russians—enough for an entire division—who were executed by the NKVD for desertion and cowardice during the battle of Stalingrad alone and you have a neat dichotomy between the value placed on life between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.