Singer/Dancer Paula Julie Abdul IS 60 years
young today.
Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920 – January 31, 1945)
On this day, Pvt. Eddie Slovik becomes the first American soldier
since the Civil War to be executed for desertion-and the only one
who suffered such a fate during World War II.
Although over 21,000 American soldiers were given varying
sentences for desertion during the war, including 49 death
sentences, Slovik’s death sentence was the only one that was
carried out.
1989
The Romanian army defected to the cause of anti-communist demonstrators, and the government of Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown. The end of 42 years of communist rule came three
days after Ceausescu’s security forces opened fire on the
demonstrators in Timisoara.
After the army’s defection, Ceausescu and his wife fled from
Bucharest in a helicopter (below) but were captured later and
convicted of mass murder in a hasty military trial. On December
25, they were executed by a firing squad.
Ceausescu and his wife.