The following is a list of individuals executed by the United States military.
The United States Army carried out 141 [1] executions over a three-year period from 1942 to 1945 and a further six executions were conducted during the postwar period, for a known total of 147. [2]
Of these 141 wartime executions, 70 were carried out in the European Theatre, 27 in the Mediterranean Theatre, 21 in the Southwest Pacific Area, 19 in the continental United States, two in Hawaii, one in Guadalcanal and one in India; of the six postwar executions, one took place in Hawaii, one in Japan, two in France and two in the Philippines. An execution was also carried out by the United States Air Force in Japan in 1950.
All executions carried out by the Army from 1942 to 1948 were performed under the authority of the Articles of War of June 4, 1920, an Act of Congress which governed military justice between 1920 and 1951.
This list includes members of the United States Army Air Forces, which was a part of the Army until September 18, 1947 when it became independent. Executions by the United States Air Force after 1947 are listed separately.
With the exception of Eddie Slovik, who was shot for desertion, all of these soldiers were executed for murder and/or rape. Several of the soldiers listed as convicted and executed for murder and/or rape had also been convicted of other charges, including those of a military nature such as desertion and mutiny, plus lesser crimes that would not have been considered capital unless combined with more serious offenses which carried the death penalty.
Sources for list in References section.
Executed person | Date of execution | Location | Method |
---|---|---|---|
James Rowe | 6 November 1942 | Fort Huachuca, Arizona | Hanging |
Edward J. Leonski | 9 November 1942 | Pentridge Prison, Melbourne, Australia, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Jerry Sykes | 19 January 1943 | Fort Huachuca, Arizona | Hanging |
David Cobb | 12 March 1943 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater | Hanging |
George S. Knapp | 19 March 1943 | Bastrop, Texas | Hanging |
Francis A. Line | 26 March 1943 | Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona | Hanging |
Harold A. Smith | 25 June 1943 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater | Hanging |
James E. Kendrick | 17 July 1943 | Oran, Algeria, North African Theater of Operations ** | Hanging |
Levi Brandon | 26 July 1943 | Fort Leavenworth, Kansas | Hanging |
Walter J. Bohn | 6 August 1943 | Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, United States | Hanging |
Willie A. Pittman | 30 August 1943 | Sicily, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Harvey Stroud | 30 August 1943 | Sicily, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Armstead White | 30 August 1943 | Sicily, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
David White | 30 August 1943 | Sicily, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Charles H. Smith | 6 September 1943 | Algiers, North African Theater of Operations ** | Hanging |
Lee A. Davis | 14 December 1943 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Edwin P. Jones | 5 January 1944 | Oran, Algeria, North African Theater of Operations | Hanging |
John H. Waters | 10 February 1944 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
J.C. Leatherberry | 16 March 1944 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Charles A. Spears | 18 April 1944 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Wiley Harris, Jr. | 26 May 1944 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Alex F. Miranda | 30 May 1944 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater **E | Firing squad |
Robert L. Donnelly | 31 May 1944 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Eliga Brinson | 11 August 1944 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Willie Smith | 11 August 1944 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Clarence Whitfield | 14 August 1944 | Normandy, France, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Ray Watson | 29 August 1944 | Italy. Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
James W. Peoples | 2 September 1944 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Harry Bever | 26 September 1944 | Fort Sill, Oklahoma | Hanging |
Arthur T. Brown | 2 October 1944 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Andrew Gibson | 2 October 1944 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Leroy E. Greene | 2 October 1944 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Charles A. Horne | 2 October 1944 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Eugene A. Washington, Jr. | 2 October 1944 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Lloyd L. White, Jr. | 2 October 1944 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Madison Thomas | 12 October 1944 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
James B. Sanders | 25 October 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Ray W. Anderson | 25 October 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Paul Kluxdal | 31 October 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Willie Wimberly, Jr. | 9 November 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Joseph Watson | 9 November 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Aveline Fernandez | 15 November 1944 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Curtis L. Maxey | 16 November 1944 | Aversa, Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Richard Scott | 18 November 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
William D. Pennyfather | 18 November 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Theron McGann | 20 November 1944 | European Theater | Hanging |
Arthur E. Davis | 22 November 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Charles H. Jordan | 22 November 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
James E. Hendricks | 24 November 1944 | Normandy, France, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Benjamin Pygate | 28 November 1944 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Firing squad |
Oscar N. Newman | 29 November 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Leo Valentine, Sr. | 29 November 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Charles Williams | 18 December 1944 | United States | Hanging |
William E. Davis | 27 December 1944 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Waiter J. Baldwin | 17 January 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Sylvester Davis | 5 January 1945 | Randolph Air Force Base, Texas | Hanging |
Augustine Guerra | 8 January 1945 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Ernest L. Clark | 8 January 1945 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
John D. Cooper | 9 January 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
John R. O'Connor | 15 January 1945 | Fort Benning, Georgia | Hanging |
Arthur J. Farrell | 19 January 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
James W. Twiggs | 22 January 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Samuel Hawthorne | 29 January 1945 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Marvin Holden | 30 January 1945 | Lemur, Belgium ** | Hanging |
Elwood J. Spencer | 30 January 1945 | Lemur, Belgium ** | Hanging |
Eddie Slovik | 31 January 1945 | Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, France, European Theater ** | Firing squad |
J.P. Wilson | 2 February 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Robert L. Skinner | 10 February 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Yancy Waiters | 10 February 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
William Mack | 15 February 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Otis B. Crews | 21 February 1945 | Mediterranean Theater ** | Hanging |
Williams C. Downes | 28 February 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Amos Agee | 3 March 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
John C. Smith | 3 March 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Frank Watson | 3 March 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Olins W. Williams | 9 March 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Lee A. Burns | 11 March 1945 | Aversa, Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
General L. Grant | 11 March 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Herman Perry | 15 March 1945 | Ledo, Assam, India | Hanging |
Robert L. Pearson | 17 March 1945 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Cubia (Parson) Jones | 17 March 1945 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Henry Baker | 18 March 1945 | Philippines | Hanging |
John M. Mack | 20 March 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
John W. Taylor | 20 March 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Kinney Jones | 20 March 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Robert A. Pearson | 20 March 1945 | Guadalcanal | Hanging |
Abraham Smalls | 27 March 1945 | Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Tommie Davison | 29 March 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
William Harrison, Jr. | 7 April 1945 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Curn Jones | 10 April 1945 | Fort Benning, Georgia | Hanging |
Benjamin F. Hopper | 11 April 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Dan Boswell | 16 April 1945 | Camp Bowie, Texas | Hanging |
James L. Jones | 19 April 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Mileert Bailey | 19 April 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
John Williams | 19 April 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
William T. Curry | 20 April 1945 | Oro Bay, New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Area | Hanging |
Shelton McGhee, Sr. | 4 May 1945 | Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
George E. Smith, Jr. | 8 May 1945 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
George Green, Jr. | 15 May 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Haze Heard | 21 May 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
William McCarter | 28 May 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Clete O. Norris | 31 May 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Alvery R. Rollins | 31 May 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Matthew Clay, Jr. | 4 June 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Werner E. Schmiedel | 11 June 1945 | Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Ancieto Martinez | 15 June 1945 | Shepton Mallet, United Kingdom, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Victor Ortiz * | 21 June 1945 | European Theatre | Hanging |
Willie Johnson | 26 June 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Fred A. McMurray | 2 July 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Louis Till | 2 July 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Charles H. Jefferies | 5 July 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
John T. Jones | 5 July 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Henry W. Nelson | 5 July 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Hanging |
Tom E. Gordon | 10 July 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Harold Crabtree | 31 July 1945 | Philippines | Firing squad |
Cornelius Thomas | 1 August 1945 | Schofield Barracks, Hawai'i | Hanging |
Jesse D. Boston | 1 August 1945 | Schofield Barracks, Hawai'i | Firing squad |
Robert Davidson | 6 August 1945 | Green Haven Correctional Facility, New York | Firing squad |
Ernest J. Harris | 9 August 1945 | Philippines | Hanging |
Lee R. Davis | 14 August 1945 | Fort Sill, Oklahoma | Hanging |
Herbert W. Reid | 14 August 1945 | Camp Beale, California | Hanging |
Clinton Stevenson | 14 August 1945 | Camp Beale, California | Hanging |
Ellis McCloud, Jr. | 20 August 1945 | Philippines | Hanging |
Robert Wray | 20 August 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Edward J. Reichl | 22 August 1945 | United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas | Hanging |
Harvey W. Nichols | 28 August 1945 | Philippines | Hanging |
Albert Williams | 28 August 1945 | Philippines | Hanging |
Bradley Walters, Jr. | 31 August 1945 | Philippines | Hanging |
Henry C. Philpot | 10 September 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Fred Hurse | 20 September 1945 | United States | Hanging |
Clarence Gibson | 24 September 1945 | United States | Firing squad |
James C.Thomas | 25 September 1945 | Philippines | Hanging |
Charles M. Robinson | 28 September 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Blake W. Mariano | 10 October 1945 | European Theater ** | Hanging |
Sidney Bennerman | 15 October 1945 | European Theater ** | Firing squad |
Woodrow Parker | 15 October 1945 | European Theater ** | Firing squad |
Ozell Louis | 15 October 1945 | Philippines | Hanging |
Charlie Ervin, Jr. | 19 October 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Firing squad |
Mansfield Spinks | 19 October 1945 | Italy, Mediterranean Theatre of World War II ** | Firing squad |
Dan J. Lee | 9 November 1945 | Philippines | Firing squad |
Ellsworth Williams | 5 January 1946 | Germany, European Theater ** | Hanging |
Solomon Thompson | 11 September 1946 | European Theater | Hanging |
Garlon Mickles | 22 April 1947 | Schofield Barracks, Hawai'i | Hanging |
James Norman | 25 April 1947 | Philippines | Hanging |
William Abney | 1 December 1947 | Mandaluyong, Philippines | Hanging |
Manuel Martinez | 23 April 1948 | European Theater | Hanging |
Stratman Armistead | 16 December 1948 | Nakano, Japan, Far East Command | Hanging |
The US Army executed 98 servicemen following General Courts Martial (GCM) for murder and/or rape in the European Theatre of Operations during the Second World War. The remains of these servicemen were originally buried near the site of their executions, which took place in countries as far apart as England, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Algeria. In 1949 the remains of these men and a few others were re-interred in Plot E, a private section specifically built to hold what the Graves Registration referred to as "the dishonorable dead", since (per standard practice) all had been dishonorably discharged from the US Army just prior to their executions.
Plot "E" is detached from the main four cemetery plots for the honored dead of World War I at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial. [3] It is located across the road, and deliberately hidden from view, inside a 100' x 50' oval-shaped clearing surrounded by hedges and hidden in thick forest. Officially, Plot E does not exist: it is not mentioned on the ABMC website or in any guide pamphlets or maps. The plot is accessible only through the back door of the superintendent's office. [4] Access is difficult and visitors are not encouraged, though the section is maintained by cemetery caretakers who periodically mow the lawn area and trim the hedges. One cemetery employee described Plot E as "a house of shame" and "a perfect anti-memorial". [5] Today Plot E contains nothing but 96 flat stone markers (arranged in four rows) and a single small granite cross. The white grave markers are the size of index cards and have nothing on them except sequential grave numbers engraved in black. Two bodies were later disinterred and allowed to be returned to United States for reburial.
No US flag is permitted to fly over the section, and the numbered graves lie with their backs turned to the main cemetery on the other side of the road. [6]
Three of the individuals buried in Plot E were not executed: Willie Hall, Joseph J. Mahoney and William N. Lucas, who all died while in military custody.
The only person interred who was not convicted of rape and/or murder was Eddie Slovik, who was executed for desertion on 31 January 1945. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan gave permission for Slovik's remains to be exhumed and returned to the United States for reburial. [7] The remains of Alex F. Miranda were exhumed and returned to the United States in 1990.
In 1945, the United States Army executed fourteen German prisoners of war by hanging at the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
These POWs, members of the German Armed services, had been convicted by general court-martial for the murders of fellow Germans believed by their fellow inmates to be collaborating as confidential informants with the United States military authorities.
While the murders had been committed in 1943 and 1944, the executions were delayed until after the end of hostilities in Europe due to fears of German retaliation against Allied POWs.
The hangings were carried out in a warehouse elevator shaft which had been converted into a temporary gallows, and the fourteen Germans were subsequently buried in the Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery. [8]
Executed person | Age | Date of Execution | Name of victim |
---|---|---|---|
Walter Beyer | 32 | 10 July 1945 | Johannes Kunze |
Hans Demme | 23 | 10 July 1945 | Johannes Kunze |
Hans Schomer | 27 | 10 July 1945 | Johannes Kunze |
Willie Scholz | 22 | 10 July 1945 | Johannes Kunze |
Berthold Seidel | 30 | 10 July 1945 | Johannes Kunze |
Erich Gauss | 14 July 1945 | Horst Günther | |
Rudolph Straub | 14 July 1945 | Horst Günther | |
Helmut Fischer | 25 August 1945 | Werner Drechsler | |
Fritz Franke | 25 August 1945 | Werner Drechsler | |
Günter Külsen | 25 August 1945 | Werner Drechsler | |
Heinrich Ludwig | 25 August 1945 | Werner Drechsler | |
Bernhard Reyak | 25 August 1945 | Werner Drechsler | |
Otto Stengel | 25 August 1945 | Werner Drechsler | |
Rolf Wizny | 25 August 1945 | Werner Drechsler |
The United States Air Force executed three airmen by hanging between 1950 and 1954. The execution of Robert E. Keller was conducted under the authority of the 1920 Articles of War, and those of Burns and Dennis Jr. were carried out under a short-lived revised version of the Articles of War popularly known as the Elston Act of 1948.
Executed person | Date of execution | Location | Crime |
---|---|---|---|
Robert E. Keller | 11 March 1950 | Nakano, Japan | First degree murder |
Robert W. Burns | 28 January 1954 | Guam | First degree murder and first degree rape |
Herman P. Dennis, Jr. | 28 January 1954 | Guam | First degree murder and first degree rape |
A total of ten military executions have been carried out by the United States Army under the provisions of the original Uniform Code of Military Justice of 5 May 1950. The first four of these executions, those of Bernard J. O'Brien, Chastine Beverly, Louis M. Suttles and James L. Riggins, were carried out by military officials at the Kansas State Penitentiary near Lansing, Kansas. The remaining six executions took place in the boiler room of the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Hanging and not shooting was the method employed in these ten executions.
Executed person | Date of sentencing | Date of execution | Crime |
---|---|---|---|
Bernard J. O'Brien | 19 June 1952 | 31 July 1954 | First Degree Murder |
Chastine Beverly | 10 October 1951 | 1 March 1955 | Robbery, First Degree Murder |
Louis M. Suttles | 10 October 1951 | 1 March 1955 | Robbery, First Degree Murder |
James L. Riggins | 10 October 1951 | 1 March 1955 | Robbery, First Degree Murder |
Thomas J. Edwards | 1 April 1953 | 14 February 1957 | First Degree Murder |
Winfred D. Moore | 19 August 1953 | 14 February 1957 | First Degree Murder, Assault with intent to commit Robbery |
Ernest L. Ranson | 5 June 1953 | 3 April 1957 | Lifting weapon against superior officer, First Degree murder, First Degree Rape, Robbery, 2 counts of Assault with dangerous weapon |
Abraham Thomas | 15 April 1954 | 23 July 1958 | Four counts First Degree Murder |
John E. Day, Jr. | 1 October 1951 | 23 September 1959 | First Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault with attempt to do bodily harm with dangerous weapon, Assault |
John A. Bennett | 8 February 1955 | 13 April 1961 | First Degree Child Rape, First Degree Attempted Murder |
Five individuals are currently awaiting execution under the UCMJ. All executions, if carried out, will be by lethal injection.
Sentenced person | Date of sentencing | Crime |
---|---|---|
Ronald A. Gray | 12 April 1988 | Two specifications of both Rape (U.C.M.J. Article 120) and Premeditated Murder (U.C.M.J. Article 118(1)) |
Hasan Karim Akbar | 28 April 2005 | Two specifications of Premeditated Murder (U.C.M.J. Article 118(1)) |
Timothy B. Hennis | 15 April 2010 | Three specifications of Premeditated Murder (U.C.M.J. Article 118(1)), one specification of Rape (U.C.M.J. Article 120) |
Nidal Malik Hasan | 28 August 2013 | Thirteen specifications of Premeditated Murder (U.C.M.J. Article 118(1)) |
The United States Navy has executed seventeen sailors and Marines for various offenses; the most famous of these were three crew members of the USS Somers who were hanged for conspiracy to mutiny.
As of 2020, no member of the Navy has been executed since October 23, 1849, when brothers John and Peter Black were simultaneously hanged at yardarm for leading a mutiny on board the schooner Ewing. [9]
The United States Navy executed fourteen Japanese military personnel by hanging for war crimes on Guam after the Second World War.
Edward Donald Slovik was a United States Army soldier during World War II and the only American soldier to be court-martialled and executed for desertion since the American Civil War. Although over 21,000 American soldiers were given varying sentences for desertion during World War II, including 49 death sentences, Slovik's death sentence was the only one that was carried out.
Mutiny is a criminal conspiracy among a group of people to openly oppose, change, or overthrow a lawful authority to which they are subject. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members of the military against their superior officers, but it can also occasionally refer to any type of rebellion against lawful authority or governances.
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading, is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually readily available and a gunshot to a vital organ, such as brain or heart, usually kills relatively quickly.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty under the United States federal government criminal justice system.
The United States Disciplinary Barracks is a military correctional facility located on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army post in Kansas.
In the military, desertion is the abandonment of a duty or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave, which are temporary forms of absence.
Anton Dostler was a General of the Infantry who was executed at the end of World War II for war crimes. He was shot by a United States Army firing squad after being found guilty of murdering American POWs during the Italian Campaign in 1944. Dostler was convicted in the first Allied war crimes trials to be held after the end of the war in Europe.
Capital punishment in Canada dates back to Canada's earliest history, including its period as a French colony and, after 1763, its time as a British colony. From 1867 to the elimination of the death penalty for murder on July 14, 1976, 1,481 people had been sentenced to death, and 710 had been executed. Of those executed, 697 were men and 13 were women. The only method used in Canada for capital punishment of civilians after the end of the French regime was hanging. The last execution in Canada was the double hanging of Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin on December 11, 1962, at Toronto's Don Jail.
The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial is an American military cemetery in northern France. Plots A through D contains the graves of 6,012 American soldiers who died while fighting in this vicinity during World War I, 597 of which were not identified, as well as a monument for 241 Americans who were missing in action during battles in the same area and whose remains were never recovered. Included among the soldiers here who lost their lives is poet Joyce Kilmer.
The Execution of Private Slovik is a nonfiction book by William Bradford Huie, published in 1954, and an American made-for-television movie that aired on NBC on March 13, 1974. The film was written for the screen by Richard Levinson, William Link and by Lamont Johnson who was the director, the film stars Martin Sheen, and also features Charlie Sheen in his second film in a small role.
Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery is a cemetery maintained by the Fort Leavenworth Military Prison, Leavenworth County, Kansas. The purpose of this cemetery is for the burial of unclaimed bodies of soldiers who died in the United States Disciplinary Barracks. It is the final resting place for 298 soldiers who died in the prison, 58 of which lie in unmarked graves. The majority of the soldiers who are buried in Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery died between 1898 and 1905. The last known burial in the cemetery was in 1957, ten years after the one preceding it. Since families are expected to claim the bodies, the U.S. military does not have any plan for future burials.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty under the U.S. military criminal justice system.
Victor Manson Spencer was a volunteer from Invercargill, New Zealand who fought in the Otago Infantry Regiment of the New Zealand Division in World War I. Spencer was executed for desertion on 24 February 1918, despite later suggestions that he was severely traumatised by shellshock, having fought and survived several campaigns.
Fort Wolters was a United States military installation four miles northeast of Mineral Wells, Texas. Originally named Camp Wolters, it was an Army camp from 1925 to 1946. During World War II, it was for a time the largest infantry replacement training center in the United States.
Execution by shooting is a method of capital punishment in which a person is shot to death by one or more firearms. It is the most common method of execution worldwide, used in about 70 countries, with execution by firing squad being one particular form.
Capital punishment remained in Polish law until April 1, 1997, but from 1989 there was a moratorium on executions, with the last execution taking place one year earlier. The death penalty is now prohibited in Poland for all offences.
Wilhelm Reinhold Johannes Kunze was a German World War II prisoner of war (POW) held at Camp Tonkawa, Oklahoma. He was a Gefreiter in the Afrika Korps. Following a trial before a kangaroo court on November 4, 1943, he was beaten to death by fellow POWs for being a traitor and there was very strong evidence that Kunze had indeed been spying for the Americans. The unmasking of Kunze happened by accident: he had been in the habit of passing notes to the American doctor at the camp during sick call. These notes contained useful information regarding the activities of various POWs in the camp, some of whom were loyal Nazis. One day a new American doctor was on duty who did not know about Kunze's role as spy and who could not speak German. When Kunze handed over his note, the American doctor accidentally blew Kunze's cover by sending it back via another POW, who read the incriminating note and quickly realised that Kunze was a spy. News of this discovery spread quickly and soon afterwards Kunze was killed inside the camp by his fellow POWs. He is buried in the Fort Reno prisoner of war cemetery.
The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery Plot E is the fifth plot at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial, an American military cemetery in northern France that comprises four main burial plots containing the remains of 6,012 service personnel, all of whom died during World War I.
Information on listed military executions between 1942 and 1961 has been primarily derived from the following sources. Research on these executions continues.