Oise-Aisne American Cemetery Plot E

The United States Army executed 98 servicemen following general courts martial for murder 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 were re-interred in France at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial in Plot E, a private section specifically built to hold what the Graves Registration Service referred to as "the dishonored dead"; per standard practice, all had been dishonorably discharged from the US Army the day before their executions. The victims of those interred in Plot E were 26 fellow American soldiers (all murdered) and 71 British, French, German, Italian, Polish and Algerian civilians (both male and female) who were raped or murdered. Plot E is approximately away from the main cemetery and is a separate, hidden section. 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". 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. == Burials at Plot E ==

After being held from the public from the time of the creation of Plot E, the names and grave locations of the men buried there became available in 2009 following a Freedom of Information Act request. Prior to that release, the public could not determine who was buried in a particular grave, as the graves are only marked with numbers. All but one of the individuals interred in Plot E were found guilty at general court martial of the capital crimes of rape, murder or both. The only individual buried in Plot E who had not been convicted of rape or murder was Eddie Slovik (formerly Row 3, Grave 65), who was executed for desertion on 31 January 1945. His wife, Antoinette Slovik, petitioned the Army for her husband's remains and his pension until her death in 1979. Slovik's case was taken up in 1981 by a former commissioner of Macomb County, Michigan, Bernard V. Calka, a Polish-American World War II veteran, who continued to press the Army for the return of Slovik's remains. In 1987, he persuaded President Ronald Reagan to grant the petition request. In response, Calka raised $5,000 to pay for the exhumation and reinterment at Detroit's Woodmere Cemetery, where Slovik was reburied next to his wife. African American murder victim Emmett Till's father, Louis Till, is among the interred convicts. Additional background information (e.g. place of enlistment and year of birth etc.) regarding the condemned men can be found by entering the relevant service number into Online World War II Indexes & Records. Current The following table provides names, serial numbers, locations, and associated grave numbers of deceased interred in Plot E of the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery. Former The following table lists information about deceased formerly interred in Plot E of the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery. ==See also==