Just previously to WWII, African American Jesse Owens broke records in the 1936 Summer Olympic Games. The games were held in Berlin, Germany. Hitler believed that by hosting the games, he would be able to show off Aryan pride and superiority. Needless to say, Hitler's dreams thankfully did not come true. Owens, clearly not Aryan but of African descents, broke three world records and came home with four gold medals in track and field events. The first gold was in the 100 meter race. The second was in the long jump, and the third was in the 200 meter dash. In this event he broke the record with a time of 20.7 seconds. His last medal was won in a relay race. The US team also broke records with this run. In both Germany and America, Owens became a hero to many aspiring athletes.
Though perhaps not well known, Jacqueline "Jackie" Cochran and the Women's Air Force Service Pilots(WASP), led a significant part in the war cause during WWII. A very strong and determined woman, Cochran was the founder and leader of the WASP. Cochran, an already trained and a high quality pilot, got the idea of a fleet of women aviators who could ferry military planes, train pilots and perform other basic jobs. By giving these jobs to the women, the men aviators who were fighting would not have to perform the tasks and would be able to focus more on the war. Cochran encouraged the US to create such a program, and in 1942, she was put in charge of just that. She successfully trained women pilots and the organization, the WASP, which was very successful and useful. Sadly, the organization was stopped by Congress because of complaints from male pilots who did not have work to do. Although the WASP did not last long, they flew over 60 million miles and delivered about 12,650 planes. A strong leader, Cochran was awarded with the US Distinguished Service Medal. She was the first woman to receive this honor.
Throughout the history of Americans in combat in WWII, only one man was executed for desertion, Private Eddie Slovik. Though sad, this one man's story is very interesting. He had a rough childhood and adolescent years. He was arrested and jailed twice for theft before he settled down and married in 1942. He was drafted and sent to war in January 1944, and became a part of the Company G, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. When going to the war front, Slovik and one of his friends got separated from their division. They soon found another Allied camp and joined them until they once again found their rightful division. On that same day he was reunited with his division, he deserted the camp. The very next day he surrendered to a fellow officer with a written confession of his desertion. The officer told him to just come back to camp and destroy the document, Slovik refused and the officer was forced to arrest him. When taken before the division judge, Slovik was given the chance to rejoin his unit and have all charges dropped, once again he refused. In November 11, 1944, he was sent to trial and found guilty of desertion. On January 31, 1945, Slovik was executed by a firing squad, becoming the only US soldier to be executed for desertion in WWII.
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