The best source of information about the Battle of Athens is a long article written for American Heritage magazine.
http://www.americanheritage.com/content/battle-athens
Even more interesting was the battle started because the corrupt Democrat officials refused to let a black man vote!
Tom Gillespie, an elderly black farmer, went to a polling place and ask for a ballot.
A sheriffs deputy assigned to assist with the fraud, told Gillespie, “N*gger, you can’t vote here.” When Tom protested, the deputy struck him with brass knuckles.
Gillespie dropped his ballot and ran for the door. The deputy pulled out a pistol and shot him in the back.
When they heard of the shooting, the veterans decided they had to take immediate action.
Thanks for posting that excellent article.
Very interesting how the press handled the story trying to minimize the vets accomplishment. Incidental myass...
“Today it appears that this political coalition of World War II veterans for direct action in community affairs, which many at the time regarded as a factor likely to develop nationally in the postwar period, was purely [a] local phenomenon in which veteran participation was incidental.”