HUH?

The recent protests made me think of my glory days as an antiwar protester….it also made me think of some protests from the past….protests that are long forgotten but serve their purpose.

The Battle of Athens?

Could this be some random Greek saga or Is this some WW2 battle of note? Or is it some diatribe about Sherman crushing through Georgia?

That’s right a little history for this day…..this piece is about the actions of veterans from WW2.

In the post-war summer of 1946, the small town of Athens, Tennessee became the epicenter of an event that went down in history as the Battle of Athens. This wasn’t merely a physical confrontation, but a fight against entrenched corruption, and it was a battle that symbolized the broader struggle against tyranny and injustice in post-war America.

The protagonists of this historic grandstand were none other than returning World War II veterans, who, after fighting overseas, found themselves facing a new kind of enemy on home soil. The corruption in Athens had been brewing for over a decade under Sheriff Paul Cantrell and his associates, who’d manipulated the political landscape. These veterans, witnessing the disintegration of democracy and fairness in their town, decided the time had come to take action.

Their training, coupled with a deep-seated belief in justice, prepared them for the confrontation that unfolded.

The end of World War II brought a wave of relief and hope to millions, with service members returning home to rebuild their lives in peace. However, for the veterans of Athens, this was far from reality. They returned to find their town under the control of Paul Cantrell’s corrupt regime, characterized by rampant intimidation, voter suppression and a blatant disregard for the law. The local government had become a machinery of corruption, operating with impunity and stifling the voices of citizens.

These returning heroes, already seasoned by the horrors of war, were now confronted with a new battle, one threatening the very principles they’d fought to uphold. Unwilling to stand idly by, they were resolved to challenge the status quo, setting the stage for what became a historic uprising against corruption.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/battle-of-athens.html

And then there was more veterans that stepped up especially those from World War One….Remember the Bonus Army?….

Of course not!

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/macarthur-bonus-march-may-july-1932/

This is how you do things when injustice is rampant…..not like today when you sit on social media and piss and moan until the next celeb does something that impresses you or until you see the problem and try to understand (ha ha ha)

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”