They Killed His Wife And Left Him For Dead – Then He Got Revenge

I remember the movie. It was good.

Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that American sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee Buford Pusser died on August 21, 1974 at the age of 36.

Sheriff Buford Pusser: (Jerry Skinner Documentary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAX4-2WU16A

Biographies
1. peoplepill.com/people/buford-pusser
2. tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/buford-pusser

Images:
1. Gene Crump owner of the Chevrolet dealership in Adamsville, Alabama hands Buford Pusser keys to the 1974 Corvette he would die in later that year
2. Buford Pusser and his wife Pauline Mullins Pusser
3. Buford Pusser and his wife, Pauline, were ambushed near New Hope Church (pictured here) at sunrise on August 12, 1967,
4. August 13, 1967 McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser is wheeled into the Baptist Hospital emergency room.

1. Background from {[https://bufordpusser.blogspot.com/p/buford-pusser-history.html]}
Background from {[ https://peoplepill.com/people/buford-pusser/]}
Intro American policeman, sheriff, wrestler
Birth 12 December 1937, Adamsville, Hardin County, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Death 21 August 1974, Adamsville, Hardin County, Tennessee, U.S.A. (aged 36 years)
BIOGRAPHY
Buford Hayse Pusser (December 12, 1937 – August 21, 1974) was the Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, from 1964 to 1970. Pusser is known for his virtual one-man war on moonshining, prostitution, gambling, and other vices along the Mississippi–Tennessee state line. His efforts have inspired several books, songs, movies, and a TV series. He was a wrestler known as "Buford the Bull" in the Mid-South.

The Buford Pusser Museum was established at the home he lived in at the time of his death in 1974. A Buford Pusser Festival is held each May in his hometown of Adamsville, Tennessee.

LIFE AND CAREER
Buford Pusser was born to Helen (née Harris) and Carl Pusser in Finger, McNairy County, Tennessee. His father was the police chief of Adamsville, Tennessee. Buford Pusser was a high school football and basketball player and was 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall. He joined the United States Marine Corps when he graduated from high school. His service ended during his United States Marine Corps Recruit Training, when he was given a medical discharge for asthma.

In 1957 he moved to Chicago, where he was a local wrestler known as "Buford The Bull". He married Pauline Mullins on December 5, 1959. Pusser returned home in 1962. He was Adamsville's police chief and constable from 1962-64. After incumbent sheriff James Dickey was killed in a freak auto accident, Pusser was then elected sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, becoming the youngest sheriff in Tennessee's history. Pusser promptly began trying to eliminate the Dixie Mafia and the State Line Mob.

Pusser survived several assassination attempts. On February 1, 1966, Louise Hathcock attempted to kill Pusser during an on-site investigation of a robbery complaint at The Shamrock. Hathcock fired on Pusser with a concealed .38 pistol. Pusser returned fire and killed Hathcock. On January 2, 1967, Pusser was shot three times by an unidentified gunman.

Already a local hero, Pusser's "war" on the State Line Mob was brought to national prominence when his wife, Pauline, was killed on August 12, 1967, during an assassination ambush intended for Pusser. Pusser named Kirksey McCord Nix, Jr. as the contractor of his wife's killers, although neither Nix nor anyone else was ever charged with the crime. Pusser shot and killed an intoxicated Charles Russell Hamilton on December 25, 1968, after responding to a complaint that Hamilton had threatened his landlord with a gun.

Pusser was ineligible for re-election in 1970 due to the term limit then in effect. He was defeated in his bid for sheriff in 1972. Pusser blamed the loss to incumbent Sheriff Clifford Coleman in part on the controversy surrounding the making of the semi-biographical movie, Walking Tall. He was re-elected as constable of Adamsville by a majority of voters who wrote in his name on their ballots. He served as constable for two more years (1970–1972).

MURDER OF PAULINE PUSSER
According to Pusser, his phone rang before dawn on the morning of August 12, 1967, informing him of a disturbance on New Hope Road in McNairy County; Pusser responded and his wife Pauline rode along. Shortly after they passed the New Hope Methodist Church, a car came alongside theirs and the occupant opened fire, killing Pauline and leaving Pusser for dead. Doctors said he was struck on the left side of his jaw by at least two, or possibly three, rounds from a .30 caliber carbine. He spent 18 days in the hospital before returning home and would need several more surgeries to restore his appearance.

Despite vowing to bring his wife's murderers to justice Pusser was unable to bring Kirksey Nix or any of the accused to justice. Nix was sentenced to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for the Easter Saturday 1971 murder of New Orleans grocer Frank J. Corso. Nix was later involved in the 1987 murder-for-hire of Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife Margaret, in Biloxi, Mississippi. His co-conspirator, Biloxi Mayor Pete Halat, had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from Nix and blamed it on his law partner, Judge Sherry. Nix ordered a hit from prison and was later sentenced to isolation for the rest of his life. Nix has repeatedly refused to comment about Pusser's claims that he was one of Pauline Pusser's killers.

DEATH
Pusser died on August 21, 1974 from injuries sustained in a one-car automobile accident at 35°12′21″N 88°27′35.7″W / 35.20583°N 88.459917°W / 35.20583; -88.459917 (Buford Pusser crash/death site). Earlier that day, he contracted with Bing Crosby Productions in Memphis to portray himself in the sequel to Walking Tall. That evening, returning home alone from the McNairy County Fair in his specially modified Corvette, Pusser struck an embankment at high speed that ejected him from the vehicle. The car caught fire and burned.

Local speculation as to the cause included rumors of sabotage to the steering mechanism and the tie-rods. The State Trooper who worked the accident, Paul Ervin, later became McNairy County sheriff. Both Pusser's mother Helen (1908–1987) and his daughter Dwana (1961–2018) believed he was murdered. Dwana, a passenger in another car, came upon the scene of the accident moments later. No autopsy of Pusser's body was performed. As sheriff, Pusser was credited with surviving seven stabbings and eight shootings. Pusser's memorial service was held at the Adamsville Church of Christ.






2. Background from {[https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/buford-pusser/]}
"Buford Pusser written by Michael E. Birdwell
Immortalized by three screen portrayals of his career, Walking Tall (1973), Walking Tall II (1976), and Walking Tall III: The Final Chapter (1977), McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser earned a reputation as a hard-nosed, no nonsense law officer who settled disputes with a large homemade bat. By age thirty-two he had been shot eight times, stabbed seven, and run over by felons in a car. On August 12, 1967, Pusser witnessed the violent death of his wife in an ambush that was meant for him. Permanently disfigured, Pusser underwent numerous reconstructive surgeries to mend his battered face and crushed jaw.

Born December 12, 1937, in Adamsville, Pusser moved to Oklahoma during his junior year in high school. From there he joined the U.S. Marines but was discharged due to chronic asthma. Disheartened, he returned to Adamsville in 1958 and traveled the semiprofessional wrestling circuit in the Southeast until his marriage to Pauline Mullins in 1959.

The couple moved to Chicago, where he found employment at the Union Paper Bag Company as a die cutter and their child, Dwana Aitoya Pusser, was born. Shortly thereafter, the Pussers returned to McNairy County. In September 1962 Pusser ran for constable and upset the incumbent by over one hundred votes. Taking his job seriously, he made a crusade out of crushing the local illegal whiskey trade.

The McNairy County sheriff, James Dickey, was in cahoots with the moonshine ring which operated along the state lines of Tennessee and Mississippi. Incensed by the collusion of local authorities in supporting criminal activity, Pusser decided to run against Dickey for sheriff, choosing to run as a Republican in a staunchly Democratic county. His election was assured when Dickey died in an automobile accident.

In November 1964 he suffered his first assault by the members of the moonshine ring. Ambushed by assailants who stabbed him seven times and left him to die, Pusser survived and made war on the ring with a vengeance. In his first year as sheriff he raided forty-two stills and arrested seventy-five moonshiners. In subsequent years he expanded his attempts to clean up the crime-ridden state line area by prosecuting prostitution rings and illegal gambling houses.

In 1969 the Tennessee General Assembly recognized Pusser for his accomplishments and made him an honorary sergeant of arms. His career as sheriff ended in 1970, but his fame was just beginning. He signed a contract with Bing Crosby productions in 1972 to film his life story. Walking Tall became a box-office smash, but Pusser died in a car wreck in 1974. His death and the success of the first story spawned two sequels, neither of which was as successful as the first."

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Great post!