Chasing Thugs, Nazis, and Reds: Texas Ranger Norman K. DixonTexas Ranger Norman Dixon made the front pages of newspapers, but his rigid sense of integrity prevented him from discussing his cases with his wife or his sons, or anyone else, even decades later. As a Ranger, Dixon broke up the largest oil field theft ring in Texas history, worked to solve the most infamous cold case in Texas history, sought the Phantom Killer, investigated a near-mutiny by cadets and veterans on the campus of Texas A&M, rushed to a rural county to head off a lynching, and kept watch over Texas during World War II. He became the go-to investigator for the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, governors, and the state legislature. During the final years of his career, which coincided with the McCarthy era in the 1950s, he was the chief of internal security, charged with protecting Texans from the Red Menace. Using Ranger Dixon’s meticulously-kept diary entries, Kemp Dixon now tells his father’s compelling story. |
Contents
1 Yankee Ranger | 1 |
2 Oil | 18 |
3 Bits and Bullets | 30 |
4 Slots and Goats | 43 |
5 Goldthwaite | 53 |
6 The Sheriff and the Socialite | 64 |
7 Home Front | 76 |
8 Rape and Race | 91 |
12 Aggies Revolt | 134 |
13 Gays and Reds on Campus | 150 |
14 A Lone Ranger | 162 |
15 The Chief | 172 |
16 The Fall | 182 |
17 An Old Ranger Lets Go | 193 |
Notes | 197 |
| 215 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Addington Allan Shivers April arrested assignment Association of Texas attorney August Austin Author’s Collection bill Britton burglary Camp Mabry campus Captain Gonzaullas Carl Wilson charges Chief Colonel Garrison committee Communist Communist Party convicted Corpus Christi Corsicana Daily Sun court CPUSA crime Crowder Dallas Morning days later December Denton County Dixon wrote drove East Texas February Frome Gonzaullas governor grand jury Grayson County Hallettsville Harney highway Homer Garrison Houston interrogated interviewed jail January January 13 July June Leona LSD Diary Lubbock M. T. Gonzaullas March McKinney miles murder N. K. Dixon NKD Diary Norman Dixon November October oil-field Oklahoma Paroles police prison raid received Robnett San Antonio Express San Antonio Light Senate sentence September Sheriff Sheriff’s Association Sherman Shivers Spellman station stolen subdistrict suspects testified Texarkana Texas A&M Texas Magazine Texas Ranger theft told took trial Tyler Veterans