Murder isn't just a story
Crime and murder stories can be
fascinating and intriguing but the shocking memories such events
leave behind are with the victims' families forever. They endure
loss, shock, and often the public airing of their grief. They deal
with police, investigators, reporters...and writers who keep coming
back many years after the crimes were committed.
This summer I've been researching the
local (Litchfield-Troy-Edwardsville-Mitchell, IL) angle of a vicious,
senseless crime spree across the country in 1961. The story of two
GIs in their late teens gone AWOL and gone murder-crazy made the
national news and kept making it as their story unfolded. The very
brief version: Ronald York and George Latham went AWOL in Texas in
May 1961 and headed into Louisiana, beginning a two-week orgy of
crime that took them east to Florida and then west across the
country. They killed seven people, stealing their vehicles and money.
Two of their victims were here in the Metro East. Their names were
Eugene “Gene” Reed and Martin Drenovac.
Various family members of these two men
– Reed and Drenovac – have communicated with me via phone, email,
and/or Facebook, and some met with me in person. I've been searching
for their stories and elusive photos. The events of June 8, 1961,
left their mark all those years ago – a tattered photograph carried
since then, a family photo album said to have been thrown away –
perhaps in hopes of taking some memories with it, a story of a loaded
shotgun at the ready. Sometimes I feel as if I'm intruding. Other
times I'm validated by the reassurance that I'm telling the stories
of their loved ones.
I've written a two-part article on the
Reed and Drenovac murders for Show Me Route 66, the quarterly
magazine of the Route 66 Association of Missouri. Part One was
included in the Summer issue, and Part Two will be in the Fall issue.
I hope you'll consider joining the association and getting this
slick, information- and photo-packed magazine. Back issues are
usually available as well. Here's the link: Route 66 Association of Missouri
Get your membership and magazine. Read the stories. I like the
thought of more people knowing about Gene Reed and Martin Drenovac.
Comments
Post a Comment