Page 242 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript African Americana- Sale 2308 - March 21, 2013

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445
445 ● (MILITARY—KOREA.) SCURLOCK STUDIOS. Panoramic group photo-
graph of the 91st Army Band. 91⁄4 x 191⁄
4 inches attached to the photographer’s
cardboard mount; signed “Scurlock, D.C.” on the lower right corner of the mount. Overall
size 12 x 22 inches. Washington: December 13, 1956 [600/800]
446 ● (MILITARY—VIET NAM.) Billy
Dean Smith * Join the Billy Dean
Smith Defense Committee. Pamphlet,
14 pages with Volume II, Number I of
Up From the Bottom, 12 pages. Each in
excellent condition.
San Diego, 1972 [400/600]
Billy Dean Smith was an African American
G.I. accused of the “fragging” murder of two
white officers in Bien Hoa, Viet Nam in
1971. The term “fragging” comes from the use
of a fragmentation grenade, rolled into the tent
of an unpopular officer and was peculiar to the
Viet Nam War. Fragging most often involved
the murder of a commanding officer, (“C.O.”)
or a senior non-commissioned officer perceived
as unpopular, harsh, or overzealous, especially if
he was deemed to be seeking glory for himself
at the expense of his men. Dean’s case became
a rallying point for many black G.I’s and the
cause was taken up by the Panther Party.