Who is frank hamer

He was once again patrolling the south Texas border from the Big Bend to Brownsville. The Rangers dealt with arms smugglers, bootleggers, and bandits throughout the area. In the s Hamer was instrumental in helping to bring order to the oil boom towns such as Mexia and Borger.

In he took on the Texas Bankers' Association "reward ring. Hamer retired from the Rangers in , but retained a Special Ranger commission. In the retired Capt. The notorious outlaws had killed more than a dozen law enforcement officers and unarmed citizens in a crime spree spanning several states. The Texas prison system became involved when the Barrow gang broke into a State prison, freed a gang member and killed an officer. By early , with newly reelected Governor Ma Ferguson overhauling the organization, Hamer was no longer an active Ranger.

He began his career at a furniture manufacturing plant in Austin, where, as a neighbor of Hamer's, he became involved in undercover moonshine investigations, until officially joining the Rangers in Gault was similar in many ways to Hamer; he was quiet, honest, reliable and, while not an imposing presence, was capable of handling himself in tough situations.

As such, the two took an immense liking to one another, bonding over hunting and poker games. In early , Hamer was paid a visit by Texas prison superintendent Lee Simmons. Bonnie, Clyde and their associates had already been at large for two years, evading capture through the South and Midwest with their powerful stolen cars and firearms.

A recent break-in at the Eastham Prison, which freed five convicts and left a guard dead, was the final straw, and Hamer was promised full authority to rein in the criminals.

Hamer sought to learn everything he could about his targets, his research giving him an idea of Clyde's general path through Texas, Louisiana and Missouri. He established contacts with the FBI and law enforcement through the region, with one sheriff, Henderson Jordan of Bienville Parrish, Louisiana, proving crucial to the mission's success.

With Gault on board for the hunt, Hamer focused on one identified associate, Henry Methvin, who was known to visit his family in Jordan's neck of the woods.

The lawmen got a break when Methvin's father, Ivy, fearful for his family's safety, agreed to help steer the criminals into their grasp. On the morning of May 23, , with Bonnie and Clyde expected to return to the Methvin home, Ivy was instructed to park his truck on the main road into town and pretend like he was changing a tire. At around am, Bonnie and Clyde thundered down the road in their Ford V-8 and slowed to help. Hamer had hoped to take them alive, but the plan evaporated when a logging truck also appeared, the confusion causing one deputy to open fire.

With Bonnie and Clyde reaching for their weapons, the floodgates opened, and the lawmen decisively ended the battle by pumping bullets and buckshot at the car's passengers. The highly publicized shootout brought Hamer the sort of widespread attention he despised. Hamer charged that some people were framing others and also tracking down small-time hoods just to kill them and collect the money. In Hamer retired from active duty but retained his commission.

On February 1, , Marshall Lee Simmons , head of the prison system , asked Hamer to take the new position of special investigator for the Texas prison system. Hamer was assigned to track down the nationally known outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. After a three-month search, he trapped them near Gibsland, Louisiana, on May 23, , and with the aid of several local policemen shot and killed them.

Congress awarded Hamer a special citation for catching the pair. During the late s Hamer worked for various oil companies and shippers as a private agent preventing strikes and breaking up mobs. In he again was called to duty as a ranger by Governor Coke Stevenson to accompany him and help check the election returns in Jim Wells and Duval County in the controversial United States Senate race.

Hamer retired in and lived in Austin until his death. The lawman had been wounded numerous times and had killed an undetermined number of felons. He died in his sleep on July 10, , and was buried in Austin Memorial park. In Hamer's widow and his son Frank, Jr.