Tombstone By Tombstone

Volume Two very closely follows the format established in Volume One of Tombstone By Tombstone: Here Lies the Old West, with one major exception. Volume One had 75 stories within just about the same number of pages as Volume Two while this volume only contains 46. So the stories are more in-depth, and I do believe more interesting. Once again we have some of the famous, infamous and some that certainly are not household names. There are stories on two of Wyatt Earp's brothers, but not on Wyatt. He does get frequent mention as there is a story about a fellow who rode with him and a fellow who did not. The ladies get good coverage again this time. There are five women of the Old West and only one of them could be considered a "Lady of the Evening," and after she quit running with the Wild Bunch she seems to have given up that life.There is a story of a western Indian who was sent east and an eastern Indian who was sent west. And there is a story about the boy that Geronimo missed when he attacked and destroyed the other members of his family. And because he missed, the boy celebrated his 107th birthday. There is a story about one very bad Indian outlaw and one Indian that rode with Geronimo and wrote his own autobiography.Did you know there was a fellow that fought the Yankees in the War of Northern Aggression and after the war was over received a Medal of Honor fighting with the US Army? Were you aware that one Medal of Honor recipient shot and killed another MOH recipient?Everyone knows who James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok is, but other than Old West buffs, how many know the name Davis Tutt? Some may be surprised to learn that the Gunfight Close to the OK Corral was not the bloodiest in Arizona history and the bloodiest didn't happen until after the beginning of WWI, and that was still the Wild West here in Arizona.There are four of the meanest killers that ever roamed the southwest and some of the best lawmen ever assigned to catch them. Blacks, whites, Indians, Mexicans, outlaws, in-laws, ladies and whores, they are all covered here and everybody will find something that they did not know before reading these stories.
About the Author: Tom Todd was born in Arkadelphia, Clark County, Arkansas, on December 6, 1939. Because of his love for Old West history, he has often said he was born 100 years too late. While in the seventh grade his family moved him to Milwaukee. He also says you can move the boy out of the south, but you can't move the south out of the boy. Three of his great grandfathers fought for the Southern cause and he is an active member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. After graduating from South Division High School in Milwaukee, he joined the Navy with his closest friend who was about to be drafted into the Army. His friend returned to civilian life after his first enlistment, and Tom served in Naval Aviation for twenty years. He married Nanci Jean Flier while in the Navy and they had four children, all born in San Diego. Tami, a nurse, still lives in San Diego with her daughter Katarina. Dena was born next, and this book is dedicated to her memory. Greg and Jeff followed the girls and continued a family tradition of military service. They both joined the Army and Jeff made it a career. Greg lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his wife Lisa. Greg has four children, Brandon, Graydon, Carli, and Emily. Jeff lives in Northeast, Maryland, with his wife Christine, who is also a retired Army Veteran. They have one son, Jeff, Jr. After his retirement, Tom used his GI Bill and earned a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. In his retirement, Tom married Judith J. (Meek) Spade. Judy is the mother of three sons. Bryan Spade and his newly wedded wife live in Scottsdale, Arizona. Andy Spade and his wife Kate live in New York City with their daughter, Beatrix. David Spade lives in California and has one daughter, Harper. After his retirement from the Navy, Tom worked for three different helicopter companies. He never changed desks, but the name of the company kept changing. Hughes Helicopter Company became McDonnell Douglas, which became Boeing, and Tom continued supplying foreign militaries with the world's finest attack helicopter, the AH-64 Apache. After more than 20 years, he again retired. One of the highlights of his retirement was attending George W. Bush's second inauguration (see above photo). Tom and Judy moved to Show Low in the White Mountains of Arizona and for more than two years he has been providing monthly stories of historical Arizona characters to the local Maverick Magazine. The popularity of those articles led to this book.