When retired Mississippi Supreme Court Justice and Brigadier General Bill Waller Jr. joined the National Guard unit in Oxford in 1975, a lot of the soldiers who had helped to quell the Ole Miss Riot in the fall of 1962 were still active.
The son of the late Gov. Bill Waller Sr., Waller would practice law for decades, and he would serve in the highest judiciary seat in the state for a decade before retiring, but the history lessons from September 30, 1962 always stayed with him.
“The one principle then that was true that is true today is that soldiers observe and obey the orders of the president of the United States,” Waller told the Indianola chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution last Friday. “End of story. You have to do this, and you can’t have a military unless you do this.”
Waller said the Mississippi National Guard’s role in the Ole Miss Riot was crucial.
“They took the oath of office seriously, to follow the orders of the president of the United States,” Waller said. “I think that was a great moment for the Mississippi National Guard and the military.”
The majority of the riot occurred on that Sunday, when James Meredith arrived on campus, preparing for enrollment the following morning.
Then-Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett had been negotiating with then-President John F. Kennedy regarding the integration of the college. Barnett had waffled a number of times, and it was not clear whether he intended to allow Meredith to enroll or not.
“He was being persuaded by some of his supporters,” Waller said. “Despite court orders, contempts and a lot of things, it just wasn’t happening, so President Kennedy said, ‘I’m going to have to bring the marshals in. He’s going to be admitted.’”
Waller said the federal government mobilized the entire Mississippi National Guard, from DeSoto County to the Gulf Coast.
“There was some questions about the loyalty,” Waller said. “What would the people of Mississippi do in a situation like this, where there’s a mandate for Meredith to be admitted?”
By early evening, he said, federal marshals were sent to campus and encircled the Lyceum, one of the main buildings on campus.
“That evening, the protest turned into a riot,” Waller said. “It was really a melee.”
Waller said that there were guns, bricks and iron pipes involved in the riot.
“It was a terrible, terrible mess,” he said.
That is when U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach called in the Guard, which was stationed about two miles from the campus’ entrance.
The Guard, commanded by Murry C. 'Chooky' Falkner, nephew of William Faulkner, organized its convoy and made its way toward campus.
“Nearly every windshield was broken out. Twenty-eight soldiers were injured, just in the convoy to the Lyceum,” Waller said.
Falkner himself suffered three breaks in one of his arms from a brick that was thrown at him.
The Guard would eventually take charge of the scene. First Sgt. Buford Babb began to move his troops toward the Lyceum, with no ammunition or tear gas.
“He ordered the soldiers to fix bayonets,” Waller said.
The crowd would soon retreat, but the fighting persisted.
When active-duty units arrived to supplement the Guard’s efforts, they were told to fall back.
Buford reportedly told the commanding officer, “We’re not falling behind anybody. We’ll join with you, but we’re not going behind you or anybody else.”
The line would hold, Waller said, and the campus was emptied, and Meredith enrolled in college the following morning.
“Historians unanimously agree that had (the Guard) not been there, the force would have been overwhelmed, the Lyceum would have been occupied,” Waller said.
Waller said that a local physician, Dr. Jerry Hopkins, treated over 100 patients in a treatment center he set up in the women’s restroom at the Lyceum.
There were two civilians killed by gunshot in the riot, Waller said.
There were 166 U.S. marshals injured, 30 from gunshots. There were 375 total injuries, and over 300 people were taken into custody.
“This was a big deal,” Waller said.
Waller said that law and order prevailed on the campus, mainly because Mississippi Guardsmen followed the orders of the president, as they had sworn to do, rather than stand down in the name of segregation.
