Video Courtesy: South Dakota Public Broadcsting
History, timeline, interviews and more!SDPB Radio featured the fascinating life of South Dakotan Verne Miller in a one-hour documentary, Wayward Soldier: Verne Miller and the Kansas City Massacre.
A resident of the Huron area, Miller didn't always have a shady past. He was regarded as a war hero and even became the Beadle County Sheriff. But somewhere, his good intentions went south as he became a bank robber, a hit man and a bootlegger.
The Kansas City Massacre, June 17, 1933 - Controversy still surrounds the Kansas City Massacre that left five men dead. Historians disagree on the identity of Verne Miller's accomplices. The FBI identified Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Adam Richetti as the other gunmen. Other names put forth include Harvey Bailey, Maurice Denning, Solly Weissman, Wilbur Underhill, Bob Brady, and Jack Griffin. Even the motives of the Massacre are disputed. Many say Miller was trying to rescue a friend, convicted killer and robber Frank Nash. Others say the event, which resulted in Nash's death, was a gangland hit.
