[Collection of materials related to the clandestine Minuteman organization, from DePugh's own estate]

Norborne, MO; Independence, MO, etc.: Minutemen, 1982. A group including 27 issues of the On Target newsletter, as well as twenty other substantial booklets and pamphlets related to the Minutemen Training Program and other efforts, as well as a smattering of other ephemera issued by DePugh, supplemented by several pamphlets from other far-right groups that DePugh kept with his own publications. DePugh's Minutemen organization was a far-right armed group seen by some as a predecessor to the wider militia movement. These newsletters discuss alleged communist plans to use UN troops to strangle the United States, and argue for the need to create a guerrilla movement to stave off this fate. DePugh published theoretical works arguing that a tripartite attack by Socialists, Jews, and Homosexuals was bringing America to its knees, but he argued that such "education" or words alone were fruitless; action by armed patriots was necessary to actually stop this process. To this end, he published survivalist advice and training manuals for would-be guerrillas. In 1968, DePugh was indicted for conspiracy to commit bank robbery and for violation of federal firearms laws. After about two years underground he was captured in New Mexico. Given the clandestine nature of his activities, it is not surprising that DePugh's personal papers or correspondence do not seem to have survived, but the materials listed below have been acquired from his estate. The first issue of "On Target" states, "This sample copy will introduce a new type of patriotic newsletter. There are already many excellent publications available such as the Dan Smoot Report, Human Events, etc. that are designed to inform their readers as to the true threat of communism. The purpose of On Target is not to inform but rather to identify by name, address and phone number the thousands of communist traitors who are even now working to sell out their own country to the enemy.... We know that to fight your enemy effectively you must know who they are - not just in a general way - but as individuals. This fact applies not only to military conflict but to psychological warfare as well. One of the primary rules of propaganda is that to be effective, it must be aimed at individuals. Organizations, general issues, and similar nebulous targets are almost immune to propaganda. Only when it is directed at some individual does propaganda become fully effective." Many issues are indeed packed with lists of people and organizations working in the fields of diplomacy, civil rights, the peace movement, and other fields considered "unpatriotic." The masthead, showing a gun sight, and the newsletter's claims about having Minuteman infiltrators lurking within various leftist groups, were intended to convey an aura of menace to such targets while maintaining plausible deniability. Over time the subject matter broadened to include editorials about the Kennedy assassination, updates on the formation of the Patriotic Party, a sermon by Charles Poling, survivalist tips for feeding one's family after the conflagration begins, etc. An issue about the Weather Underground townhouse bombing claims that a Minuteman informant had penetrated the WUO and intentionally gave them incorrect information about Mercury switches, leading to the premature detonation of their bomb.
Issues present are, for 1963: Jan. 1, Feb. 15, March 1, May 15, June 15 (one page only), Dec, 1. For 1964: Jan. 1, Feb. 1, March 1, April 1, May 1, June 1 (one page only, tattered), July 1, August 1, Sept. 1. For 1965: April 1, Sept. 1, August 1. For 1966: Jan. 1, April 1, July, Oct., Dec. For 1967: May 1 (first two pages only). For 1970: Sept. 1, Oct. 24, Nov. 1., and an undated issue listing the names and contact information for everyone who was listed in the notebook of Weather Underground member Cathlyn Wilkerson. For 1982: May and June. Many of the earlier issues have rust marks around the staples.
In addition to these issues of On Target, the group includes the following items:
- "Blueprint for Victory," by DePugh; Norborne: Salon Publishing Company, 1978. 4th edition (96 pages) and 5th edition (87 pages) are both present; 8.5x11 inches, very good. An earlier 2nd edition in different format (5.5x8.5 inches, 110p., 1966) is also included.
- "Patriots Leadership Conference: July 4, 1975. A series of Lectures" by DePugh, Norborne: Salon Pub. Co., 1975, 43p., 8.5x11 inches, bound in generic blue card covers, minor penned note about changing font size, otherwise very good.
- "Minuteman Handbook I," an 8.5x11 inch generic folder containing a sheaf of introductory materials for a correspondence course, unpaginated.
- "Minuteman Handbook IV," an 8.5x11 inch folder in similar format, containing a 28-page manual on Combat use of the rifle and a 16-page document on Chemical, biological, and radiological defense.
- "Theory and practice of psycho-political techniques, psychological warfare and propaganda, lesson outlines for a training seminar" by DePugh, dated 1979; 8.5x11 inches, 58 pages, in a generic tan folder.
- An untitled, 54-page 8.5x11 inch booklet, designed to be sent anonymously. The first page begins, "You have been identified as a person whose integrity is highly regarded among patriotic Nationalists of the United States." It goes on to say that "This may be our only communication with you or we may see fit to communicate with you again in the future. In any case, we will identify ourselves only as Deguello. We can describe ourselves to you only to this extent: all members of Deguello are either present or past employees of government Intelligence Services from a number of different nations in the so-called free world. As such, we have access to the intelligence sources of several different Western governments. Our group is composed of a comparative few members within these intelligence organizations each having in common an extraordinary deep appreciation for our own nation. Working together, and in strictest secrecy, we pool our efforts and resources in a purely personal effort to fight back against those forces that would destroy all free nations of the world, supplanting them with a one world government."
- "Three Days in Jail," a 21-page pamphlet by DePugh describing his first days behind bars after arrest by the FBI.
- "The 'Minutemen,' America's last line of defence against Communism," 20p., n.d., two holes punched at spine, not affecting text; undated. Cover art is copied from "Needed! More unknown individuals," by Henry Grady Weaver, an example of which is also included.
- "15 steps to victory", a four-page leaflet with selections from DePugh's Blueprint for Victory, published by his Patriotic Party.
- "Campaign promises vs. National survival," 24p. staplebound pamphlet by DePugh, published by his Patriotic Party.
- "Critique of Objectivism," 16p. staplebound pamphlet by DePugh, published by his Patriotic Party in 1970.
- "ARM Commandos," a 16p. staplebound pamphlet promoting a later clandestine group, published in Norborne by DePugh in 1980; unevenly toned.
- "Training and instruction manual for Committee of Ten Million Intelligence Agents," part 1; 8p., 8.5x11 inch packet; this was another network of right-wing groups established in 1973 which DePugh hoped to take the place of the Minutemen.
- A 6-page mailing originally sent out with an audiotape in June 1969, discussing operational security for clandestine movements.
- "Federal witness says FBI agents used padded cell and drug injections to get his signed statement," a four-page leaflet alleging malfeasance in a case that had been built against DePugh and others in 1966.
- Three 1966 Bulletins from the Minutemen, together with an application form and a handwritten letter from a fellow traveler.
- A group of nine Patriotic Party Ballots from 1967, on which members wrote their preferences for a presidential ticket (Strom Thurmond, George Wallace, DePugh himself, and then-CA governor Ronald Reagan are top choices). Each ballot gives the member's address and their role within the Party.
- A "Join the Minutemen" leaflet.
- "The Nation," an 8.5x11 inch flyer by DePugh, dated 1978.
- "Statement of Jerry Milton Brooks," a single-page 8.5x14 inch leaflet from 1967, stating that his testimony had been falsified in an ATF effort to ensnare DePugh.
- "A patriot speaks up," 4p. mimeographed statement after DePugh's 1970 arrest.
- "Directory of Patriotic organizations and publications," a 62-page booklet published by DePugh through his Salon Pub. Co. in Norborne, 1974; vertical crease.
- Several other minor pieces of ephemera from the Minutemen and the Patriotic Party.
Unrelated to the Minutemen, but reflective of DePugh's above-ground profession, are six issues of the Journal of Canine Genetics, which he edited. Published by the Society for the Advancement of Canine Genetics in Independence, MO. Issues present range between 1947 and 1955.
Also included is an envelope containing items printed by allied groups, the most significant of which are "Red betrayal of youth," a 1948 pamphlet by sometime DePugh associate Kenneth Goff; "Red intrigue and race turmoil" by Zygmund Dobbs, 1958; "Reuther Memorandum" by William Mallett, 1965; and a flyer announcing a Klan rally in Stone Mountain in 1974.