Editing Bonnie and Clyde (section)

== Ambush and deaths ==
[[File:Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow posse (1934).jpg|thumb|Gibsland posse; ''front:'' Alcorn, Jordan, and Hamer; ''back:'' Hinton, Oakley, Gault]]

By May 1934, Barrow had 16 warrants outstanding against him for multiple counts of robbery, auto theft, theft, escape, assault, and murder in four states.<ref>{{cite web |title=Clyde Champion Barrow FBI Criminal Record |url=https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth78935/ |website=The Portal to Texas History |publisher=United States Division of Investigation |access-date=11 April 2022 |language=English |date=June 2, 1934}}</ref> Hamer, who had begun tracking the gang on February 12, led the posse. He had studied the gang's movements and found that they swung in a circle skirting the edges of five mid-western states, exploiting the "state line" rule that prevented officers from pursuing a fugitive into another jurisdiction. Barrow was consistent in his movements, so Hamer charted his path and predicted where he would go. The gang's itinerary centered on family visits, and they were due to see Methvin's family in Louisiana. Unbeknownst to Hamer, Barrow had designated Methvin's parents' residence as a rendezvous in case they were separated. Methvin had become separated from the rest of the gang in [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]]. Hamer's posse was composed of six men: Texas officers Hamer, [[Ted Hinton|Hinton]], Alcorn, and B.M. "Maney" Gault, and Louisiana officers Henderson Jordan and Prentiss Morel Oakley.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/clyde/clyde.htm |title=FBI – Bonnie and Clyde |work=FBI |access-date=January 28, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923235409/http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/clyde/clyde.htm |archive-date=September 23, 2010 }}</ref>

[[File:BarrowAmbushSite1934.jpg|thumb|right|The road in the Louisiana woods where Barrow and Parker died<br /> {{Coord|32|26|28.21|N|93|5|33.23|W|display=inline|region:US-LA|name=Site of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow Ambush}}]]

[[File:1934 Ford V-8 containing the remains of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.jpg|right|thumb|[[1932 Ford#1934|1934 Ford Deluxe V-8]] after the ambush with the bodies of Barrow and Parker in the front seats]]

On May 21, the four posse members from Texas were in Shreveport when they learned that Barrow and Parker were planning to visit Ivy Methvin in Bienville Parish that evening. The full posse set up an ambush along [[Louisiana State Highway 154]] south of [[Gibsland, Louisiana|Gibsland]] toward Sailes. Hinton recounted that the lawmen were in place by 9 pm, and waited through the whole of the next day (May 22) with no sign of the perpetrators.<ref name= Hinton>Hinton, Ted and Larry Grove (1979). [https://books.google.com/books?id=NcsLAAAACAAJ ''Ambush: The Real Story of Bonnie and Clyde'']. Austin, TX: Shoal Creek Publishers. {{ISBN|0-88319-041-9}}.</ref> Other accounts said that the officers set up on the evening of May 22.<ref>Guinn, p. 334.</ref>

[[File:Bonnie Clyde Car.jpg|right|thumb|The gunfire was so loud that the posse were temporarily deaf all afternoon.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}]]

At approximately 9:15 am on May 23, the posse was still concealed in the bushes and almost ready to give up when they heard a vehicle approaching at high speed. In their official report, they stated they had persuaded Methvin to position his truck on the shoulder of the road that morning. They hoped Barrow would stop to speak with him, putting his vehicle close to the posse's position in the bushes. The vehicle proved to be the [[1932 Ford#1934|Ford V8]] with Barrow at the wheel and he slowed down as hoped. The six lawmen opened fire while the vehicle was still moving. Oakley fired first, probably before any order to do so.<ref name=Hinton /><ref name="Knight and Davis, p 166">Knight and Davis, p. 166.</ref><ref>Guinn, pp. 339–340.</ref> Barrow was shot in the head and died instantly from Oakley's first shot and Hinton reported hearing Parker scream.<ref name=Hinton /> The officers fired about 130 rounds, emptying each of their weapons into the car.<ref name="dispatch"/><ref name="posse">[http://texashideout.tripod.com/posse.html ''The Posse''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060520184604/http://texashideout.tripod.com/posse.html |date=May 20, 2006 }}, Texas Hideout. Retrieved May 25, 2008.</ref> The two had survived several bullet wounds over the years in their confrontations with the law. On this day, any of Bonnie Parker's and Clyde Barrow's wounds would have proven to be fatal.<ref>Knight and Davis, p. 167.</ref>

According to statements made by Hinton and Alcorn:

{{blockquote|Each of us six officers had a shotgun and an automatic rifle and pistols. We opened fire with the automatic rifles. They were emptied before the car got even with us. Then we used shotguns. There was smoke coming from the car, and it looked like it was on fire. After shooting the shotguns, we emptied the pistols at the car, which had passed us and ran into a ditch about 50 yards on down the road. It almost turned over. We kept shooting at the car even after it stopped. We weren't taking any chances.<ref name="dispatch">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529032535/http://www.censusdiggins.com/bonnie_and_clyde_2.html "Took No Chances, Hinton and Alcorn Tell Newspapermen"]}}, ''Dallas Dispatch'', May 24, 1934, Reprinted at Census Diggins. Accessed on May 26, 2008.</ref>}}

Film footage taken by one of the deputies immediately after the ambush shows 112 bullet holes in the vehicle, of which around one quarter struck the couple.<ref>Smithsonian Channel:America in Color: the Death of Bonnie and Clyde</ref> The official  report by parish [[coroner]] J. L. Wade listed 17 entrance wounds on Barrow's body and 26 on that of Parker,<ref>Knight and Davis, p. 219 n13</ref> including several headshots to each and one that had severed Barrow's [[spinal column]]. Undertaker C. F. "Boots" Bailey had difficulty [[embalming]] the bodies because of all the bullet holes.<ref>Knight and Davis, p. 171</ref>

[[File:BarrowDeathCarArsenal1934.jpg|right|thumb|The perpetrators had more than a dozen guns and several thousand rounds of ammunition in the Ford, including 100 20-round [[M1918 Browning automatic rifle|BAR]] magazines.]]

The deafened officers inspected the vehicle and discovered an arsenal, including stolen automatic rifles, sawed-off semi-automatic [[shotgun]]s, assorted [[handgun]]s, and several thousand rounds of ammunition, along with fifteen sets of [[license plate]]s from various states.<ref name="posse" /> Hamer stated: "I hate to bust the cap on a woman, especially when she was sitting down, however if it wouldn't have been her, it would have been us."<ref>[http://texashideout.tripod.com/quotes.html ''Quotes''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060520185333/http://texashideout.tripod.com/quotes.html |date=May 20, 2006 }} Texashideout. Retrieved May 26, 2008.</ref> Word of the deaths quickly got around when Hamer, Jordan, Oakley, and Hinton drove into town to telephone their bosses. A crowd soon gathered at the spot. Gault and Alcorn were left to guard the bodies, but they lost control of the jostling, curious throng; one woman cut off bloody locks of Parker's hair and pieces from her dress, which were subsequently sold as [[souvenir]]s. Hinton returned to find a man trying to cut off Barrow's trigger finger, and was sickened by what was occurring.<ref name="Hinton" /> Arriving at the scene, the coroner reported:

{{blockquote|Nearly everyone had begun collecting souvenirs such as [[shell casing]]s, slivers of glass from the shattered car windows, and bloody pieces of clothing from the garments of Bonnie and Clyde. One eager man had opened his pocket knife, and was reaching into the car to cut off Clyde's left ear.<ref name=Milner>Milner, E.R. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bfLXGwAACAAJ ''The Lives and Times of Bonnie and Clyde''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116181132/https://books.google.com/books?id=bfLXGwAACAAJ |year=2016 }} Southern Illinois University Press, 2003. {{ISBN|0-8093-2552-7}}. Published 1996.</ref>}}

Hinton enlisted Hamer's help in controlling the "circus-like atmosphere" and they got people away from the car.<ref name=Milner />

The posse towed the Ford, with the dead bodies still inside, to the Conger Furniture Store & Funeral Parlor in downtown [[Arcadia, Louisiana]]. Preliminary embalming was done by Bailey in a small preparation room in the back of the furniture store, as it was common for furniture stores and undertakers to share the same space.<ref name="funeral" /> The population of the northwest Louisiana town reportedly swelled from 2,000 to 12,000 within hours. Curious throngs arrived by train, horseback, [[carriage]], and plane. Beer normally sold for 15 cents a bottle but it jumped to 25 cents, and sandwiches quickly sold out.<ref>[http://texashideout.tripod.com/soar.jpg "Bonnie & Clyde's Demise"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528160419/http://texashideout.tripod.com/soar.jpg |date=May 28, 2008 }}, ''Dallas Journal'' at TexasHideout.</ref>  Henry Barrow identified his son's body, then sat weeping in a rocking chair in the furniture section.<ref name="funeral" />

H.D. Darby was an undertaker at the McClure Funeral Parlor and Sophia Stone was a home demonstration agent, both from nearby Ruston. Both of them came to Arcadia to identify the bodies<ref name="funeral" /> because the Barrow gang had kidnapped them<ref>Ramsey, p. 112</ref> in 1933. Parker reportedly had laughed when she discovered that Darby was an undertaker. She remarked that maybe someday he would be working on her;<ref name="funeral" /> Darby did assist Bailey in the embalming.<ref name="funeral" />

=== Funeral and burial ===
[[File:Bonnie parker grave.jpg|thumb|Bonnie Parker's grave, inscribed: "As the flowers are all made sweeter by the sunshine and the dew, so this old world is made brighter by the lives of folks like you."<br />{{Coord|32.867416|-96.863915|display=inline|region:US-TX|name=Burial site of Bonnie Elizabeth Parker}}]]

Bonnie and Clyde wished to be buried side by side, but the Parker family would not allow it. Her mother wanted to grant her final wish to be brought home, but the mobs surrounding the Parker house made that impossible.<ref name="Parker, Cowan and Fortune, p 175">Parker, Cowan and Fortune, p. 175.</ref> More than 20,000 attended Parker's funeral, and her family had difficulty reaching her gravesite.<ref name="Parker, Cowan and Fortune, p 175" /> Parker's services were held on May 26.<ref name="funeral" /> Allen Campbell recalled that flowers came from everywhere, including some with cards allegedly from [[Pretty Boy Floyd]] and [[John Dillinger]].<ref name="funeral" /> The largest floral tribute was sent by a group of Dallas city [[Newspaper hawker|newsboy]]s; the sudden end of Bonnie and Clyde sold 500,000 newspapers in Dallas alone.<ref>Phillips, ''Running'', p. 219.</ref> Parker was buried in the Fishtrap Cemetery, although her body was moved in 1945 to the new Crown Hill Cemetery in [[Dallas]].<ref name="funeral" />

Thousands of people gathered outside both Dallas funeral homes, hoping for a chance to view the bodies. Barrow's private funeral was held at sunset on May 25.<ref name="funeral">Moshinskie, Dr. James F. "Funerals of the Famous: Bonnie & Clyde." ''The American Funeral Director'', Vol. 130 (No. 10), October 2007, pp. 74–90.</ref> He was buried in Western Heights Cemetery in Dallas, next to his brother Marvin. The Barrow brothers share a single granite marker with their names on it and an epitaph selected by Clyde: "Gone but not forgotten."<ref>''Texas Country Reporter'', May 25, 2013</ref>

The [[American National Insurance Company]] of [[Galveston, Texas]], paid the life insurance policies in full on Barrow and Parker. Since then, the policy of payouts has changed to exclude payouts in cases of deaths caused by any criminal act by the insured.<ref>Parker, Cowan and Fortune, p 174</ref>

The six men of the posse were each to receive a one-sixth share of the reward money. Dallas Sheriff Schmid had promised Hinton that this would total some $26,000,<ref>Hinton, p 192</ref> but most of the organizations that had pledged reward funds reneged on their pledges. In the end, each lawman earned $200.23 for his efforts and collected memorabilia.<ref>Guinn, p. 352</ref>

[[File:Clyde barrow grave.jpg|thumb|Clyde and Buck Barrow's grave, inscribed: "Gone but not forgotten" <br />{{Coord|32.765537|-96.845863|display=inline|region:US-TX|name=Burial site of Clyde Champion Barrow}}]]

By the summer of 1934, new federal statutes made bank robbery and kidnapping federal offenses. The growing coordination of local authorities by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], plus [[two-way radio]]s in police cars, combined to make it more difficult to carry out series of robberies and murders than it had been just months before. Two months after Bonnie and Clyde were killed in Gibsland, Dillinger was killed on the street in [[Chicago]]. Three months after that, Pretty Boy Floyd was killed in [[Ohio]]. One month after that, [[Baby Face Nelson]] was killed in Illinois.<ref>Ramsey, pp. 276–279</ref>

As of 2018, Parker's niece and last known surviving relative has campaigned to have her aunt buried next to Barrow.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/should-bonnie-and-clyde-be-buried-next-to-each-other-their-descendants-hope-so/287-624006945|title=Should Bonnie and Clyde be buried next to each other? Their descendants hope so|website=wfaa.com|date=December 18, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/descendants-bonnie-and-clyde-want-them-buried-next-each-other/WNoO56a4cQJ5GdKrR6JE4O/|title=Descendants of Bonnie and Clyde want them buried next to each other|first1=Bob|last1=D'Angelo|website=dayton-daily-news}}</ref>