Runner (soldier) wounded twice and received both the Iron Cross first class and second class during the war. Runner (soldier) A runner was a military courier, a foot soldier responsible for carrying messages during war. Runners were very important to military communications, before telecommunications became commonplace. The Ancient Greek semi-historical character of Pheidippides is said to have been the runner bringing the news of the Greek victory over the Persians from Marathon to Athens in 490 BC. Even though field telephones were widely used for the first time during World War I (1914–18), they relied on copper wire lines, which were often
Battle of Athens (1946) Goulden, in his history of immediate post-war America "The Best Years 1945-1950," discussed the Battle of Athens, how it sparked political ex-GI movements in three other Tennessee counties, as well as other boss ruled Southern states, led to a convention with representatives from several Southern states, and how it raised fears that veterans would resort to further violence. The Battle of Athens came at a time, 1944–1946 when there was much concern that returning GIs would be dangerously violent. Those concerns were addressed in an opinion piece by Warden Lawes author of "Twenty Thousand Years at Sing Sing," in a