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Standish Fletcher Thompson
- Standish Fletcher Thompson was born in College Park, Georgia on February 5, 1925. He attended public schools before serving in the U.S. Army air Corps from 1944-1946, after which he graduated from Emory University in 1949. He returned to the military, serving as a U.S. Air Force pilot during the Korean conflict, from 1950-1953. Thompson earned a law degree from Woodrow Wilson College of Law in 1957, after which he went into legal practice. In 1964 he won a seat as a Republican to represent the 34th District in the Georgia Senate and moved on to win a seat in the 5th U.S. Congressional District in 1966. He held on to the seat as a very conservative Republican in a Democratic district until giving it up to run for the U.S. Senate in 1972, losing to Sam Nunn. Thompson went back into private practice and currently lives in Marietta.; Interviewed by Mel Steely on September 2, 1992 at West Georgia College.; This interview starts where the first left off, and they begin talking about his staff and any issues he had with them, which includes an instance of them going through an opponent's trash without Thompson's knowledge. The conversation shifts to funding and asking for money from supporters, and Thompson states that he never sent out letters asking for money, which hurt him in the election against Sam Nunn. Thompson then answers questions about his stance on busing to encourage integration of schools during the 1960s. Thompson discusses segregation, the Vietnam War, and being a Republican in the Congress during his tenure. Dr. Steely also asks questions regarding problems during Thompson's time in office, and they specifically discuss the highway 75/Lake Allatoona issue. Thompson opens up with a discussion on his decision to appoint Charles Clark to his staff as one of the first African-Americans on a political staff.
