In 1958, a governor ordered the National Guard in his state to prevent blacks from registering to vote instead of providing protection for the blacks as Eisenhower had ordered. Ike didn't hesitate. He sent in paratroopers. Not being stupid enough to face soldiers who knew how to fight, the weekend warriors hightailed it to safety. The paratroopers restored order and carried out Ike's command.
Paratroopers are tough.
While drinking in a stripper bar in North Carolina, I watched four of them go up against a dozen or more members of a motorcycle gang. When the brawl was over, the paratroopers were standing. The motorcycle thugs who weren't unconscious had beat it out the door. A year earlier, in 1969, I buzzed my hair off, when long hair became fashionable instead of a sign of contempt for the actions of a corrupt establishment. When lawyers and insurance salesmen began wearing their hair long, I knew my shoulder-length growth had to go.