When asked to write a blog about a figure portrayed in the media, I can honestly say I was stumped. As the deadline steadily approached I found myself unable to really find a person that I found interesting. I was deciding to possibly choose a war hero, perhaps "Mad" Jack Churchill or Simo Hayha. As I found the story of each of these men interesting I was not captivated. I realized what the problem was, I didn't want a hero, I wanted an anti-hero. Someone who lived by their own rules and did what they wanted. As I compiled research and newspaper articles I was drawn into the life of a man whose name I have heard throughout history. The man who was loved by the people and hated by law enforcement. That man was John Dillinger.
“These few dollars you
lose here today are going to buy you stories to tell your children and
great-grandchildren. This could be one of the big moments in your life; don't
make it your last!” John Dillinger
From his first banked robbed in June
1933, it took John Dillinger just under a year to reach public enemy number
one. Dillinger was a notorious criminal active from 1933-1934. In that time,
Dillinger robbed over a dozen banks, police stations, and escaped from police
custody at least three times. The charismatic robber would capture the hearts
of the every day man and woman with his exploits and his criminal nature.
Early Years
Born John Herbert Dillinger Jr. on June
22, 1903. Dillinger was born in the Oak Hill region of Indianapolis. Dillinger
lost his mother at the age of three and was left with his father. Dillinger’s
father, John Wilson Dillinger, was not the ideal father for young John. It has
been stated that John was raised, “in an atmosphere of disciplinary extremes, harsh
and repressive on some occasions, but generous and permissive on others.” (1)
This inconsistency caused Dillinger to act out as he grew. Dillinger entered
the Navy in 1923 at the age of twenty. He spent a total of five months in
service before he deserted and traveled to Mooresville Indiana. There he met
and married Beryl Hovious. The pair soon traveled to Indianapolis where
Dillinger fell on harsh times. Unable to find work Dillinger and his new friend
Ed Singleton robbed a grocer. Both Dillinger and Singleton were caught and sentenced
to serve time in prison. During Dillinger’s incarceration, Beryl Hovious filed
for divorce from Dillinger. Eight and a half years later Dillinger is paroled.
His first order of business was robbing the New Carlisle bank in Ohio and
taking $10,600.
A Public
Enemy’s Exploits
After his first robbery as a free man in 1933, Dillinger was able to
have several more successful robberies before being incarcerated again. Dillinger
was taken to Lima county jail in Ohio. While incarcerated Dillinger used a set
of plans to trigger a jail break for eight of his friends. They successfully
escaped from Lima on September 26th, 1933, “Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley, John Hamilton, Walter
Dietrich and Russell Clark, would later form the Dillinger gang.” On October 12th
Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley and Russel Clark returned and freed Dillinger.
In the process Sheriff Jesse Sarber was killed. It was covered to some extent
in newspapers across the country. The Detroit Free Press ran an article
covering the escape. In one section Serber was able to relay the incident
before dying. He stated that, “He was alone in the Allen County Jail office
when three strangers walked in an announced, “We’ve come to get Dillinger.”
“Where are you’re your credentials?” Serber demanded. One of the three produced
a revolver and said, “These are our credentials.” ”(2) Already the news of
Dillinger and his exploits were captivating audiences. The charismatic
Dillinger was making a name for himself. Though he was treated as a crook in
papers, his reputation grew with each exploit. After this incident Dillinger
and his gang successfully robbed Central National Bank in Greencastle Indiana
on October 23rd. January 15th 1934, Dillinger and his
gang were in the midst of robbing The First National Bank in East Chicago
Indiana when officer William O’Malley shot Dillinger several times. Unbeknownst
to O’Malley, Dillinger was wearing a bulletproof vest. O’Malley is subsequently
killed in the robbery. Ten days later Dillinger and his gang are arrested in Tucson
Arizona. Dillinger is extradited back to Indiana to face murder for officer
O’Malley, while the rest of Dillinger’s gang was extradited to Ohio for the
murder of Jesse Sarber. Dillinger is sent to Lake County Jail in Crown Point
Indiana. It was reportedly boasted that this particular jail was escape proof.
Dillinger would put this statement to the test.
The Crown Point Incident
On March 3rd 1934 John
Dillinger escaped from Lake County Jail by holding prison guard Sam Cahoon
hostage. After successfully negotiating with multiple prison guards and the
warden himself, Dillinger was able to lock the majority of the jail staff in
their own prison. Dillinger with the help of an accomplice known as Youngblood
had both escaped this seemingly “escape proof” jail. Dillinger was able pull
this off by convincing Sam Cahoon and the staff of the jail that he had a gun.
He did in fact have a gun, it just so happened that that gun was made out of
wood. The Lowell Tribune covered the story to painting Dillinger as a cunning,
yet dangerous criminal. In one section they explained that, “What
fooled the guards in and around the jail is that they were looking for an
attempt from the outside to rescue Dillinger by his pals, and the wily John
knew this and chose the other way to accomplish the job.” (3)
Biograph
Theater
Upon his escape Dillinger went on the run.
Dillinger narrowly avoided death with his gang in a shootout with the FBI in
April of 1934. On May 27th Dillinger received plastic surgery to
attempt to change his appearance to reduce his notoriety. On June 22nd,
US Attorney General Homer Cummings names Dillinger America’s first public enemy.
On June 23rd The Justice department put a $10,000 reward on John
Dillinger’s arrest. June 30th, Dillinger and his gang robbed a bank
in South Bend Indiana. Dillinger eventually moves in with his new girlfriend
Anna Sage. Anna Sage born Ana Cumpanas was a Romanian brothel owner. At the
time she was facing deportation so in a last ditch effort she went to the FBI
and gave up Dillinger. In return she wished to make a deal to stay in America.
Sage reported where Dillinger would be in the coming days. The FBI set up a
trap in order to take Dillinger into custody. On July 22nd, 1934
Dillinger was shot and killed outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago. Multiple
papers including the New York Times and Chicago Tribune covered the story of
Dillinger’s death. The New York Times finished their article with saying, “J.
Edgar Hoover, chief of Bureau of Investigation in Washington, expressed himself
as delighted that Federal men had succeeded in ridding the country of its most
dangerous criminal.”(4) Sage was later deported and died in Romania in 1947.
John Dillinger was thirty-one years old.
Media
Coverage and Citizen’s responses
The media though they were in some instances
in awe at Dillinger’s charismatic personality, covered his exploits
straightforward. Dillinger was considered a criminal, a dangerous one at that.
He was public enemy number one and was portrayed thusly. Though Dillinger was
known to be more sociable and suave then most criminals he received no special
treatment. The every day man and woman viewed Dillinger in a different light.
Allan May and Marilyn Bardsley authors of John
Dillinger: Bank Robber or Robin Hood describe the social setting
surrounding Dillinger and his gang’s exploits, “Banks were having miserable
public relations problems during the Depression. Many of them failed, sweeping
away the life savings of millions of hard working people. Those that stayed in
business foreclosed on people’s homes, farms and businesses as the economy went
from bad to worse. So bank robbers were not particularly viewed as terrible
criminals by the average American. There was even a touch of Robin Hood when
bank robbers destroyed all the mortgage records at the banks they hit. The
daring daytime robberies and skillful getaways were glamorous and exciting,
especially if the robbers were handsome, polite and photogenic.”(5) All in all
Dillinger was both viewed as a criminal and a hero of sorts. Regardless
Dillinger is still seen to this day as the charismatic criminal who loved the
fame of being a public enemy.
“All my life I wanted to be a bank
robber. Carry a gun and wear a mask. Now that it's happened I guess I'm just
about the best bank robber they ever had. And I sure am happy.” John Dillinger
Bibliography
1.
The
Detroit Free Press, “Sheriff Is Slain in Jail Delivery”. October 13, 1933. Page
one.
2.
Federal
Bureau of Investigation. Famous Cases and Criminals: John Dillinger.
3.
Lowell
Tribune, “John Dillinger Escapes From County Jail”. March 8, 1934. Page one.
4.
May,
Allan, Marilyn Bardsley. John Dillinger: Bank Robber or Robin Hood? Crime
Library: Criminal Minds and Methods.
5.
The New
York Times, “Dillinger Slain In Chicago; Shot Dead By Federal Men In Front Of
Movie Theater”. July 22, 1934. Page one.
6.
The
Oskkosh Northwestern. Timeline of John Dillinger’s Trail of Crime.
Notes:
(1) Famous Cases and Criminals
(2) The Detroit Free Press
(3) Lowell Tribune
(4) The New York Times
(5) John Dillinger: Bank Robber or Robin Hood?