Wednesday, March 6, 2013

John Dillinger


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?