lifeofalegend

Above Left:Indiana State Penitentiary at Michigan City, where John Dillinger helped to mastermind the largest escape ever in Indiana's history. 10 men walked out the front doors of the prison. Right: John Dillinger at his Mooresville home in April of 1934, while a nationwide hunt for him is underway. In his right hand is the woodengun he used to escape from the so called "Escape-Proof" Lake County Crown Point Jail. In his left hand is a 1921 Colt Thompson machinegun he stole during the escape. Authors Collection

There were many gangsters of the nineteen twenties and thirties, but only one stood out from all the rest. His name was John Dillinger, bank robber and gunman of the great depression. Dillinger became the most wanted and most celebrated criminal of 1934. John Dillinger stepped out of prison in 1933 into the heart of the Great Depression. The economy was very unstable with over 13 million people unemployed. Those who were fortunate enough to have jobs even found life a great struggle. Wages paid to workers in 1933, were only half of what they were earning in 1929. Banks were foreclosing on homes and farms throughout the nation leaving large families homeless with little food and necessaties to survive. Many families were living in tents made of bedsheets or what ever was available. With little money or food, many people joined the long soup lines for a meal. Banks became the bad guys and outlaws like Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and several others became the heroic robin hoods of the times.

Above: Tony Stewart, Author of "Dillinger, The Hidden Truth" poses with the very same 1921 Colt Thompson machinegun that John Dillinger stole from the Lake County Crown Point Jail during his escape on march 3, 1934. Dillinger had this machinegun in his procession until he was killed on July 22, 1934. Special thanks to Deputy Chief Dave Lain for allowing the author to shoot 20 rounds from this extraordinary weapon. Above left: Heavily armed guards at Crown Point jailhouse. TS

Left: Walter Dietrich, he was a key player in the Michigan City break. Dillinger arranged to have the guns smuggled within the prison walls and Dietrich grabbed the guns on the receiving end, hiding them until the time was right. Harry Pierpont was another key player in the escape, he would lead the ten inmates to freedom just days after receiving the weapons. Pierpont would later repay Dillinger by breaking him out of the Lima, Ohio jail.