On a Fall day in 1934, SA James Metcalfe had a guardian angel standing next to him; the same day that later cost the lives of Inspector Samuel Cowley and SA Herman Hollis.
Hours before the fatal shootout with Cowley and Hollis, SA Metcalfe, SA Charles Winstead and SA C. E. McRae staked out the Hermanson house in Lake Como, Wisconsin based upon a tip that Nelson and others would arrive there within days.
But as a vehicle approached the house, Metcalfe didn't know he would be walking into a meet that could cost him his life. Unarmed, he stood on the porch peering into the vehicle of a psychopathic killer.
This document encompasses Winstead's report on what happened, but more importantly, it also encompasses Metcalfe's 1945 letter to a friend revealing what happened that same day; his later thoughts of his FBI career, and his pursuit of his real passion. A most compelling document.
Winstead's report was obtained from the Dillinger file at the FBI; Metcalfe's corroborating letter was generously donated to this site by his son, Don Metcalfe.
Both documents in full are combined and shown here.
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