872763-915970-thumbnail.jpgSA James Metcalfe ('31-'35) was born, September 16, 1906 in Berlin, Germany. He came to the United States when he was seven years old. He attended Notre Dame and received his law degree at Loyola University (Chicago). He became an FBI agent and worked in the Chicago Bureau and was a member of the Dillinger Squad working under SAC Purvis.  He participated in many of the high profile cases of the day.

After his service as an FBI agent which ended in 1935, Metcalfe became a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. In the 1940s he began writing poetry and his early work appeared in a syndicated poetry column, "Portraits" which was carried by over a 100 newspapers. His poetry also appears on Hallmark cards.  Metcalfe and others of the Dillinger Squad can be seen in a collage photo we've posted so stop back at the "navigation page" and find the link for Faces Of The Dillinger Squad.

Metcalfe's poem, "We Were The G-Men" was included in his "Portraits" column in the 50's.  Copyright, 1953 Field Enterprises it reads:


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WE WERE THE G-MEN - By James J. Metcalfe

We were the vaunted G-Men once....we did our little bit.
Where now we could not qualify...to be part of it.

For now the FBI is not the group it used to be....
It is the model of success and true efficiency.

We had to learn the hard way then the things we did not know...
And as we took our chances great, we helped the Bureau grow.

We suffered heartaches and we lost the lives of several men...
But surely every one of us would do that job again.

Because today the FBI is worthy of its name....
And we are proud and happy that we helped create its fame.

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