Date of Death: November 27, 1934 as the result of adversarial action at Barrington, Illinois.
Cause of Death: Special Agent Herman Hollis and Special Agent Samuel Cowley were shot and killed by the infamous gangster Baby Face Nelson near Barrington, Illinois. When two other agents had encountered Baby Face Nelson, his wife and a male companion driving down a road, a gun battle ensued as both parties recognized each other. The agent's, with their windshields shattered, were forced off the road into a field but not before they had disabled the suspect's car. As Agents Hollis and Cowley approached the scene and exited their car, they were met with gunfire by both male suspects. Agent Hollis, with massive head wounds, was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital and Agent Cowley died the following morning after surgery for his stomach wounds. As an FBI special agent in the 1930s, Hollis served the FBI field offices in Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Chicago for over seven years. He worked with agents Melvin Purvis, Samuel P. Cowley and others fighting bank robbers, gangsters and organized crime in the Chicago area during the Great Depression. He was 31 years old at the time of his death.
Burial Location:
Glendale Cemetery (Polk County)
Des Moines, Iowa
Block B, Lot 46