Evening star., 1947-07-23

the right and left hands from
the hip. -"..
Third Highest Score.
It had been years since the major
was on the range as a regular COM
petitor, but his score of 29o still
stands as the third highest fired in
the entire department. A perfect
score for the test is 300.
From the day he stepped into
the department as a 25-year -old
rookie, Maj. Callahan was known as
droll Irishman who was never
lost for words and whose dignity was
not above a practical joke.
His ready wit was of the driest
variety and more humorous to his
foils because of dead-pan delivery.
Four days. before the Armsitice,
while serving in Battery B of the
18th Field Artillery's I'd Division, his
horse was shot out from under him
by a German "77." All that was
hurt, he said, was his dignity, but for
his skinned knuckles and bruised
knees he was awarded the Purple
Heart.
After a year with the Army of oc-
cupation in Germany, he had tried
his hand at railroading but gave that
up to join the Police Department on
May 26, 1920.
Sergeant in 1928.
He moved up from private to sta
ton clerk in the second precinct,
thence to the Detective Bureaus
pawn reports office, and on March /,
1928, was transferred to the fifth
precinct as sergeant.
After term as night inspector at
No. 8, he broke in as police school
instructor in April, 1880, and little
more than a year later was elevated
to lieutenant.
+. On July /, 1885, he moved to the
first precinct and two months later
was promoted to captain in COM
mand. The promotion coincided
with the advancement OF Will
liam E. Holmes from captain to in
spector. :.
One of Maj. Callahan's friends at
the station recalled brief, but sig
nificant, colloquy that accompanied
Mr.. Holmes rendering the keys to
his successor.
my boy" said the departing COM
mander affectionately, II hope you
can do this job"
"You did it, didn't you?" was the
new commanders terse reply.
Installed New Procedure.
Mai. Callahan's f1ve-year tenure
in that office was interrupted for a
few months in 1889 while he
Strengthened up, the affairs OF the
chief clerk and property clerks
ofice. At another period he had
reorganized the pawn reports ONCE
and installed a procedure still In
use.
Appointed inspector and execu-
tive officer attached to headquar-
ters on August 21, 1941, he was made
assistant superintendent of police
three months later.
Although his short term as su-
perintendent was punctuated by ILL
ness, Maj. Callahan had won the
respect and loyalty of the entire de-
partment, one intimate said.
HE was never too busy to see one
of the men and he was never late
for an appointment" his friend said
A home-loving man, Maj. Gala
hans principal interest outside his
work and home were hunting and
fishing. He also was a familiar
figure at Knights of Columbus ane
Almas Temple receptions as a spe.
cial guest, and a member Of the
Holy Name Society and the Catho.
lie Police and Firemen's Society.
Took Course in Law.
While he was climbing in the de.
partment, Maj. Callahan was en-.
hancing his learning at every ,ep.
portunity. In 1933-34 he attended q
two-year course in law for police.
men at Columbia University. Three
years later he completed police
course in traffic at the University
of Maryland and received a certifi-
cate with honors.
Returning from a 90-day course
at the FBI's National Police Acad-
emy in 1910, he established a spe-
cial school in scientific crime work
for detectives.
Three years earlier, his all-around
proficiency had been rewarded. by
a special IS salary bonus award
growing out of an Act of Congress
in 1881.
Born in Brooklyn.
Maj. Callahan was born in Brook
lyn, N. Y, on June 20, 1895, and
when he was IL he moved with his
mother to Tobyhanna, Pa. His
father had died when he was eight.
Attending high school there, he
worked as a bellhop at summer re-
sort hotels at Mount Pocono and, at
the age of II, worked for an express
company at Jersey City for sum-
mer.
At the outbreak Of the war in
1914, he asked his mother for per-
mission to enter the war as French
Red Cross ambulance driver. When
she refused, he slipped away and
joined the Army.
He caught his first glimpse of
Washington while training at Fort
Myer for year before serving on
the Mexican border. Later he went
overseas for the war experiences
that helped him reach the pinnacle
rs a police officer.
Street Fishing
KANSAS CT1rv Kan fR-Gro.