Ed Daly

Edward Joseph Daly (November 22, 1922 – January 21, 1984) was an American businessman most notable for his ownership of World Airways which he bought in 1950 and was active in until 1982. Under the ownership of Daly, the airline was notable for its humanitarian efforts which drew national attention during the Vietnam War, as well as its pioneering low fare and no-frills service.

Biography

Edward Joseph Daly was born to parents Edward Michael Daly and Elizabeth Grace in Chicago Illinois on November 22, 1922. His father, a firefighter, died when he was only 15 years old, and Daly helped support his family by working summers as an onion topper and in college running a truck line. The truck line was operating with three tractors and 5 trailers when he sold it. Daly was already exhibiting the skills that would propel his airline business in the future. While doing all of this he managed to become a Golden Glove boxer, which developed skills that he would use later in Vietnam. Daly refutes his image as a kid from the slums of Chicago though he does admit that the time after his fathers death was difficult.

He attended the University of Illinois, where he majored in biochemical engineering before being drafted in 1941 into the Army during World War II. Daly is quoted as saying it is a good thing he never finished his degree as,“I was the world’s worst chemical engineer”. While serving in the Army Daly achieved the rank of sergeant and served in the Pacific. Other details that are mentioned about his service but not confirmed by other sources are: he was injured (how is not specified), he was a “tech” sergeant, and that he was stationed on the Marshall Islands or in Saipan and Tinian.

He was discharged from the Army in Los Angeles and worked as a bank teller for 6 months at Security First National Bank. After deciding that the world of banking was not for him, he worked at Scotty O’Carroll at Midway airport in Chicago, where he was in charge of bookings for all non-scheduled airlines and even worked his way to vice-president of that company. Around this time he also created the National Air Freight Forwarding Inc. The first air freight forwarding company in the world which Daly says was 10 years ahead of its time. He knew this to be true because World Airways at the time was transporting mainly military cargo. It was during this period he married his wife June Chandler in October 1949. A former stewardess for Pan American Airlines she would later help Daly with World Airways operating in the administration and taking over as deputy chairman after his death.

After a few years experience he left the charter company with a desire to own something of his own and in 1950 purchased a fledgling airline, World Airways. He was 26 years old at the time. His personal handling of this airline would make him rich and famous in the years to come. He purchased the airline for $50,000 from the Berkovich Steamship Company. Where he came up with the money produced a story that was well circulated within World Airways but refuted by the man himself was that he won $50,000 in a poker match. The story loses further credibility because Daly’s favorite game was Rummy. Another less exciting story but more probable is that he borrowed the money from a small truck company. Regardless of how he obtained the money he paid very little for an airline that would one day turn millions of dollars in profit. To illustrate how little he paid for this airline Daly later bought an old beat up military surplus plane for $75,000 which he then sold for $175,000. The purchase of the airline itself was little more than buying the rights to fly commercial aircraft but Daly took this company and carved out a name for himself in the worldd of commercial aviation.

He is noted in particular for his pioneering of the concept of “no-frills” flights. His fighting against the C.A.B. (Civil Aeronautics Board) for deregulation of the supplemental air carriers earned him a term as spokesman for all the supplemental airlines. The many humanitarian through which he was made famous in Vietnam were numerous and diverse in nature ranging from discount flights to Mecca and building a pool for wards of the state. His other large business venture was the acquisition of First Western Bank and Trust Company in 1968 for $63.5 million which at the time was the 8th largest bank in California. He sold the bank in 1974 to Lloyd’s Bank, of London for $115 million in cash. He kept control of his airline through his ownership of 80% of the stock. In 1971 he stepped down as President of the company and in 1982 had to retreat from the business sphere due to failing health. He died on January 21, 1984 at 61 years of age.

Philanthropy

In the world of private philanthropy, Edward Daly’s name appears with much less bluster than with his business dealings. In several of the pieces detailing his generosity, he is noted for actively trying to keep out of the spotlight. Which stands in contrast to the full page ads he would take out as the head of World Airways. He donated his time and his money to causes ranging from aid to Muslims trying to reach mecca and donating money for universities new science building7 He served from 1962-68 as the chairman of the board of regents at Santa Clara University. The impact he had on the school is shown through the dedication of Santa Clara’s newly constructed science center named in his honor. Under Presidential appointment he served as chairman of the Oakland branch of the National Alliance of Businessmen. He generously supported the boy scouts despite only having one daughter. Depicted in the Oakland Tribune as a staunch supporter of the cerebral palsy center in Alameda California he is pictured, while laughing, receiving a self-portrait from one of the center’s patients. He also served as the center’s chairman for a fundraising season. His help is not limited to only humans. The Oakland Zoo used World Airways to bring a baby elephant to their facilities and Daly gave $100 prize money to the lucky youth that won a naming contest for the elephant. Daly also used his airline to bring giraffes to the zoo in Mexico City. In 1966 Daly received the “Man of the Hour” award from the city of Oakland for his efforts to promote hiring of minority groups. Scholarships were set up by him for student from West Africa, Korea and Jordan. Green Peace even got a slice when Daly gifted them $10,000 to be used to buy the diesel needed their ships.

He was particularly generous to the city of Oakland’s impoverished youth. According to the Oakland Tribune he personally funded trips annually for: 5000 to the circus with $2 spending money, 1000 to the Nutcracker and up to 2000 to the Ice Follies. During an Ice Follies’s shows he was present laughing along with the children showing his hands-on nature. He also supported the children at Oakland’s Lincoln Center, which still exists today, by giving the children $10 spending money. For the wards of the county court he built a swimming pool. Daly remained very silent about his personal giving which stands in sharp contrast with the full page ads taken out by his loud blustering business persona. In articles that reference his giving it often says things like, “Daly quietly has been giving…”, “ I don’t want to be mention, I mean it. No way”. In one article describing the various scholarships he set up across the world the author writes that Daly simply won't talk about them. The ease at which he could have but did not tie all his goodwill to his company shows that he seemed to be doing these acts based on his own morality. The mention of his business in the humanitarian sector was in his efforts to hire and provide jobs for minorities which he seems to have accomplished with the construction of his hangar. Some of his goodwill did come with a strings as an article by People magazine says about Daly, “For years he has been heavily involved in Oakland causes and organizations, from the Pop Warner Little Scholars to the United Negro College Fund. He was Grand Marshal of San Francisco's St. Patrick's Day parade in 1972. (He celebrated with a $10,000 party, which Charlie Finley, the parsimonious Oakland A's owner, refused to match when he was similarly honored the next year.) Daly provided a plane for Bob Hope's USO tour of Alaska on the condition that Hope would arrange with the military for Daly to be at the controls of a Phantom jet when it broke Mach 2. (He was.)”

This interesting paragraph paints a picture of a man who generously used his personal fortune to support children, and provide for the community but still wants the thrill of being at Mach 2. His support of the community potentially was brought about in some part from his experience as a child. His father died when Daly was only 15 and in order to help his family (mother, brother and two sisters) he worked multiple jobs. Daly understood first hand how hard it can be for families to get by and likely enjoyed that he was able to make a difference. Unlike many wealthy business owners people today Daly seemed to want to put his money directly into a cause not into a foundation. The help he gave was often directly to the people like the 10,00 check he gave to a small church in Vietnam while “most newsmen weren't looking” or the two $25,000 checks he gave to the red cross in Mexico after a hurricane hit La Paz. He had a documented great dislike for any kind of red tape which may have made his weary of charity organizations simply because they were bureaucratic. In a lengthy profile piece he is quoted as saying, “To hell with these bureaucrats!”. The way he ran his company is further proof of his dislike of bureaucracies because in his company he was the one who finalized all decisions.

His morality towards people is shown most famously in his attempt to save women and children at Da Nang. These efforts cost Daly personally millions of dollars and also almost cost him his life. Daly fed up, after his contracted airlifts had been prematurely canceled, with waiting for approval from the U.S. government and Saigon to provide an airlift he gathered his crew together to help Vietnamese refugees1. His dislike of red tape is illustrated in all accounts of this airlift. In particular Larry Engelmann, who took oral histories of two members of the World crew on that famous flight, recounts that Daly, frustrated at the US embassy for making him wait, tells the ambassador, “You’re nothing but a used car salesman.” He also says that the ambassador was tole he was better suited to be pulling weeds. He clearly had a vision for what he was capable of doing and disliked that there are people that he has to go through to do so. The goal of the airlift was noble but it was doomed from the start. Without official permission he takes off from Saigon. Upon his arrival in DaNang mobs of civilians and soldiers rushed the plane. The plane itself never actually stops taxing while crowds of people clamor to get on. Daly emptying his pistol in the air was unable to restore order and was severely injured trying to prevent soldiers from getting on the plane. When the crew had finally managed to get the ladder up they were attacked with bullets and grenades taking off. This event seemed traumatic enough for most people to be angry at their boss for being so reckless. On the contrary those involved with the airlift regard Daly in that instance as the sole figure trying to help the Vietnamese

Personality

Edward Daly presents a very intriguing figure of a man. He is at the same time, kind, severe, drunk, attentive, caring, strict and generous. This might seem like an impossible number of adjectives to string together but several stories about Daly show just what kind of a man he could be. There is a story aboard the Jolly Green Giant Daly’s private aircraft. He staffed it with World employees and working it was not a desirable task. This one particular day Daly came aboard and sat down with his boots on. He proceeded to ask the flight attendant to help him take them off to which she replied in the negative. Daly mad at her for not helping him, fired her on the spot. When they landed the actual firing did not take place. Daly explained in a later interview that it was the attitude which bothered him and in the circumstances would have insisted a flight attendant take off their shoes.

During the flight Daly sat down to a steak dinner. Realizing there was no sauce he asked for A-1. There was no A-1 stocked on the plane so he fired both flight attendants. When the union representative was asked if firing these employees was Daly’s way of getting back at them the representative laughed and assured that no it was really about the steak sauce.

World executives would receive calls very early in the morning from Daly regularly demanding to know information about the company. This particular morning Daly was calling very angry demanding to know who had had the audacity to repaint the parking strips in the company parking lot. He wanted the strips to be repainted in the morning. Then Daly switched tones completely asking if there was anything he could do for this executive. The executive had a child die recently and the executive remembers how Daly had personally made sure that the best medical care was used. The executive wistfully quotes Daly, “By God, if I ever find out I could have done something, and you didn't tell me about it.”. He was an above average man but treated all people equally. When personally flying a group of people on his personal plane Daly was the last one to show up. Even though the group was flying on his private plane on his dime he still went around introducing himself and shaking everyone’s hand. As one reporter, writing profiling Daly, said that it was not the spectacular Bay view, 18th century Japanese screen or oak desk that made the office the obvious one for Edward Daly but “The essence of power, just like Chanel No.5” that lingered. He must have known about his power because he used it frequently to get what he wanted which sounds selfish but as story in Vietnam shows he was anything but. Daly was furious, his rescue efforts had been stopped but the U.S. embassy in Saigon and they had made him wait ten days for a meeting with the ambassador. He thundered at the ambassador asking him what the big idea was? Didn’t he know Saigon was going to fall within a few weeks? Why was he trying to cover this up and hide the truth from the people who needed to know? What happened after is that Daly did not take "No" for an answer and flew his planes to Da Nang.

Notes and citations

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