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Ernie Pyle Memorial, Ie-jima, Okinawa, Japan
, better known as
Ernie Pyle (
August 3,
1900 -
April 18,
1945) was an
American journalist, who wrote as a roving correspondent for the
Scripps Howard newspaper chain from
1935 on. His articles were about the out-of-the-way places he visited and the people who lived there, told in a folksy style much like a personal letter from a friend, that won him a loyal following in as many as 200
newspapers.
He was born on a tenant farm near Dana, Indiana and wrote for local newspapers before moving to Washington, D.C.. He became the nation's first aviation columnist and later was managing editor of the Washington Daily News before taking on the national column.
With the entry of the U.S. into World War II, Pyle became a war correspondent, applying his intimate style to the war. Instead of the movements of armies or the activities of generals, Pyle wrote from the perspective of the common soldier, an approach that won him not only further popularity but the Pulitzer Prize in 1944.
In that year, he had written a column urging that soldiers in combat get "fight pay" as airmen were paid "flight pay". Congress passed a law giving soldiers 50 percent extra pay for combat service. The legislation was called "the Ernie Pyle bill."
He reported from the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. Pyle died on Ie-jima, an island off Okinawa Honto, as the result of machine gun fire from an enemy sniper.
Pyle's legacy is preserved at Indiana University, where he began his journalism training. The School of Journalism is housed in "Ernie Pyle Hall," and scholarships originated soon after his death are still given to students who have ability in journalism, the promise of future success in the profession, and a military service record. A major initial contribution to the scholarships came from the proceeds of the world premiere of the film, The Story of G.I. Joe, which starred Burgess Meredith as Pyle.
Bibliography
His columns have been collected into the following books:
- Home Country, from his years roaming the United States
- Ernie Pyle in England (1941)
- Here is Your War (1943). Bison Books Corp (Paperback, 2004). ISBN 0803287771.
- Brave Men (1943-44). Bison Books Corp (Paperback, 2002). ISBN 0803287682.
- Last Chapter (1946)
References
- James Tobin. Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II. Hardcover: Free Press (1997), ISBN 0684836424; Paperback: University Press of Kansas (1998), ISBN 0700608974
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