The Greatest War Correspondent
BY Herschel Smith
5 years, 6 months ago
During his four years as a war correspondent, Pyle was embraced by enlisted men, officers and a huge civilian public as a voice who spoke for the common infantryman. With his trauma in France, he had become one of them. After sharing so much of their experience, he understood how gravely war can alter the people who have to see it and fight it and live it. He knew that the survivors can come home with damage that is profound, painful and long-lasting. It was a truth that he found hard or even impossible to communicate to the readers back home — and it is a truth that is still difficult and troubling now, 75 years after D-Day.
For a writer to be famous in the states is one thing. For him to be famous and loved by the troops is quite another – loved by the troops because he told their story.
If you haven’t read his reports, you have missed out on an adventure, sometimes dark, sometimes raucous. But always an adventure.
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On June 7, 2019 at 5:08 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
The dirty, ragged and battle-worn GI in the mud and grime considered Ernie Pyle one of his own – and coming from the grunt who’s been in combat, there’s no higher praise. Pyle won the respect of the dog-faced soldiers in the ETO, and then repeated the feat in the Pacific with the Marines and the Navy before being KIA on Okinawa. At the time of his death, Pyle’s work appeared in 400 daily news papers and 300 weekly news publications. He won the Pulitzer Prize when that award still meant something, and President Truman paid tribute to him upon the news of his untimely death. Ernie Pyle – a friend to the fighting man and a great American. Historians still rely upon his work today.