A National Folk Hero
On April 18, 1945, the Associated Press reported: “Ernie Pyle, war correspondent beloved by his co-workers, G.I.s and generals alike, was killed by a Japanese machine-gun bullet through his left temple this morning.” This piece of news wasn’t just a regular report of yet another casualty of war. No, this news stunned the nation – a country that was still mourning the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt six days earlier.
Photo by Granger / Shutterstock
The newspaper’s switchboards were off the hook as callers kept phoning in. The public, as well as the Army, were in mourning. The troops especially were beside themselves, and that’s because Pyle wasn’t just any reporter – he had been a household name during the Second World War and for years afterward.
But what proved to be even more shocking than the news of his death was the photo of it, which only resurfaced 63 years later…