| The Death of Captain Waskow Italy, January 10, 1944 This is undoubtedly the most famous and most widely-reprinted column by Ernie Pyle. A solemn and weary parade of men serving under Captain Waskow pay heartfelt tribute to the man who commanded |
| Ernie Pyle The GI Correspondent |
In an effort to keep the memory of Ernie Pyle and the fighting men he loved and
wrote about in just about every different theater of operations imaginable, The
Indiana University School of Journalism--Bloomington, with permission from the
Scripps Howard Foundation, has posted a number of Ernie Pyle's best articles from
World War II.
Forty of his memorable columns are posted, some along with audio files of the
columns read by Owen V. Johnson, Associate Professor at the Journalism School, are
available for reading. Professor Johnson is currently working on a book that will
compile all of Ernie Pyle's personal letters, which should give a fascinating look at
the inner thoughts of man who
wrote about in just about every different theater of operations imaginable, The
Indiana University School of Journalism--Bloomington, with permission from the
Scripps Howard Foundation, has posted a number of Ernie Pyle's best articles from
World War II.
Forty of his memorable columns are posted, some along with audio files of the
columns read by Owen V. Johnson, Associate Professor at the Journalism School, are
available for reading. Professor Johnson is currently working on a book that will
compile all of Ernie Pyle's personal letters, which should give a fascinating look at
the inner thoughts of man who
One of the most popular and beloved journalists during the Second
World War was Ernie Pyle. His ability to portray the life of the solider
with feeling, realism and humor made his columns favorites amongst
the men and women he wrote about, the GIs, and painted a
words-eye view for the millions of readers back home. Pyle's ability to
portray what the soldiers sailors and airmen, along with many others,
were going through with such feeling, humor and understanding may
have reflected his own rather troubled personal life.
Whenever he showed up at a new location, where he invariably got
sick right away, Pyle was greeted with enthusiasm from the solders.
They always had new ideas for a column or suggestions on what he
needed to see.
Pyle stayed in Europe for most of the war, starting with the invasion of
North Africa, then Sicily, Italy and then the landings at Normandy on
June 6, 1944. One memorable session with soldiers saw a GI vowing
that his son would not be drafted and he make sure of that by having
him jump off a roof to flatten the arches of his feet, eat chipped glass
to ruin his stomach and finally reading in poor light to destroy his
eyesight.
During World War II, many journalists were killed as they toured the
front lines in search of stories. Pyle felt the odds stacking up against
him as the months and years in harms way ticked away, but he could
not leave the men he loved so much before the war was over. As a
result, after leaving Europe after D-Day, the great Ernie Pyle was
killed by a sniper on the island of Ie Shima, just off Okinawa during
that monumental battle which saw the kamikazes emerge as a deadly
force.
World War was Ernie Pyle. His ability to portray the life of the solider
with feeling, realism and humor made his columns favorites amongst
the men and women he wrote about, the GIs, and painted a
words-eye view for the millions of readers back home. Pyle's ability to
portray what the soldiers sailors and airmen, along with many others,
were going through with such feeling, humor and understanding may
have reflected his own rather troubled personal life.
Whenever he showed up at a new location, where he invariably got
sick right away, Pyle was greeted with enthusiasm from the solders.
They always had new ideas for a column or suggestions on what he
needed to see.
Pyle stayed in Europe for most of the war, starting with the invasion of
North Africa, then Sicily, Italy and then the landings at Normandy on
June 6, 1944. One memorable session with soldiers saw a GI vowing
that his son would not be drafted and he make sure of that by having
him jump off a roof to flatten the arches of his feet, eat chipped glass
to ruin his stomach and finally reading in poor light to destroy his
eyesight.
During World War II, many journalists were killed as they toured the
front lines in search of stories. Pyle felt the odds stacking up against
him as the months and years in harms way ticked away, but he could
not leave the men he loved so much before the war was over. As a
result, after leaving Europe after D-Day, the great Ernie Pyle was
killed by a sniper on the island of Ie Shima, just off Okinawa during
that monumental battle which saw the kamikazes emerge as a deadly
force.
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| Tank Battle at Sidi-Bou Zid The Tunisian Front, March 1, 1943 This is the first of several columns that Pyle wrote about a tank battle. More than once he broke up a longer story into several pieces, which ran in newspapers over several days. Some of Pyle's comments in the early part of this column are particularly interesting after the experience of the embedded journalists in the recent US-Iraq war. The modern reporters didn't need to deal with Pyle's challenge: telling the story of a defeat. |
| Mobile Maintenance Normandy, July 26, 1944 Pyle marveled at the men who fixed things that were broken. Everything from jeeps, light trucks, small arms and light artillery. One of the first to land in France, Pyle found to be very proud of their work. |
| Bill Mauldin: Cartoonist Italy, January 15, 1944 Members of the Armed Forces admired cartoonist Bill Mauldin just about as much as they admired the writing of Ernie Pyle, as Pyle explains in his column. |
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| Killing is All That Matters Algiers, December 1, 1942 In this column, Pyle explains how servicemen going into battle will be changed by the experience. |
| Buck Eversole: One of the Great Men of the War Italy, February 21, 1944 Sergeant Frank "Buck" Eversole, for Pyle, symbolized the best qualities of a man in command of troops. Quiet and committed, a man from talked more about the West than the war Pyle. He wrote several columns about Eversole, this one must be read to be apprecated. |
| Brave Men, Brave Men Tunisia, September 22, 1943 This column shows how the war has turned soldiers, especially those in the First Infantry Division, into hard-nosed fighters and killers. |
| The God-Damned Infantry Tunisia, May 2, 1942 From one of Ernie Pyle's most famous columns, these words celebrate foot soldiers. |
| Mapping and Engineering the War Sicily, September 2, 1943 This is one of several columns that Pyle wrote about the soldiers who kept the Army going by building roads, bridges, and clearing the way for much need supplies. |
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| This is the dust jacket of a May, 1945 printing of Ernie Pyle's Here is Your War. *Click Either Image to Enlarge* |
| This back of the dust jacket of Here is Your War. Notice the announcement of the 1945 movie, The Story of G.I. Joe, about Ernie Pyle. The movie was directed by William Wellman and starred Burgess Meredith as Pyle. Meredity and Pyle are pictured together, top left, with a scene from the movie on the right. |
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| Bill Mauldin The Most Famous WWII Cartoonist |
| "Nonsense. S-2 reported that machine gun silenced hours ago. Stop wiggling your fingers at me." |
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| "Them rats! Them dirty, cold-blooded, sore-headed, stinkin' Huns! Them atrocity-committin' skunks ..." |
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| "Must be a tough objective. Th' ol' man says we're gonna have th' honor of liberatin' it." |
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| "Look at an Infantryman's eyes and you can tell how much war he has seen" - Bill Mauldin creator of Willie & Joe |
| "Able Fox Five to Able Fox. I got a target but ya gotta be patient." |