World War II Woman

Remembering Ernie Pyle

 From my college roommate Kathy 

A ritual in our home each evening was my father reading the daily newspaper; and because I was an avid reader in those teen-age years during WWII, I joined him in this activity each evening. One day I discovered an account written by the memorable journalist Ernie Pyle. His writing was not merely the Who, What, When, and Where that I had learned was essential to a newspaper account but a poignant story about a real soldier who hailed from a small southern town. This soldier had not distinguished himself through some heroic deed in the midst of battle. Instead, we had a new picture of heroism in the endurance of a young man who had slept in a foxhole and fought valiantly in battle after battle in the European theatre of war.

From that day on, I looked for Ernie Pyle’s report in our newspaper, and I was never disappointed. Pyle focused on the ordinary soldiers or Marines with whom he ate and slept and talked. He got them to talk about their hometowns, their folks back home, their wives or girlfriends, their hopes and ambitions. He also succeeded in obtaining information about their attitudes toward the war, so that we gleaned a more intimate picture of the war in Africa, Italy, and even D-Day - right up to the fall of Berlin.

There were undoubtedly events in the war that Pyle did not report - deaths by Friendly Fire or mistakes by officers and the men who served under them. And certainly not all our servicemen acted heroically time after time in the heat of battle. But Ernie Pyle did not see his calling as a journalist to report the cruel realities of war. He saw it as his mission to tell us about the tens of thousands of men and boys who were never noticed as individuals but who were loyal and dedicated and hard-working day after relentless day throughout the war.

Ernie Pyle was just as heroic and dedicated as the men he told us about, since he was present at virtually every major campaign of the war. Although he could have opted out of his job when the war ended in Europe, he instead went on the Pacific theater with his boys. He was on a carrier with the troops heading for Okinawa and made the landing with the Marines, remaining with them as they secured the island.

Ironically, Ernie Pyle did not live to see the war’s end but was killed by a Japanese machine gun bullet on a small atoll in the Ryukus Islands of the Pacific. His devoted boys put up a sign, “At this spot the 77th Infantry Division lost a buddy. Ernie Pyle. 18 April 1945.

A postage stamp has recently been issued to commemorate his honorable service to his country. It reads simply, “Ernie Pyle, Journalist.” Let’s all say thanks by buying the stamp!

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