Ernie Pyles Death Photo Found

There is a story that caught my attention due to my great interest in history, and war history in particular. The story is about a much admired war correspondent of World War II, who died during the war, and a photo of that death.

The figure in the photograph is clad in Army fatigues, boots and helmet, lying on his back in peaceful repose, folded hands holding a military cap. Except for a thin trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, he could be asleep. But he is not asleep; he is dead. And this is not just another fallen GI; it is Ernie Pyle, the most celebrated war correspondent of World War II.

As far as can be determined, the photograph has never been published. Sixty-three years after Pyle was killed by the Japanese, it has surfaced, surprising historians, reminding a forgetful world of a humble correspondent who artfully and ardently told the story of a war from the foxholes.

This is a story that should be of interest to young and old alike, but the young in particular, because we are now in another unpopular war, but that has not always been the case. There were some who did not want to fight World War II, but the truth is that it was a war, that for all of its' causes good and bad, gave the world a choice between facism, imperialism, or democracy, and for the most part, the better philosophy won, i.e. democracy, albeit not for all, as demonstrated by the "win" of the "communists" in the Soviet Union, China, and those countries that they engulfed, and enslaved for many years. But the point of this story, is that many "good" men gave their lives to give us freedom, and reminders are needed, and this is just one more appropriate reminder. Thank You!!


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