I would like to tell you about Ernie Pyle. Unless you are 80 or older you have likely never heard of Ernie, who gained fame as a war correspondent during World War II. Sadly, he was killed by a sniper bullet shortly before the end of the war.
Ernie received a Pulitzer Prize for his war reporting during World War II. Unlike most of his peers, who filed their stories from a press room behind the lines, Ernie was out in the trenches, reporting on the “little guys” for Scripps Howard Newspapers. In doing so, he endeared himself to most soldiers and Americans back home who eagerly awaited each day’s dispatch.
But Ernie was writing about “little guys” well before the war, and that’s why I bring him up here. For seven years during the ’30s he wrote six columns a week for Scripps Howard Newspapers as he roamed America with his wife, Jerry. He wrote about regular folks and out-of-the-way places that most journalists didn’t care about. His style was folksy and non-pretentious, and it wasn’t long before his name became a household word. His columns were like letters from a friend. Everybody loved Ernie.
I learned about Ernie Pyle shortly after I began exploring the West for my “on-the-road” newspaper Out West. Although I vaguely recalled his name from my college journalism classes, I was not familiar with him. I found a copy of his book “Home Country” in a used bookstore. After reading a few chapters I, too, fell in love with the little man from Dana, Indiana.
WHEN I LATER LEARNED that he had died during the war, my heart sank. I suspect millions of Americans felt the same way back in 1945, but probably much more acutely.
I wrote about Ernie in my newspaper, Out West. The story focused on my visit to the only home he ever owned, in Albuquerque (now a public library). I’d provide a link to that article, but I think it has flown off into a far, lost corner of Cyberspace.
If you are like me and enjoy exploring the back roads, visiting out-of-the-way places, and chatting with the people you meet, you should thoroughly enjoy reading Ernie Pyle. You might find a copy of “Home Country” at a used bookstore. “Ernie’s America” is also excellent, a biography and a compilation of his best columns from the road.
To read some of Ernie’s words, you can read the essay we post each Veteran’s Day. Get the tissues out, though… Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
MORE ESSAYS BY CHUCK:
- How observing pavement helped create a retailing empire
- How Google has turned against us
- Roadside history: When Burma-Shave entertained America
- The story I blew: The flyswatter repairman of Needles
- RVtravel.com in 2025: A year to celebrate, a year of the unknown
RVT1210
It is good to hear more about Ernie Pyle. I was somewhat aware of his history as I went to kindergarten at Ernie Pyle Elementary in Bellflower, California around 1958.
I’m not 80, but I have not only heard of Ernie Pyle,I read a book about him. His wife traveled with him in the very beginning of his journies around the US, but didn’t travel with him much after that.As I recall, she had some mental issues and that was when he bought the house for her in New Mexico. When the war started, Ernie reported from Europe. When that war ended, he went to the Pacific Theater and was killed on Ie Shima. My Uncle,Harold Gruber was about a mile away from Ernie when he was killed.
I certainly remember Ernie Pyle, we immigrated to USA on S S Ernie Pyle, a troop ship, in 1948
I was born and raised in Albuquerque where Ernie had a home. The home was turned into a public library. I remember going there with my mother when I was a young boy.
Last fall we attended the Parke County, IN covered bridge festival. Parke County is right next door to Ernie Pyle’s birthpace of Dana, IN, in Vermillion County, just off U.S. 36. DW and I stopped at the Ernie Pyle Rest Area on 36, where they also have a very large covered bridge (moved from another location) on display. I would attach a picture, if I could.
Lot’s of Ernie Pyle history and info in that area.
A few years ago, we happened upon Dana, Indiana during the annual Ernie Pyle celebration. Located in the middle of miles of corn fields, Dana is now a town of only 340 people (per the city clerk, who also tends bar at “Shucks”; as in shucking corn). If you’ve never experienced a cake walk, Dana is the place to do it. The cake walk circle is permanently painted on the main street. While the town has it’s share of economic struggles, there is no doubt about it’s sense of pride, community and heritage. It’s a great example of what small town America once was, and still tries to be.
Nice tribute, Chuck, to Ernie Pyle. I’m from Indiana, so I grew up hearing about him.
Thanks to all who paid the ultimate price for our beloved freedoms as Americans.
Thank you for reminding us of Ernie Pyle and why he is important, Chuck! Although a veritable child at a mere 68 years of age, 😉 I heard of Ernie Pyle sometime in my pre-teens. Perhaps the war series of the day — Combat, Twelve O’Clock High, the Rat Patrol, and, in some ways, McHale’s Navy — piqued my interest in both world wars and Korea. I voracially read all I could find. Somewhere I ran across his name, perhaps multiple times. However, this column and your Veterans Day piece serve to put his picture back on the mantle after giving it and its frame a good cleaning. Thank you, have a great holiday and week. Safe travels!
PS, I found his book and bought a copy. Haven’t finish