Pyle, Ernie

Pyle, Ernie (1900–45) journalist, born Ernest Taylor Pyle in Indiana. Pyle studied journalism at Indiana University. His first job was as a reporter for the La Porte Herald, in La Porte, Indiana; he then moved on to the Scripps-Howard paper the Washington Daily News. He worked for several other papers, including two in New York City, before returning to the Daily News, of which he became managing editor in 1932. In 1935 he became a roving reporter for Scripps-Howard, writing amusing columns based on his experiences traveling around the United States. During World War II, he reported from London on the effects of the German bombardment on the average citizen, describing vividly the courage of the British amid the amorality of war. In 1942 and 1943, he reported from North Africa, covering the bloody battles there. He followed the troops during the invasion of Italy in 1943 and won the 1944 Pulitzer Prize for journalism for his affecting, colorful, compassionate reporting of that campaign. He landed in Normandy the day after D-Day (June 6, 1944) and accompanied French troops into Paris. He was covering the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa when he was killed by Japanese fire.