Ernie Pyle

[goalmouth]

So well adjusted, he put a shotgun in his mouth, and left some other poor slobs to clean up the mess.

That didn't come out of the blue. He'd had electro-shock therapy and all but lost his ability to write.

 

[Pencil Dick]

Johnny Majors when he was at UT was in his usual surly mood during a teleconference one day when he was asked, "Coach, are there any writers you like?" (He'd earlier been complaining about something written about the Vols that he deemed wrong).

"Well, I like Ernie Pyle," Majors replied.

"Why Ernie Pyle, Coach?" caller asked.

"BECAUSE HE'S DEAD," Majors replied.

End of teleconference.

 

[finishthehat]

This is only tangentially related -- in that it concerns war reporting and a photograph -- but there was an interesting piece in Sunday's NY Times about the discovery of a long-lost collection of negatives shot by Robert Capa.

It will probably settle the question once and for all of whether one of his most famous shots -- the Spanish Civil War fighter falling backwards after getting hit by a bullet -- was staged or not.

 

[Italian_Stallion]

I suppose Seymour Hersh doesn't count these days, but I hold him in high regard, obviously.

 

[Guerrillascribe]

Richard Pyle can write a damn fine story and he did so with this one. I read Ernie Pyle in high school and chanced up on two books, one collecting his reporting from World War II, but the other was a collection of his reporting from the 1930s covering America. He'd get in the car with his wife and travel up and down the country writing stories. It is an amazing read particularly one about a ship captain visiting Norfolk, Virginia, who remarked that he'd been there before during World War I. He was a U-Boat commander and -- forgive my memory if this is not totally correct -- rowed ashore to pick up a newspaper and grab a bite to eat.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

That's a posed body. No doubt about that.

 

[Ace]

That's a posed body. No doubt about that.

Thanks, CSI Simon.

 

[jambalaya]

That's a posed body. No doubt about that.

As a gift to myself after college, I purchased the two book set called "Reporting World War II." In the second volume, Evan Wylie writes on the death of Ernie Pyle.

Wylie wrote: "Army Signal Corps photographer Cpl. Alexander Roberts of New York City proceeded them and was first to reach the body. Pyle lay on his back in a normal resting position. His unmarked face had the look of a man sleeping peacefully. He had died instantly from a bullet that penetrated the left side of his helmet and entered the left temple. His hands folded across his chest clutched his battered cap, said to be the one he carried through his previous campaigns. The litter-bearers placed the body on the stretcher and worked their way slowly back along the ditch under sniper fire. The battle for Ie Shima still remained to be won."

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

That's a posed body. No doubt about that.

As a gift to myself after college, I purchased the two book set called "Reporting World War II." In the second volume, Evan Wylie writes on the death of Ernie Pyle.

Wylie wrote: "Army Signal Corps photographer Cpl. Alexander Roberts of New York City proceeded them and was first to reach the body. Pyle lay on his back in a normal resting position. His unmarked face had the look of a man sleeping peacefully. He had died instantly from a bullet that penetrated the left side of his helmet and entered the left temple. His hands folded across his chest clutched his battered cap, said to be the one he carried through his previous campaigns. The litter-bearers placed the body on the stretcher and worked their way slowly back along the ditch under sniper fire. The battle for Ie Shima still remained to be won."

Hands being in contact with each other after a fall is the giveaway

 

[jgmacg]

Who says he fell?

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

Who says he fell?

I hadn't accounted for his being executed as he slept.

Good point.

 

[goalmouth]

The account I read said Pyle was in a jeep with others when they came under fire. The others jumped from the jeep for cover, Pyle lifted his head and was shot. But it was unclear whether he was in or out of the jeep.

 

[Ace]

It's entirely possible the body was move and "staged" that way by other soldiers but the photo was legit, you know.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

It's entirely possible the body was move and "staged" that way by other soldiers but the photo was legit, you know.

Oh... absolutely.

 

[Italian_Stallion]

Simon, is there anything of which you're not overly critical?