"The streets of Paris are very wide, and they were packed on each side. The women were all brightly dressed in white or red blouses and colorful peasant skirts, with flowers in their hair and big flashy earrings. Everybody was throwing flowers, and even serpentine."
- Liberating the City of Light, Aug. 28, 1944
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| Reporting America at War on PBS |
He subsequently covered America's involvement in the war
from the frontlines in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France and
gained a reputation as "America's most widely read correspondent."At his peak, Pyle's columns appeared in some 400 daily and 300 weekly newspapers. While he wrote about the military at all levels, Pyle lionized the infantryman. He admired the grunts' courage and resoluteness, and once said they were "the guys that wars can't be won without." After his stint in the European theater, Pyle reluctantly yet dutifully accepted an assignment in the Pacific. He was killed by sniper fire in April 1945 on the Japanese island of Ie Shima.
To his readers, Pyle was a master of telling the story of the little guy, of describing the fears and daily strife of soldiers fighting in World War II.
He was not just a passionate writer, however. An early "embedded journalist," he worked alongside the troops, experiencing much of what they did, placing himself in danger as they did.
His columns captured the scene and his reporting humanized the war for many of his readers.
Listen to a reading of the column "Victory in Europe"
Further reading
Home Country
Ernie Pyle in England (1941)
Here is Your War (1943)
Brave Men (1944)
Last Chapter (1946)