The date was October 1954. The New York Giants beat the Cleveland Indians in the World Series, Dwight D. Eisenhower was in his first term as President, the number one single was Hey There by Rosemary Clooney and Indiana University dedicated a building to one of their distinguished alumni.
The headline reads, "New IU Journalism Building Dedicated." The building was named after famous former wartime reporter, Ernie Pyle. The ceremony included presentations of honorary degrees to five newspaper editors and publishers, including Roy W. Howard from the company that owned The Washington Daily News, the paper Pyle wrote for.
Retired Indiana University Journalism Professor Dr. Owen Johnson says it was a very distinguished group.
"You never see, in IU history, five people getting honorary degrees at the same time," Johnson says.
Pyle served in the United States Navy Reserve during World War I. He then attended Indiana University and became an editor of the Indiana Daily Student. He left one semester shy of graduation to work at the paper in LaPorte, Indiana before finally moving to Washington D.C. and working for The Washington Daily News.
Pyle received a Pulitzer Prize in 1944, which was presented on D-Day, while he was still reporting overseas. His approach to storytelling made him an icon to those who lived through World War II.
"He represented to the American public the best newspaper reports from the war-front. Soldiers told their parents to read Ernie Pyle, parents told their sons and daughters to read Ernie Pyle," Johnson says.
Pyle was killed while on assignment in the Pacific Theater on April 18, 1945 after being hit by Japanese machine-gun fire. A monument was erected on the spot of his death that reads, "At this spot, the 77th Infantry Division lost a buddy, Ernie Pyle".
Ernie Pyle's Childhood home in Dana, Indiana is now a museum dedicated to the famous Hoosier. And a new statue of Pyle may now be seen at the site of the new IU Media School near Franklin Hall on the Bloomington campus.
