Ernie Pyle / Albuquerque New Mexico

If you think back to war reporting during World War Two, the name Ernie Pyle would surely come to mind. Some younger people today might not have heard that name but if you research anything to do with the press and the Second World War, that name will emerge. Ernie Pyle, born in 1900 in Indiana, the son of a farmer. He attended Indiana University and then began his journalist career at a small town newspaper in La Porte Indiana. beginning in 1932 he worked as a travel columnist for the Scripps-Howard chain until the start of World War Two. Pyle later years were as an American journalist who worked as a roving correspondent for the Scripps Howard newspaper chain until his death in 1945 while covering the war in the Pacific. Ernie Pyle was killed by a Japanese sniper while traveling by jeep on a small island off of Okinawa.

Ernie Pyle House/Library, Albuquerque

On your next western road trip there is a very interesting site in Albuquerque New Mexico which at one time was the home of Ernie Pyle and his wife. Today, this home is part of the Albuquerque Public Library system and is an operating library. This out of the way historic site is still visited by thousands of people from all over the world annually. The library includes memorabilia and archives from the quite active life of Ernie Pyle. The City has preserved it carefully and displayed Ernie Pyle memorabilia alongside the library's books.The Albuquerque Library system preserved the house which includes the interior room configuration and even the landscaping and picket fence built by the correspondent. In 1997 the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2006 it was officially made a National Historic Landmark. The address is 900 Girard SE, Albuquerque New Mexico. The Ernie Pyle House site is about one mile north of the Albuquerque Sunport airport and about one mile east of Interstate-25.


As is the life of any roving newspaper correspondent in the 1930's, Ernie Pyle and his wife lived in many places. Originally being from the midwest, Pyle and his wife, after traveling there several times, fell in love with New Mexico and in 1940 built a house there.

Ernie Pyle's first war reporting came from the battlefields in Europe and Africa.People who are familiar with his reporting style know that he would write his stories from the perspective of the common soldier. Many other war stories wired in at the time were from the perspective of the commanders. This one attribute set his reporting style apart from most others. The style of writing that Pyle employed most likely has remained alive in the public's mind because the overall style of journalism has changed so much between then and now. There have been attempts to replicate the style but I don't think anyone has been too successful. People who have read about Ernie Pyles reporting know that he rarely took notes other than to copy down someone's name. He literally stored the information in his mind and then sat down and wrote. He was known to write and rewrite his stories over and over again until he hit on the right message and theme. It was truly different than today's short sound bites. Among the many awards Pyle eventually received for his war reporting was the Pulitzer Prize given to him in New York. Pyle was absent from the ceremony. As a side note, the World War Two journalist/cartoonist Bill Mauldin also won a Pulitzer for his World War Two work. There was a famous quote made by John Steinbeck concerning Ernie Pyle which pretty well sums up his reporting style. The quote was "There is, the war maps and logistics, of campaigns, of ballistics, armies,divisions, and regiments. Then there is the war of homesick, wearly, funny, violent, common men, who wash their socks in their helmets, complain about food, whistle at Arab girls, or any other girls for that matter, and lug themselves through as dirty a business as the world has ever seen and do it with humanity and dignity and courage- and that is Ernie Pyle".

Ernie Pyle

An interesting fact about Ernie Pyle's later coverage of the war in the Pacific was that the Navy had a strict ban on using the actual names of sailors in news reports. Pyle fought this ban with Navy brass and surprisingly he won a victory in that the ban was lifted but lifted only for him. Something I'm sure you wouldn't see happen today. This obviously caused friction between himself and fellow journalists. Some journalists even criticized his work in as much as they accused him of downplaying the Pacific War as opposed to what was going on in Europe. Some of this was brought about by the fact that his first duty was aboard an aircraft carrier and his reporting tended to stress the relatively easier existence than the troops fighting on European battlefields. This easy existence obviously changed when Pyle was ashore on various Pacific islands.

Pyles death was ironic in a few ways. First of all. he supposedly predicted his death. Secondly, he was known to loath being involved in invasions because of the danger. he allegedly only accompanied the troops on the invasion of Normandy on the specific request of General Omar Bradley. Without Bradley's request it is doubtful that Ernie Pyle would have been there on D-Day.In regards to Pyles death premonition, many think that it's been over emphasized in as much as all soldiers disliked invasion scenarios for obvious reasons. Many contend that Pyle's fear was nothing greater than the fear held by virtually all men placed in that position. Yes, he feared the landing on Okinawa but it's said he landed at an area of beach where Japanese resistance was practically nil. A few days later he landed on a nearby island that had already been taken by the marines but wasn't cleared. When an island is taken it doesn't necessarily mean that all danger is gone. There are many places for the enemy to hide for protracted periods on a jungle island.

The end of the war for Ernie Pyle occurred on April 18, 1945 on the small island of Ie Shima. The jeep that Pyle was riding in was fired on by a Japanese machine gun. Pyle and the others dove by the side of the road. When Pyle raised his head to check on the others, he was hit in the head by a sniper's bullet and died instantly.It was reported that in his pocket at the time of his death was a draft of a story about the end of the war in Europe. Ironically, the war in the Pacific ended not too long after Pyle was killed. He was one of the very few civilians who were eventually awarded a purple Heart.