There occasionally are giants among us

The figure in the photograph is clad in military fatigues, boots and helmet, lying on his back in peaceful repose, folded hands holding a military cap. Except for a thin trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, he could be asleep. But he is not asleep; he is dead. This is not just another fallen trooper; it is Ernie Pyle, a celebrated war correspondent of World War II. The description is of the top photograph. The one below is Pyle, left center with a cigarette in his mouth, in life, while on a Marine Corps patrol.

War & Remembrance ....

"It was a lovely day for strolling along the seashore. Men were sleeping on the sand, some of them sleeping forever. Men were floating in the water, but they didn't know they were in the water, for they were dead."

That was the way Ernest Taylor "Ernie" Pyle described the Normandy beachhead the day after Allied troops crossed the English Channel and invaded the European continent. It is said a photograph can portray a thousand words. Maybe it can, but those few words Pyle wrote certainly paint a vivid scene in my mind.

This is not a post per se about Pyle, but a few words and photographs to familiarize those who are not aware of him with him. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent and probably the most celebrated journalist of World War II.

Pyle covered the North Africa campaign, the invasions of Sicily and Italy, and on June 7, 1944, the day after the landings, he went ashore at Normandy.  In the Pacific, Pyle covered the assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He wrote about the experiences of enlisted men, rather than the battles they fought, until on April 18, 1945, he was killed by Japanese machine-gun fire on the island of Ie Shima off the northwest coast of Okinawa.

What popped Pyle into my head was recently watching the "Story of G.I. Joe," a 1945 film about Pyle and his coverage of the Italian campaign. Burgess Meredith played the role of Pyle admirably -- even sort of looked like Pyle. Every day, Pyle and guys like him are falling further and further behind us, so a reminder of their once-upon-a-time presence might keep memory of them alive .... at least for a while longer.