World War II Database

"In an era before television, Ernie Pyle brought World War II home to millions of Americans", said Bryan Hiatt, WW2DB contributor; "his work appeared in over 400 daily and 300 weekly newspapers."

On 16 Apr 1945, the US Army 77th Infantry Division landed on Ie Shima near Okinawa, Japan; Pyle and Army photographer Alexander Roberts landed with them. On 18 Apr, he was hit in the left temple by a machine gun bullet, killing him instantly. Roberts took a photograph of Pyle after the incident, but the photograph was not circulated, a decision made by the US War Department for the benefit for Pyle's widow.

After 60 years, several copies of this photograph have finally surfaced. For more information on this photograph, please see the MSNBC article Death photo of war reporter Ernie Pyle found. For more on the Pulitzer Prize winner, please see WW2DB's biography of Ernie Pyle.

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