>> From the Library of
Congress in Washington DC.
>> Donald Scott: Good
afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon and welcome
to wartime journalist here
at the Veterans History Project.
I am Donald Scott, the
Deputy Librarian of Congress.
And I want to say
to you that this--
well, this is the last session
for wartime story,
journalist stories.
It does not mean it's the
last effort we'll make
to collect the stories
of veterans.
I also want to take this
opportunity to let you know
that we are blessed today
and honored to have one
of the two members of
Congress who actually started,
who actually started this
Veterans History Project.
And it was back in
the year of 2000
and Representative
Ron Kind along
with Representative Amo Houghton
were the two from the House
who put a legislation to
have a nationwide effort
to capture the stories
of veterans who served
in World War I, World
War II, Korea,
Vietnam and the gulf course.
And so, I wanted you to
know that your memoirs
of Congress are always
thinking about what is important
from your-- and I
think you would agree
that the Veterans History
Project along with his--
the World War II memorial
is one of the better things
that [inaudible] ever
done for this country.
So would you please?
[ Applause ]
World War.
Representative Houghton.
>> Amo Houghton: Thanks so much.
Well, ladies and gentlemen,
we're delighted that
you're here.
This is a very important
session.
Not only are we going to
be listening to people
who really ran the
journalism during the war
but also it's a plea that if you
have stories please tell them.
Let me tell you my story.
I had a father who's at World
War I and I never had any bit
of his story put on paper
and I finally got one
of those Sony video cameras
and literally six months before
he died, I got him to talk
about his experiences
in World War I.
I don't know why it
is, it just happened.
It was-- just happens.
We're going to have to do
that on a more regular basis.
There are extraordinary stories
to be told not only for you
to get them out and share them
but also for future generations.
So, thank very much
for being here.
Keep that in mind and there
will be other opportunities
to tell your stories.
What I like to do is
to introduce my co-moderator
Sandra Jontz.
And the whole subject
is, you know,
covering the wartime journalism.
Sandra is really some person.
She is now the-- one of
the two Pentagon reporters
for Stars and Stripes.
She's traveled all over the
world from Iraq to Haiti
to Guantanamo Bay to
Bosnia to Croatia.
She grew up in the military.
Her father was maybe I
think, Sandra, for 30 years.
And so she knows all
of about this subject
and she will kick this thing on.
And then we'll introduce
the individuals here.
And then ultimately we'll take
questions in the audience.
Sandra, go ahead.
>> Sandra Jontz: Good afternoon.
Again, thank you so
very much for coming.
As the representative has
said it's so important for us
to get these stories,
to listen to them,
to hear them and
to document them.
And we've got a rare opportunity
this afternoon to listen to two
of the stories firsthand.
I'd like to introduce retired
Army Colonel Peter Sweers Jr.
[ Applause ]
And just so that
I get it correct,
I'm going to read
his little bio here.
He was born in Chicago Illinois
and he joined the army in 1942.
He was commissioned
as a second lieutenant
in the Coast Artillery Corps in
1943 and then served two years
in Europe, participating
in six major campaigns
from late January 44
until November of 1945.
Following World War II, he was
the OIC of Armed Forces Radio
in Okinawa and served
for three years
as the chief information
officer at the Pentagon.
He is also a veteran of
Korea and the Vietnam War.
His last assignment before
retiring from the army
in late 1969 was editor in
chief of Stars and Stripes.
During the Vietnam
conflict, he was there
from '67, '68, and '69.
And the paper at that time had
a circulation reaching a peak
of 300,000.
Since leaving the
military service,
Colonel Sweers has been
an assistant superintend
and Labor Relations director
for the school districts
in Los Angeles area and
an associate professor
of journalism at Murray State
University and vice president
of public relations at Gonzaga
University in Washington State.
His last management position
was employee relations manager
for Peterbilt' motors
division in California.
Thank you for being here.
[ Applause ]
>> Peter Sweers:
Thank you very much.
That's a wonderful introduction.
Good afternoon ladies
and gentlemen.
I'm honored to have been
selected to participate
in the Library of Congress's
Veterans History Project
and to be included with
the many veterans attending
of the emotional dedication
of the World War II Memorial.
In 1942, as Sandra said, I
joined the United States army
and in early '43,
I was commissioned
as second lieutenant
in the Coast Artillery
Corps later known
as Anti-aircraft
Artillery and now known
as the Air Defense Artillery.
Sixty-two years ago at the
age of 20, it's very difficult
to comprehend the danger
and excitement of combat.
I served two years in
Europe and participated
in the major campaigns in
Germany, France, Belgium,
Great Britain and
the Netherlands.
Many dangerous times
and many happy memories,
for almost two years I can
recall several exciting events.
Several impressed this then
21-year-old lieutenant.
We entered Normandy
with Patton's 3rd Army,
however while defending Paris,
we were ordered on the 3rd
of November to proceed
immediately to Antwerp.
The story I'm going to tell
you is very little known,
but a very important
part of World War II.
We are ordered to setup a
defense against the pilot--
piloted aircraft or V-1s
a few weeks earlier,
and few weeks prior to that,
Field Marshal Montgomery,
the British 11th Armored
Division captured Antwerp.
It was a-- It was the
largest port in Europe.
And it was apprised and
a stroke of good fortune.
The allies were hard pressed
for the vital flow of supplies.
The retreating Germans
had destroyed every port
in France along the coast
and with winter coming,
the improvised ports would
gradually be put out of action.
Intelligence told us that
the Germans would make an all
out effort with the V-1s to
destroy Antwerp and this port.
And as we all know here,
they try it again
during what is known
as the Battle of the Bulge.
This was a secret command known
as Antwerp X. It was commanded
by Brigadier General
Clare Armstrong
who was United States
military class of 1917
who taught this young
lieutenant a lot.
In the next several months,
4,883 V-1s were launched
at Antwerp.
By the 15th in November,
our brigade had four groups
and 15 battalions of
90 millimeter guns.
During this 154 day attack,
I was the operations officer
at the command headquarters
working all night
to provide early warning to
our gunners without stop.
Our command post was
teaming with activity.
We were on the alert
for enemy parachutists
and a new a problem, General
von Rundsedt was moving
and the German panzers
were now just 74 miles
from Antwerp in our
headquarters.
Montgomery, Field Marshal
Montgomery was short
of anti-tank weapons
and he asked
for our 90 millimeter guns.
We sent seven battalions of
90 millimeters trucks and men
to the Field Marshal
Montgomery's defenses.
And prior to the Battle of the
Bulge, the Lufwaffe, believe it
or not, attacked them.
We destroyed six Nazi planes
and damaged several
others in February.
In late February,
it finally ended.
Only 211 missiles penetrated
the defense and 2,394 missiles,
as you can tell I did
my homework last night,
would have hit the
port if not engaged.
Our nurse were on edge, the
constant roar of artillery day
and night, continuous
earthshaking concoctions
as V-1s we missed hit the earth
all around us, hard to sleep,
busy, lousy cold and smell.
Few ever heard about this
great success because Antwerp X
and its mission were kept secret
until the latter
part of April 1945.
Field Marshall Montgomery
in April of 1945 stated
and I quote, "The
success of the gunners
of the 50th Brigade has
kept them full operation,
the port of Antwerp, the
main supply base of the 12th
and 21st Army groups."
As you all know the 12th
group was General Omar
Bradley's group.
The results have been
achieved only by continuous day
and night firing and continuous
moving of units back and forth
as we adjusted the units
to where the missiles
were coming from.
"I wish to"-- this is
Montgomery continuing,
"congratulate all
ranks upon the success
of this major operation."
Then in the latter part of July,
prior to the defense of Antwerp,
our Brigade moved to a few
miles south of San Mallow
which had stubbornly held out.
We shelved at San
Mallow day and night
and when San Mallow finally fell
two weeks later, the surrender
of the mad Colonel German of
the San Mallow Citadel was dead.
And however, the
port was determined
to be destroyed and
no longer able.
Now fortunately, we
all are limited in time
or I would continue
another eventful episodes
but I'd like to turn it back.
[ Applause ]
>> Amo Houghton:
Thanks very much.
Now, we're going to
turn to Barrett McGurn.
Barrett is very famous man,
he's just written a book.
You can get some pamphlets over
here, Yank, the Army Weekly
and he'll tell you all about it.
But Barrett was a 20-year
war correspondent in Europe
and North Africa and Asia.
He was a South Pacific
war correspondent.
But for Yank, he received, he
was wounded in Bougainville,
received the Purple Heart
military commendation medal.
And further more,
and more importantly,
he's soon as to be a
ripple age of 90 years old.
Is that right?
So, let me introduce
you to Barrett McGurn.
[ Applause ]
>> Barrett McGurn: Thank
you all for being here today
to commemorate the war
correspondents of World War II.
I was the correspondent--
>> Amo Houghton: A
little closer, yeah.
>> Barrett McGurn: I was the
correspondent for Yank Magazine
which was almost unknown
to the civilian population
during World War II
because we were an
internal army publication,
but I don't know how many of you
remember Yank but every person
in the armed forces
did read our magazine.
We were something unique in
military history and it's--
in journalism history
[inaudible]
because we were the
first global publication.
When World War II started,
a few fellows would--
been on Stars and
Stripes in 1918 said
that during the new war spread
all over the world we would have
to have a magazine
rather than a newspaper.
As it turned out we wind
up both with both of them,
Stars and Stripes
are the daily paper
and Yank is a weekly magazine.
What they had in mind was you're
going to have to have something
that can be circulated around
the world and you can't do
that with a daily paper.
So, as it worked out, we
had seven-- we were in--
we had 21 subsidiary printing
prints around the world
in 17 countries and we had
a staff of only a 140 men.
We were organized just
as an army company.
What was decided was was
decided by Franklin D. Roosevelt
and George Marshall and
secretary was Gibson
that we needed a publication
for enlisted men
talking to enlisted men.
So we had all the-- we
could not be any higher
than rank of a sergeant.
Some of us got commissions and
were instantly thrown off Yank.
But inside Yank, we had the
best job in the armed forces
because we had a first
sergeant in charge of us.
In fact on 42nd Street
in Manhattan and the 140
of us was spread right
around the globe.
In my own case, I was sent out
to the Pacific as a corporal,
two stripes, with 6 billion
square miles of blue ocean
in which I was free to
travel as I pleased.
If I didn't like a command
that I was in, I just left it.
That was a dream, no
corporal could do that.
But we were very honest.
We took-- we cover the
war with brutal honesty.
There was no propaganda.
One that was awful.
We told it the way it was,
and so we had credibility.
We also decided that you
can't have a free handout
because nobody reads
a government handout,
so we charge the soldiers
5 cents which was one third
of what you would had
to pay for the magazines
of that time [inaudible].
And because they paid 5 cents,
they read it, and shared it.
The one exception
was that the fellows
in combat got Yank free
along with the Russians.
We had our share
of purple hearts,
half of them were posthumous.
The other half of which I was
put was one fortunately was not
posthumous even though in my
own case I still have some
of that Japanese water
wandering around inside.
In New York where I was
reported just before the war,
one of the stories was we
sold off the 3rd Avenue Ill.
All that nice metal went out
to Japan, it was a good way
to get money out of scrap but it
also gave them plenty material
to put in the [inaudible].
So, I feel myself that I wrote
a lot of the 3rd Avenue Ill
and now the 3rd Avenue
Ill is running at me.
I've asked by my sons and
my grandchildren to pass
out to you copies of
the story of Yank.
When he was 90 years old,
my commander in chief,
Colonel Forsberg [assumed
spelling] said to me,
you've got to tell the story
of Yank, so I wrote the story
and the-- anybody who
uses these gets a discount
because it will be
actually out in October.
Thank you for being with us.
>> Amo Houghton: Yeah.
Thank you very much.
That was a free commercial
as you can see
and I hope you buy a
lot of these books.
Now, let me ask you a question.
You didn't have any officers
in this organization,
is that right?
>> Barrett McGurn:
Well, we had--
We did have officers but only
for administrative personnel.
They would see to it that
we stayed in the army
but the editorial control,
everything that went
into the magazine was our
own choice as private TFCs,
corporals and sergeants,
something unsinkable
in military history.
In fact chain of command
generals like [inaudible]
and Patton pulled home a
brilliant [inaudible] neither
of whom could ever
understand Yank.
How is it possible to allow the
number one morale instrument
in the hands of enlisted men?
But one reason why it
worked was all of a sudden,
the staff really
believed in the war.
The nation had been attacked
and we had to defend ourselves
so we would not [inaudible].
And for that reason,
Yank survived.
>> Amo Houghton: Yeah.
But with Franklin Roosevelt
and General Marshall for you,
could you tell an officer to go
to hell and get away with it?
>>Barrett McGurn: Well, we told
him to go to hell in a nice way.
We had cartoons in every issue.
We started off making
fun of second lieutenants
and gradually got more courage
until toward the end
we were making fun
of two star major generals
but only in cartoons.
On one case I do remember, I
arrived out in Bougainville
where eventually I got shot.
And my first thought was begin
to tell the story of
the soldiers here.
And the major general in command
of the division sent a sergeant
down to see me and he said
the general is taking a jeep
up to the front lines tomorrow
and he's got space in the jeep.
He doesn't care one
way or the other.
But if you want to
arrive with him, you know,
you can get back at the jeep.
I thought that was not a
very insisting invitation
until I said well, thanks.
My odd is to [inaudible]
needs to build [inaudible]
so we can do his paintings.
And anyway our job, you
know, is not to hang
around with generals, our
job is to listen and--
but think just the same.
Later on, I learned out
that corporals never say
that to major generals.
And we will then dismayed
because we found out that also
in the jeep was Lieutenant
Colonel Gene Tunney
who had been the Heavyweight
Champion of the World.
He was the one who took the
heavyweight championship away
from the Manassa
Mauler, Jack Dempsey.
He was also in the jeep and both
Bob and I were great boxing fans
and we missed a chance to
have a date with Gene Tunney.
Later on, after we left
Bougainville, I got a letter
from the general, he
wasn't mad at us anymore,
but he was fascinated that our
stories would be published all
over the world and nobody was
hearing about his division.
So he said, please, come
back to my division.
But we were scattered
over thousands
of miles the Pacific Ocean.
We couldn't make it.
>> Amo Houghton: All right.
Now, would it be all right if
we ask the colonel over here
from officer standpoint
what he thinks about this.
>> Peter Sweers:
About this event here?
>> Amo Houghton: Yeah?
>> Peter Sweers: Well,
let me say, that this--
I'm proud to be an American when
I walk through the World War II.
[ Applause ]
I am also lucky to have served
my country during that period.
And what I want to remember
about is is the 16
million comrades of mine,
400,000 who unfortunately
can't be here today.
And I think we all owe
them a vote of thanks.
So that's my feeling about
the World War II Memoir.
>> Amo Houghton: Sandra, would
you like to ask some questions?
>> Sandra Jontz: In today's
age of embedded journalists
of 24-hour cable channels, tell
me how you view the journalist
and how they're covering the
wars, the conflicts of today.
And if you could talk to the
correspondents out there,
the wars correspondents, what--
what would you impart to them?
What knowledge, what
experience, what advice?
>> Peter Sweers: That's--
Can you hear me all right?
That's a very, very
good question.
As you know I was
editor-in-chief of Stars
and Stripes in the Pacific
during the Vietnam conflict.
And I think what we have to
do-- I'll give you an example.
Last week in the
Washington Post page one,
a good journalist' lead story is
always on the right on page one.
And the lead story was
about the investigation
of the prisoner conflict,
you know, in Iraq.
So, that disturbed me a little
bit because the president
of the United States
had just, that very day,
visited the Pentagon and
reinfirm that he was not going
to do anything to the secretary
of Defense suppose we're
going to keep him up.
I felt that was the lead story.
So, I went down to
the library and looked
at the New York Times
and I was correct.
I went and looked at the
Washington Times, I was correct.
I looked at USA Today
and I was correct.
And I told the Washington Post,
you need to go back
to journalism school.
>> Amo Houghton: Thanks
very much, Colonel.
>> Sandra Jontz: Well, we'll
have you answer the question
and then I'll introduce
our new panel member.
>> Barrett McGurn: Something
like Yank Magazine
can never be refuted.
Know the-- a time of instant
communications that's supposed
to pass-- that we were
amended to do even
with our printing
prints around the world.
Yank was unique [inaudible].
>> Sandra Jontz: And Jack--
Joining us now, we've
Jack Pulwers.
Thank you very much
for being here.
We really do appreciate it.
We were speaking earlier
about how important it is
that you tell your story
and that we're able
to record your stories.
Jack is a man of great academic
tradition having earned degrees
from Louisiana State
University, Catholic University
and the Air War College.
He served his country as an
infantry man during World War II
and followed his
military service
with a distinguish
career as a news, radio,
and broadcast journalist.
He has head the departments
of history and journalism
at the Institute of Art and
Design in Brooklyn New York,
Washington Hall College
and the Pan Media Center
in Washington DC.
He was a co-founder of the
Department of Journalism
when serving as an
Associate Professor
at Bowie State University
in Maryland.
He regard-- He's regarded as an
expert in World War II history
in military journalism
and has been an advisor
to several TV networks and
especial documentaries.
Welcome, sir.
>> Jack Pulwers: Well, thank you
for those kind words [applause].
Thank you.
Let me tell you something.
If you thought World War II was
a total war, you ought to go
out there in that traffic
right now, believe me [laughs].
OK. I put down a few notes.
So I'd like to read to you
because it's all excerpted
from my book which is
called the "Press of Battle:
The GI Reporter and
the American People".
And I want to tell you a
little bit about the book
because that's a little bit
about what World War
II's writing, fighting,
and sighting is all about.
I call it that.
It's the photographers, and
the writers, and the artist,
wonderful people all
scrounging for the same thing
to get news back
home to the people.
And you had 845 pages
in this book
with about 400 interviews
and 350 photographs.
I can't tell you it was
a real struggle getting
that book going.
For 30 years, my wife who was
in the audience right now--
would you stand up sweetheart?
You're the best because believe
me, she fought World War II.
That's Florence.
And to the great people who
are on this panel with me,
I am honored and I consider it
a privilege to be with you all.
And thank you for coming
and enjoying this
wonderful day together.
The "Press of Battle" has a
chronology of the development
of the press between 1900
and 1946 contains the history
of Stars and Stripes from
World War I to World War II.
Yank, Army Weekly, the great
navy magazine all hands
and the Coast Guard news
service, the Clipper started
by the first Coast Guard
combat correspondent.
Guess who that was.
None other than Alex Haley
the author of "Roots".
He was in there too and
the Marine Corps Gazette
and the famous Leatherneck.
The "Press of Battle"
outlines the history.
The camp newspapers of World
War I and II tells the story
of Harry Craft among
hundreds of others
who develop radio
stations in Alaska,
part of the Armed
Forces Radio Network
and a newspaper called
The Kodiak Bear.
Now, he smeared bear grease on
the front page of his newspapers
to get the genuine smell
of the Alaska North.
His captive thought that
that stunk so bad that he cut
out the bear grease all together
and write down Harry Craft.
The development of all
this service related papers
and magazines from the
1800s on to 1946 is
in the "Press of Battle".
The "Press of Battle"
contains a one of a kind list
of the accredited reporters
of World War II and a list
of those reporters,
photographers,
and newsman who fell in battle
and there were many of them.
Barrett, you're on
that list too.
The book tells a story about the
continuity between World War I
and World War II and talks
about the greatest artist
such as Howard Brody of Yank,
George Baker of Sad Sack,
fame and of course Bill Mauldin,
the inevitable great cartoonist.
This was the strange phenomena
unheard of in any war before.
The enlisted men had taken over
the newspapers and the news,
they were all enlisted
men, great photographers
such as William Stiken [assumed
spelling] and Jeff Corey
of the navy and of
course [inaudible]
of Yank whom Barrett
talks about.
The first of its kind and in the
service magazine, whoever heard
of that before World War
II, Yank was a great,
great publication for that.
And the top newsmen and
women everywhere joined
in the services.
They were drafted or enlisted.
They all wore the uniform
and were trained for combat
and all were embedded.
They explained to Americans
and to the world about the war
and what it was all about.
And this was the first
unheard of before.
They created then the great
motion picture series.
How many heard of why we fight?
The series with Frank Capra,
producer and leading the way,
they created the
Armed Forces Radio
that target largest radio
network in the world,
360 stations world wide carrying
the voice of lovely G.I.
Jill. Her name was Jill
Werner, a friend of mine,
settled in Hawaii after the war.
She got 2,000 letters a day.
And she was the sweet
woman's voice
for the guys reminding
them of a girl back home
and defeating Axis
Sally and Tokyo Rose,
how many heard of those people?
You bet you.
Profile, news hungry troops and
sailors, the answer unheard off
in history that great Stars
and Stripes newspapers,
the Yank Magazine and the
All Hands, the magazine
of the sailor and marine
combat correspondents known
as [inaudible], the best news
man in the nation who went
out to fight and put
their lives on the line.
They all wore the
uniform and all were
in the war for the duration.
They were children of
the Great Depression.
And as Bill Mauldin, the
marvelous cartoonist and editor
of Stars and Stripes told me, he
said, we came up in the school
of hard knocks and they knew it
and they knew how
it was to be hungry.
In this case, they were
treating the people food, news,
they were hungry for
news wherever they went.
The "Press of Battle" points
out how the American people
and the troops that fought
the war were hungry for news
as never in history
before or since.
This hunger for news in a total
war and in the darkest hours
of our country's history
created the need for Stars
and Stripes read
everywhere in 32 editions
around the world reaching
3 millions circulation
at the height of the war and
they were inspired by the greats
of the journalism
profession by the way.
The first army press officer
1916, guess who that was?
General Douglas MacArthur.
He was a colonel at that time.
Who like General Black Jack
Pershing headed the American
expeditionary force of World
Ward I, both Eisenhower
and MacArthur regarded the Stars
and Stripes as their papers.
Profile, telling the truth the
news, they create news stories
and tell the truth
about the news.
My book, "The Press of Battle"
tells for the time the fact
that the army had a news policy.
For the first time in history
of any military establishment
anywhere in the world,
military policy was,
to tell like it is.
In other words for the first
time, the army, the navy,
the air force, the marines, and
coast guard had a news policy.
What's more?
The Stars and Stripes created
that policy in World War I
and it went on through
World War II--
>> Amo Houghton: Hey, Jack,
can I interrupt just a minute
because we're going to have
to get some questions
from the audience.
>> Jack Pulwers: Sure.
>> Amo Houghton: You're
pretty close to the end here?
>> Jack Pulwers: OK.
I'm getting right to the end.
>> Amo Houghton: All right.
>> Jack Pulwers: Let me read
the last paragraph here.
>> Amo Houghton: All right.
>> Jack Pulwers: There was the
great Invasion of Normandy.
Stripes was there.
Sergeant [inaudible] of Stripes
scaled the clips on gliders,
Andy Rudy [assumed spelling]
of Stars and Stripes went
over with the bombers and
that persuasive reporter
for UP Walter Cronkite
went over with the bombers.
On the pacific side there was
young John Bushemi of Yank
who lost his life
taking pictures
for Yank Magazine in Eniwetok.
The man of Stripes and all
the rest of the man and women
in black reporters too and
women reporters put their lives
on the line all knew
why they were there
in our country is forever
grateful to them all.
They died for us so that
we could live another day
and freedom that
were all carried
in the "Press of Battle".
Thank you.
>> Amo Houghton:
That's terrific Jack.
Thanks very much.
Let's give Jack a
hand [applause].
Now, Sandra, is it all
right if I do this?
Can I ask one question?
And then I'd like to come out
into the audience, I'll just--
I'll hand the mic to you
whoever has the question.
But the question I'd like to
ask the panel is first of all,
what was the single most
underreported story of War II?
>> Barrett McGurn:
Well, I thought the--
I thought that as a
correspondent in the Pacific,
that I would try to sample every
kind of combat and so I rode
with the PT boats, I flew
with the artillery spotters.
I went out with the-- fighting--
the troops that had gone into
the interior as advance troops.
But the ones-- And I've
traveled with the destroyers,
with the LSTs, the
landing ship tanks,
and also with the cruises, but
the one that I always wanted
to do and never could do was the
heroic story of the submarines.
That remain the greatest
lost story of the war.
Men who risked their lives
died deep in the ocean
and sank a large part
of the Japanese fleet.
That's the lost story
of the war.
>> Peter Sweers: There are many,
so many that I won't take your
time, but I gave you one that--
about Antwerp back
since I started.
That's a non-reported story.
And it was really lost because
the end of the war was coming,
we were capturing Berlin,
et cetera, et cetera,
but there are many
of them, many.
>> Jack Pulwers: The greatest
story of World War II, I think,
was the time when the
great merchant marine
of America gathered their forces
together as small as they were
and escorted those outline-- the
outdated destroyers to England
to help them win the war.
And they lost so many men
and they sank the ships
but they carried on.
The story of the merchant
marine is one fantastic story
and it's still unheard of.
I think they deserve credit.
>> Amo Houghton: OK, Sandra.
We got buzz all over here.
He wants to ask a
question to Jack.
>> Jack, did you know Mack
Morriss and Howard Brodie
who wrote for Yank Magazine?
>> Jack Pulwers: Yes, I did.
I knew Howard Brodie very well.
And he was-- he was spectacular,
one of the great sketch
artists of all time.
He later went to CBS News
by the way to draw portraits
of inside the court room where
they couldn't get reporters
and then photographers.
>> I spent an entire day
posing for him in our B-17
which appeared in Yank Magazine.
He did our tail gunner.
He did-- me, I was
a side gunner,
radio operator and side gunner.
And he-- we posed there
for the entire hot jungle--
hot tropic afternoon
while he drew us.
And it appeared in
mag-- Yank Magazine.
>> Jack Pulwers:
Terrific, terrific.
I believe--
>> Barrett McGurn: Howard
Brodie was a close friend
of mine and still is.
He lives out in California now.
He had a brilliant career
after the war as a--
as Jack just mentioned
as a courtroom artist.
During the war, Bill
Mauldin, the famous cartoonist
of the war, tells a story
that he met Howard Brodie
crossing one of the rivers
in Italy and he got a
little too [inaudible].
So Mauldin thought it was his
best contribution of the war was
to stay alive and keep drawing
the cartoon of Willie and Joe.
So he turned around
and went back.
That was the last he saw of
Howard until they finally got
across the river, he crossed it
and there was Howard
on the other side.
He had just stayed with
the front line and gone
through to the other side.
He was a man of immense
sensitivity.
And he wept as he did some of
his sketches of ruined soldiers.
At one point the editor of the--
of the Paris Edition of
Yank said that he want
to do an editorial saying
you've got to fight the enemy.
If you see even one of
the women, you know,
the pregnant German women,
kick them in the stomach.
Howard went to him and said,
you know, we were a democracy
on this publication, I forbid
you to write that editorial
and it was suppressed.
Howard Brodie was
one of our greatest.
>> Peter Sweers: There
is another untold story
of World War II that I
didn't tell you about.
I would like to introduce
to you my sweetheart,
colleague sweetheart,
best friend and my wife
of 62 years believe it or not.
Wanda?
[ Applause ]
Is there any other questions?
>> Yes. This is a
question for Barrett.
Barrett, will you tell us
something about the people
on Yank who were
killed during the war?
I was thinking for example of
Johnny Bushemi, who was a friend
of mine, killed at Tarawa--
Barrett, I was asking
you to tell us about some
of correspondent's, the
Yank people in particular--
>> Jack Pulwers: I could
name a couple of those.
>> -- who lost their
lives during the war.
I was thinking particularly
of Johnny Bushemi
with whom [inaudible]
on the local paper before
he was killed at Tarawa.
>> Barrett McGurn:
Two of our greatest--
>> Jack Pulwers: I
could answer part
of that question--
hold on Barrett.
>> Barrett McGurn: -- on
Yank magazine were two
of our photographers, Johnny
Bushemi and Pete Paris.
And the curious thing about
Yank was we got on there
in the beginning, many of us
draftees, some of us volunteers,
and Yank became so
important to us
that they totally absorbed us.
And in the case of Johnny
Bushemi, he was killed by--
near water, out in the Pacific,
and the last words he said,
it sounds like something
out of a Pete movie was,
be sure you get my
copy back to Yank.
In the case of Pete Paris, he
was in the Invasion of Normandy
and unhappily, he
took a direct hit.
His-- One of his
legs was blown off.
So he was scooped up,
a medic stayed with him
and the medic said to
him, what is your unit?
He said it was Yank magazine.
He said, Yank magazine,
what's that?
Pete went crazy, he
forgot all about his leg.
He said, Yank, you should know
about it, it's a great magazine.
>> Amo Houghton: OK.
Now, Jack is going
to say something now.
>> Barrett McGurn: He had just
done that to distract him.
They got him on his ship
and the ship was sunk
so Pete was killed twice and
that was the last of Pete.
>> Amo Houghton: All
right, go ahead Jack.
>> Jack Pulwers: Barett,
I want to cut in just
for a minute here, to correct
the gentleman by the way,
he was not killed in
Tarawa, he was killed
on the island of Eniwetok.
And that was John A. Bushemi.
And there were many other,
of course, I think we ought
to give credit where
credit is due.
There were Stars and Stripes
reporters who were killed
and there are about 15
or 20 marine veteran
combat correspondents.
So the marine combat
correspondents core
that were also killed on
the various Pacific Islands.
And they gave their lives
just like anyone else.
And I think they
all deserve credit.
These are the fallen of World
War II that we honor today.
And I'd like to take just about
30 seconds, just for silence
to bow our heads
and remember those
who died reporter
all in World War II.
Thank you so much.
>> Amo Houghton:
Thank you, Jack.
OK, Sandra?
Anybody else out
there got a question?
There you are.
>> All right.
You mentioned that some of
the underreported stories,
can you give us some
feedback maybe about some
of the censored stories or
stories that maybe information
that was withheld about
during World War II
that might have had a
significant impact one way
or another?
>> Peter Sweers: That's
a very good question.
I gave you one that was
not reported much later
because of the operation.
There were several others
to my knowledge especially
during the Battle of the Bulge
that were not report
because that was a very,
very difficult time.
I cannot give you specifics, I
don't remember them but it's--
many of them were not
reported, but most of them
because of security, and
secrecy, and correctly so.
I don't think the story of
when General Eisenhower moved
from London to [inaudible] was
ever reported for a long time
when SHAPE headquarters moved.
Does that answer your question?
>> Jack Pulwers: In the
end of World War II,
to answer your question,
also General Eisenhower put
out an embargo among all of the
press saying that you cannot
in anyway shape or form
broadcast the surrender
of the Germans because
what he wanted
to do is let the
Russian come in first.
His friend, you know, so forth
Marshall Zhukov, and they took
over and so forth and so on.
Well, what happened was
Associated Press, a reporter,
decided that he was going
to break the embargo,
and he was going to
tell the story anyway.
And he did and that
made Eisenhower furious
and they kicked him
right out of the theater.
And so the guy from
Associated Press was no more
in the European Theater
of Operation.
That's all I could say to that.
And one more on reported
story and I'm going
to keep quiet for a while.
There was a great assembly of
the press, and photographer
and writers, and women
reporters, and they were told
that the flood of the
mountain there to keep quiet,
because there are going to be
something very big happening.
And there's a straight big
wall called the Siegfried Line
that Hitler said
was impenetrable.
Well, the US army
penetrated it all right,
and so did the English army.
And suddenly a big black car
rolled up and outside that car
after the photographers were
told to stop taking the picture
and the newsmen stop
writing and everything else
out of the car came
Winston Churchill
and Field Marshall Montgomery.
And up to the top of the big
Siegfried Line wall they went,
and they unzipped their
pants and they peed
on the Siegfried Line that was
an untold story of World War II.
>> Barrett McGurn: I don't know
if that would have won the war,
but I would say that
the atrocities committed
in the Pacific probably
were underestimated.
When I was in the second day
going into Leyte with MacArthur
when he returned
to the Philippines
and the Filipinos told me about
American pilots finally managed
to get their planes
under the ground,
and then the samurai swords
being raised to decapitate them.
Incidentally I wanted to
thank my two colleagues here
for introducing their wives.
My wife is not married for 60
years, but she had been married
for 42, Jenny, take a bow.
[ Applause ]
>> Sandra Jontz: All
right, we've got time
for one more question.
Aren't you going to be a
little bias in your question?
>> Tell me is there a comparable
magazine in the military--
is there a comparable magazine
in the military today
to Yank magazine?
>> I'm not sure.
>> Sandra Jontz: Is there
a comfortable magazine
in today's military that's
comparable to Yank magazine?
>> Jack Pulwers:
No there is not.
>> Barrett McGurn: Yank
magazine in the last week of 45,
the War Department said Yank
is honorably discharged,
there is nothing
available for you to write
about now, so you're finished.
But in--
>> Jack Pulwers:
So there was one.
>> Barrett McGurn: If you
will notice these cards
that my children and
grandchildren passing out,
this is one of the
covers of Yank Magazine,
which we're also using as the
jacket on the story of Yank
which my old commander
had told me to write.
Those you could see over
on the side table here.
>> Jack Pulwers: I'll say that
there is no comparison today
with anything that was
published in World War II,
generally like the Stars and
Stripe and the Yank magazine.
However today, we have a
sophisticated army magazine
called Soldier, which
is very good.
Stars and Stripes is still
producing great, great news.
They're in Iraq today and
they're all over the world.
And they are doing a superb job.
So I think it's 50-50.
Some of it is excellent and
some of it is not so excellent,
but I'll tell you one thing,
we all had a great time
in World War II and we're darn
glad we got out of it too.
>> Peter Sweers: How many
veterans here remember the
Overseas Weekly?
Nobody, we used to call
it the "Oversex Weekly".
And that was a-- during the
Korean and the Vietnam wars
and it went out of business
because I think the military
put it out of business.
>> Amo Houghton: OK,
Sandra, come on up here.
This is our star.
This is the lady who really
knows what's happening
in Stars and Stripes.
So, I want to thank Sandra
and I want to thank Jack,
and Barrett, and Peter.
Let's give them a great hand.
[ Applause ]
>> This has been a presentation
of the Library of Congress.
Visit us at loc.gov.