Cronkite's War Read online

  Published by the National Geographic Society

  1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-4688 U.S.A.

  Copyright © 2013 by Walter Cronkite IV and Maurice Isserman. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission from the publisher is prohibited.

  Walter Cronkite’s United Press (UP) text excerpts courtesy United Press International (UPI).

  eISBN: 978-1-4262-1020-4

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Cronkite, Walter.

  Cronkite’s war : his World War II letters home / Walter Cronkite IV and Maurice Isserman.

  pages cm

  Includes bibliographical references.

  1. Cronkite, Walter--Correspondence. 2. Cronkite, Walter--Family. 3. Cronkite, Betsy, -2005--Correspondence. 4. World War, 1939-1945--Journalists--Correspondence. 5. War correspondents--United States--Correspondence. 6. World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American. 7. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe. 8. World War, 1939-1945--England--London-Anecdotes. 9. United Press International--Biography. 10. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives. 11. Love-letters--United States. I. Isserman, Maurice. II. Cronkite, Walter, IV. III. Title.

  D799.U6C76 2012

  070.4′4994053092--dc23

  2012045334

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  Interior design: Katie Olsen

  v3.1

  For Betsy Cronkite—my beloved grandmother.

  —Walter Cronkite IV

  For Walter Cronkite, Jr.—anchorman, CBS Evening News, 1962–1981—who reported the world to me.

  —Maurice Isserman

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  FOREWORD BY TOM BROKAW

  MAP: WALTER CRONKITE’S WORLD WAR II ASSIGNMENTS

  CHARACTER KEY

  INTRODUCTION BY WALTER CRONKITE IV

  Chapter 1: A Pretty Personal Matter

  Chapter 2: The Writing Sixty-Ninth

  Chapter 3: The Youthful Dean of American Air-War Writers

  Chapter 4: Invasion Jitters

  Chapter 5: Once This War Is Over

  EPILOGUE BY MAURICE ISSERMAN

  AFTERWORD BY WALTER CRONKITE IV

  TIME LINE

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

  ILLUSTRATIONS CREDITS

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  The letters in this book have been edited by the authors for improved readability, but no text has been changed.

  FOREWORD

  By the end of the 20th century, Walter Cronkite was one of the most famous Americans of his time. He carried the coveted title “the Most Trusted Man in America,” and to generations of younger viewers, he was known as Uncle Walter, the steady and wise man guiding the country through so much tumultuous change from his anchor desk on CBS Evening News.

  To those of us who shared his profession, he was a role model as a journalist and also as a family man, a father and the husband of the incomparable Betsy, a winsome woman he met in the early stages of his career in Kansas City. To their many friends (and I was proud to be in that company), they were simply “Walter and Betsy,” a matched pair with a zest for life—whether it was a sailing vacation, an opening night on Broadway, box seats at the Kentucky Derby, or at a sing-along after a dinner party.

  Their sense of adventure started early, for they were married in 1940, on the cusp of World War II, when the future of the free world was to be determined in what some military historians have called “the greatest single event in the history of mankind.”

  By 1942 Walter was headed for that war as a correspondent for the United Press. The next year he was based in London and covering the war on a daily basis, primarily by reporting on the dangerous bombing missions of the Eighth Air Force.

  London, that most elegant of cities, was on a full-time war footing, blacked out at night to discourage German air strikes, living on reduced rations, and trying to accommodate the crush of newcomers who poured into the British capital to launch the counterattack against Nazi Germany.

  In this remarkable collection of personal letters from Walter to Betsy, the reader is transported back to the pivotal years of 1943–45, when the push against Hitler’s war machine was beginning to have its effect. Betsy was back in New York with their beloved cocker spaniel, Judy, for what would prove to be a long separation.

  In the straight-ahead, honest prose he later became famous for as an anchorman, Walter mixed the momentous, the personal, and the ordinary in his dispatches to Betsy, worrying about how to make his meager salary cover room, meals, and wardrobe. War correspondents in those days wore special uniforms, which they had to purchase, and they drew rations such as one big Tootsie Roll, vanilla wafers, cheese niblets, a carton of cigarettes, and a box of razor blades. At one point he let her know that his share of a room was $18 a week, explaining that the price may seem exorbitant (!) but that space was scarce.

  Walter’s days and nights were long and irregular, and he often told Betsy of his exhaustion, brought on by working through the night to hammer out an account of a bombing raid and then to get it through the censors and onto the wires for transmission to the United Press (UP) newspaper clients in the U.S.

  It wasn’t all work and no play, however. Walter came to be a drinking pal with Clark Gable, the big Hollywood star who had enlisted and flew combat missions with the Eighth Air Force. He began a lifelong friendship with Andy Rooney, and his UP boss was Harrison Salisbury, a legendary journalist for my generation. A bar was always open somewhere, and it’s plain that Uncle Walter enjoyed a nightcap.

  His most famous assignment that year was also the most dangerous. The gifted young men who covered the Eighth Air Force persuaded Army brass that they should be able to accompany a bombing mission over Germany. Remember, this was at a time when casualty rates were high because the bombers didn’t have adequate close-air support and the German homeland was laced with air defense weapons. Cronkite flew in the Plexiglas nose cone of a B-17 during the raid and later admitted that he manned the .50-caliber machine gun against German fighter planes when they were attacked over the target. His bomber made it back safely, but a plane carrying a New York Times reporter was shot down and his body never was recovered.

  Cronkite’s first-person account of the raid—the first ever written by a journalist along for the ride—received wide play and high praise across the United States, but in his letters to Betsy he remained characteristically matter-of-fact in describing the stack of con
gratulatory messages he received.

  As I read these letters, I longed to see Walter and Betsy again so that I could tell them how much I enjoyed them and how much I admired their unconditional love, which comes through after all these years.

  The letters to Betsy also reminded me of how the two of them and all of their friends from that time kept up their enthusiasm for taking life head-on. Think about it: They were front and center for World War II. And yet, when it ended, they were on to the next big story, and the one after that, and the one after that, a gregarious couple from America’s heartland who relished all their opportunities and loved each other deeply until the very end of their quintessential American story.

  Finally—and I’m sorry, I can’t help myself—“That’s the way it was.”

  —TOM BROKAW

  CHARACTER KEY

  Anderson, Dave New York Times correspondent who briefly shared an apartment with Cronkite in Brussels in 1944.

  Astaire, Adele Entertainer Fred Astaire’s older sister. She appeared with him on Broadway in The Band Wagon in 1931 but gave up the stage when she married Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish, becoming Lady Cavendish.

  Ault, Phil United Press correspondent in London, covering the air war.

  Baillie, Hugh President of United Press from 1935 to 1955. A former police reporter, he was known as a martinet and proud of his reputation.

  Barhydt, Frank An old friend of Cronkite’s.

  Beattie, Edward W., Jr. Veteran war correspondent and United Press bureau chief in London. He was captured by the Germans in France in September 1944.

  Bennett, Lowell International News Service correspondent in London. He was shot down over Berlin in a U.S. bomber raid in November 1943 and described his captivity in Germany in his book Parachute to Berlin (1945).

  Berlin, Irving America’s favorite songwriter, whose works include “White Christmas” and “God Bless America.” His wartime show This Is the Army played on Broadway in 1942 and then went on tour to military bases overseas, including England. Berlin appeared in the production, on Broadway and abroad, singing “Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning.” Ronald Reagan starred in the 1943 movie version.

  Bigart, Homer New York Herald Tribune correspondent and member of the Writing Sixty-Ninth who went on the Wilhelmshaven raid. In 1946 he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for “distinguished reporting” from the Pacific. He remained with the Herald Tribune until 1955, when he switched to the New York Times, retiring in 1972.

  Boni, Bill Associated Press correspondent who landed with the 82nd Airborne in Operation Market Garden.

  Boyle, Harold Vincent “Hal” Associated Press columnist. He won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for “distinguished war correspondence.”

  Brandt, Bert Photographer for Planet/Acme, the United Press picture wire service. He covered the D-Day landings.

  Catenhauser, Robert W. Kansas-born Army Air Force second lieutenant and glider pilot.

  Clark, Ronald British United Press correspondent who helped cover Operation Market Garden and was later assigned to the Brussels bureau.

  Colwell, Ward E. Kansas City bureau manager of the United Press in the 1930s.

  Cronkite, Helen Fritsche Cronkite’s mother.

  Daly, John Charles CBS Radio correspondent in London. After the war, he hosted the weekly What’s My Line? panel game show on CBS from 1950 through 1967.

  Daniell, Raymond “Pete” New York Times London bureau chief. His book Civilians Must Fight (1941) reported on the Battle of Britain.

  Davis, Elmer Head of Office of War Information.

  Day, Clifford L. “Cliff” United Press London bureau manager.

  Dickinson, William Boyd “Bill” United Press correspondent in London who handled the desk rewrites on the air war. A Missourian, he joined the UP in 1930, was assigned to London in 1940 to cover the Battle of Britain, and in 1943 left for a new assignment in the Southwest Pacific reporting on Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s campaign. He covered the Japanese surrender on board the U.S.S. Missouri in 1945. After the war, he served in editorial and executive positions at the Philadelphia Bulletin until his retirement in 1973.

  Disher, Leo “Bill” United Press correspondent in London, covering the air war. He later became chief of the UP bureaus in Czechoslovakia and the Balkans.

  Downs, William Randall “Bill” A former United Press correspondent and one of the “Murrow Boys” with CBS Radio during the war.

  Duff, Robin BBC correspondent famous for covering the Blitz and D-Day.

  Dursten, John New York Herald Tribune correspondent in London.

  Eaker, Ira C. Eighth Air Force commander.

  Evans, Joe Newsweek London bureau manager.

  Falkenburg, Eugenia Lincoln “Jinx” Model, actress, former tennis champion, and socialite who married “Tex” McCreary.

  Ferguson, Harry Veteran United Press sportswriter and assistant general news manager.

  Frankish, John F. “Jack” United Press correspondent. He arrived in England in spring 1944 and was killed during the Battle of the Bulge, December 23, 1944.

  Fritsche, Edward “Uncle Ed” Cronkite’s uncle, his mother’s only sibling.

  Fritsche, Jack Cronkite’s cousin and an Army Air Force officer.

  Gable, Clark A leading Hollywood actor and the star of Gone With the Wind (1939) who enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1942. Promoted to captain, he was assigned to the Eighth Air Force to make a recruiting film for aerial gunners. He flew combat missions as an observer-gunner. Cronkite refers to him in letters to Betsy as “The Face.”

  Gaskill, Gordon American war correspondent who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He spent Christmas Day 1944 with Cronkite in Luxembourg.

  Gellhorn, Martha Veteran war correspondent and Ernest Hemingway’s third wife. She spent Christmas Day in 1944 with Cronkite in Luxembourg.

  Gerteis, Louis H. Former United Press correspondent who worked for the Office of War Information’s foreign news bureau during World War II.

  Graebner, Walt Time’s London bureau chief. He had reported for Time and Life on the Battle of Britain, and his book Their Finest Hour (co-authored with Time correspondent Allan A. Michie) was published in England in 1940 and in the United States the following year. He later reported from the Soviet Union.

  Graham, Frederick New York Times correspondent in London.

  Grigg, Joseph W. A veteran United Press foreign correspondent who covered the start of the war from Germany. After the invasion, he was assigned to Paris and later became UP’s Paris bureau chief.

  Hales, Samuel Dale United Press correspondent in London, covering the air war and the war in France after the invasion.

  Harmon, Dudley Ann One of the rare women war correspondents employed by the United Press in London. She later covered the war in France and the Nuremberg trials.

  Hawkins, Eric New York Herald Tribune correspondent. Hawkins published the last edition of the Paris Herald Tribune in June 1940 as the Nazis approached the city. His memoir, Hawkins of the “Paris Herald” (1963), includes a vivid description of wartime London.

  Higginbotham, Charles “Bill” United Press correspondent in London, covering the air war.

  Hill, Gladwin AP correspondent and member of the Writing Sixty-Ninth who went on the Wilhelmshaven raid. Like Cronkite, he was head of his wire service’s air war desk, which made the two of them fierce if friendly rivals, eager to be the one to file a story first. After the war, Hill worked at the New York Times from 1946 to 1979, for which he covered the Kennedy assassination and became a pioneer of environmental reporting.

  Johnson, Earl J. United Press vice president and general manager in New York.

  Judy Cronkite family cocker spaniel.

  Kirksey, George Eighth Air Force public relations officer and a former United Press sportswriter.

  Knox, Betty London Evening Standard reporter, and a former star of vaudeville and the music hall stage.

  Krum, Morrow Army public relations officer. He was killed in an air c
rash in Iceland on May 3, 1943; the same crash killed Lt. Gen. Frank Maxwell Andrews, commander of U.S. forces in the European theater of operations.

  Kuh, Frederick United Press correspondent in London, Berlin, Moscow, and Manchuria who became chief London correspondent for Field Publications in 1942. “There was no diplomat Kuh did not know,” Harrison Salisbury recalled, “no Foreign Office man he had not dealt with.”

  Laidlaw, Bill Major in Eighth Air Force public relations.

  LeSueur, Larry Joined CBS Radio in 1939 as one of the “Murrow Boys,” covering the London Blitz, D-Day, and the liberation of Paris, before winding up in Belgium in December 1944, where Cronkite met him. He left CBS for the Voice of America in 1963.

  Lewis, Boyd United Press correspondent covering the fighting in Belgium.

  Lockett, Edward B. London bureau chief for Time magazine from 1942 to 1944. He later covered the White House for Time.

  Lower, Elmer Office of War Information field representative and former United Press reporter and bureau chief. He later worked with Cronkite at CBS News and became president of ABC News in 1963 and dean of the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 1982.

  Lynch, Charles Canadian reporter working for Reuters who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He later covered the Second British Army with Cronkite.

  Manning, Paul CBS Radio correspondent hired by Edward R. Murrow and a member of the Writing Sixty-Ninth who did not fly on the Wilhelmshaven raid. Later in the war he moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System, and after the war he served as a speech-writer for Nelson Rockefeller.

  Manring, Bob Sometimes referred to by Cronkite as “nephoo” (nephew), he was the son of Betsy’s eldest sister, Lora. Manring was about the same age as Betsy and Walter, and the three were very close. According to family lore, Manring was serving in a “hush-hush” military capacity during the war.

  Marchant, Hilde Chief feature reporter for the Daily Express and author of Women and Children Last: A Woman Reporter’s Account of the Battle of Britain (1941) before joining the London Daily Mirror as a daily columnist. She was also Bill Dickinson’s girlfriend. According to Harrison Salisbury, “She was as widely known as any woman in wartime England.”