Ernie Pyle, The Story Of G.I. Joe
Written by Joe D on February 4th, 2008
A Man Falls Dying Only Once
This is pretty wild. The Army just released this picture of War correspondent Ernie Pyle’s corpse. It was taken minutes after he was shot and killed by a sniper on a Pacific Island in 1945. The Army didn’t relesase the picture until now out of concern for Ernie’s widow. Ernie wrote my favorite WWII movieThe Story Of G.I. Joe, he didn’t live to see it released. I wonder if William Wellman ever saw this picture. It reminds me of a shot of Robert Mitchum at the end of G.I. Joe. The role that would make Mitchum a star. Ernie Pyle, I salute you. You gave a voice to the dog soldiers, the guys slogging through the mud and freezing while being shot at with Howitzers. In the photo it almost looks like you’re sleeping. Rest Easy, you earned it.
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He looks younger than the 45 years Pyle was at the time of his death but it could be a bad angle.
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That picture was just recently released by the Army, he does look young there maybe because his troubles are over.
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Contrary to popular belief, Ernie was not killed by a sniper, but in fact was caught in an ambush by a Japanese machine gun unit.
There was a habit in the US during WW2 of telling the deceased family that their son was killed by sniper fire, even though this was often not the case.
By the way, I visited the spot where he was killed yesterday to pay my respects.
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Paul that’s amazing, if you have any pictures or stories you’d like to share, please do.