 thumb|right|225px|ernie pyle in 1945 ernest taylor "ernie" pyle (august 3, 1900 â april 18, 1945) was an american journalist who was known for his columns as a roving correspondent from 1935 for the scripps howard newspaper chain, especially during world war ii, when he reported both from europe and the pacific, until his death in combat on a pacific island. he won the pulitzer prize in 1944. his travel articles, about the out-of-the-way places he visited and the people who lived there, were written in a folksy style, much like a personal letter to a friend; many were collected in home country (1947). by the war, he enjoyed a following in some 300 newspapers and was among the best-known american war correspondents in europe. ==early life and world war i== pyle was born to william clyde pyle and maria taylor near dana, indiana on august 3, 1900. after attending local schools, he joined the united states navy reserve at age 17. pyle served three months active duty before world war i ended; he finished his reserve service with the rank of seaman third class. after the war, pyle attended indiana university, traveled to the orient with his fraternity brothers of sigma alpha epsilon, and edited the indiana daily student newspaper.miller 1946 pp. 13â15 he did not graduate; with only a semester left at indiana, he accepted a job at a paper in laporte, indiana. he worked there for three months before moving to washington, d.c., where he worked for the tabloid newspaper, the washington daily news, as a reporter.miller 1946 all the editors were young, including editor-in-chief john m. gleissner (one of warren g. harding's drinking buddies); lee g. miller (later author of an ernie pyle album â indiana to ie shima); charles m. egan, willis "june" thornton; and paul mccrea.miller 1946 pp. 16â17 pyle was named managing editor of the washington daily news and served in the post for three years, all the while fretting that he was unable to do any writing. ==marriage and family== in washington, he met geraldine "jerry" siebolds and they married in 1925. he described her later as his "fearful and troubled wife." they had a tempestuous relationship. jerry suffered from intermittent bouts of mental illness and alcoholism. pyle described her as "desperate within herself since the day she was born". ==american road trip and columns== in 1926, pyle tired of working at a desk and quit his job. he and his wife headed out on the road to see america in a ford roadster. the pyles traveled more than 9,000 miles before ernie re
1900_births 1945_deaths American_civilians_killed_in_World_War_II American_military_personnel_of_World_War_I American_newspaper_reporters_and_correspondents American_people_of_World_War_II American_war_correspondents E._W._Scripps_Company_people Indiana_University_alumni Journalists_from_Indiana Journalists_killed_while_covering_World_War_II People_from_Vermillion_County,_Indiana Pulitzer_Prize_for_Correspondence_winners Recipients_of_the_Purple_Heart_medal War_correspondents_of_World_War_II Writers_from_Indiana