Reporting from the Front Lines

While researching my novel Liberation, which follows the point of view of a foreign correspondent and war reporter, I was left with many questions about how reporters embedded with troops on the front lines went about submitting their stories for the world to read. At a time when cellphones can be used to instantly transmit live from conflict zones, I wondered what sort of technical limitations were in place to be able to successfully report from the field during World War Two.

War reporting during this time was extremely dangerous, to say the least. Not until the ongoing genocide in Gaza have so many journalists been killed in the line of action. According to the International Federation of Journalists, 220 journalists have been killed in Gaza. As shocking as the tally is, a monument in Normandy, the Bayeux War Reporters Memorial, honors over 2000 journalists who perished in conflict from 1944 through to the end of the war.

During World War Two, journalists were embedded with infantry members, some journalists themselves were also enlisted. Others remained foreign correspondents, subject to military security clearance for any outgoing work. Many reporters carried typewriters into the field, the small type writers could fit into a box with a handle similar to US Army officer typewriters of era. These sets could fold out into mobile desks and allow reporters to document their stories for publication, or to transcribe field notes from notebooks or other handwritten work.

Once the story was typed up, the correspondent then had to seek clearance via military security and review before sending on to the news wires or press offices. This would often require sending out stories that contained information like positions or other information for a censorial review via radio or telephone. Often times reporters balked at how much these censors tried to alter their work or scrap it entirely, feeling creatively limited. As a result, many reporters focused more on human interest pieces that would be less subject to review or censorship, such as the work of Ernie Pyle.

In the field, war reporters were provided special designation uniforms that would say “war correspondent” on the vest. Still, they were shot at and often came under attack as evidenced by the high death tolls during the conflict. Some have theorized that the uniform looked very close to US Army officer uniforms, causing confusion. Non-enlisted reporters were often protected and ferried to makeshift press camps during the war by enlisted infantry. Some reporters, especially those working for the Stars and Stripes and the United Press, were afforded their own Jeeps and travel accommodations with security given their importance to the war effort– it was essential to write stories to keep positive momentum behind the war effort and to keep people supportive back home. But because safety wasn’t always a possibility, un-enlisted war reporters themselves were often digging defensive trenches, and some even took up arms in self defense.

When everything passed the clearance, and stories were ready to submit, journalists would radio or telephone the story to various news desks and outlets like United Press or the Associated Press. These stories would then be sent out over the press wires to be picked up by various editorials, news papers, magazines and news broadcasts. Many of these reporters went on to become household names, enjoying long and storied careers as journalists back home in the United States, including Walter Cronkite, and Edward R. Murrow. Others went on to distinguished careers as novelists, including Martha Gelhorn (Hemingway’s third wife, Hemingway was also a correspondent himself), and the late Ernie Pyle (who died during the battle of Okinawa) among many others. Notable women also contributed to the journalism profession during and after the war, most notably Dorothy Thomson and Margaret Bourke-White.

These writers risked everything to tell the stories of those who gave all, to secure freedom for Europe and the world. Their perspective is one I am fascinated by and look forward to bringing to life in novel-form via Liberation because there is so much to tell, and most importantly to learn.