Tribute is paid to keep memory of Ernie Pyle alive

Dear Readers: April 18 marks the 55th anniversary of famed and beloved war correspondent Ernie Pyle's death in the trenches of the South Pacific. Because of the revered place Ernie Pyle occupies in the hearts of writers and columnists - not to mention thousands of World War II vets and their families - the day has also been chosen as National Columnists Day. Each year around April 18, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists urges all its members to write about Ernie Pyle from a personal perspective and to help keep his memory alive for future generations.

You might wonder what the connection is between Mr. HandyPerson, with his focus on the home and home repair, and Ernie Pyle, war correspondent extraordinaire and man of the people. It's quite fundamental. Without Ernie and his friends and contemporaries, sometimes referred to as "The Great Generation," who fought and won World War II, my weekly columns might well be appearing in state-controlled newspapers. More likely, my writing would not be appearing anywhere, as my parents would almost certainly have been jailed or shot if the Axis powers had won the war, and I never would have been born in 1950.

This year will be particularly poignant and sad for many of us who have come to expect a touching annual tribute to Ernie Pyle in the "Peanuts" comic strip by Charles Schulz, who died of cancer the day before his last strip appeared in February. Schulz represented, in his own unique and charming way, another kind of humanity, good humor and civility, much as Ernie Pyle did to his readers. I had to be nearly grown up before I really understood why Ernie Pyle was a hero to so many of my parents' generation. But "Peanuts" was a part of my life since the day I was born, and Charles Schulz has been one of my heroes for 50 years. The world is just a little colder to me without these two representatives of the best of a generation.

Last year, I received the following letter:

Dear Mark: After reading your column, I once again brought out this clipping of Ernie's column from 1945. I had never met Ernie Pyle, but like most Marines in the South Pacific, I felt like I knew him. He was our voice.

I know he felt the pain of losing a friend or the sleepless nights when all hell broke loose. The heat, the bugs, the bad food, the lack of water. The constant salt stains from sweat that was always there.

And when you did get some sleep, it was so restless that the movement of a sand crab would wake you up. We dreaded the full moon because the phosphorus in the water would light up the shores of the islands, making them perfect targets for enemy bombers. I know Ernie went through this, too.

It was a sad day when we heard he had been killed. I clipped this column of his and have taken care of it all these years. Now I hope you will carry on with it.

Ernie Pyle was truly a Marine's friend.

- Sincerely, Jack, Schaumburg, Ill.

Well, Jack, I am deeply touched by your gesture and this gift. In fact, I have framed both your letter and the yellowed clipping of Ernie's column from April 16, 1945, what must be one of his last dispatches from the front before he was killed, sent via Navy radio. It's a column about his impressions of the Marines he met on Okinawa called "OK for My Money."

Here's what Ernie wrote about you and the other Marines he met: "I did find the Marines confident, but neither cocky or smart-alecky. I found they have fears and qualms, and hatred for war the same as anybody else. They want to go home just as badly as any soldiers I've ever met. I found them good, human Americans."

I have left written instructions to make sure that when my time comes, your framed letter and the clipping, as well as my fragile and treasured 1945 edition of Ernie Pyle's book "Brave Men," will be given to my nephew, the next generation after mine. From my heart, thank you, Jack. And thank you, Charles Schulz and Ernie Pyle. You will not be forgotten.

Mr. HandyPerson wants to hear of home repair matters that are troubling you. Write to: Mr. HandyPerson, c/o Universal Press Syndicate, 4520 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo. 64111.