The world has had a great loss. Today, Walter Cronkite, best known as the anchor for the CBS Evening News, has died. Viewers considered him ‘the most trusted man in America’ because of his years of experience and the kindness he always showed everyone.
Cronkite was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, November 4, 1916. When he was ten, his family moved to Houston, Texas. Even in high school Walter had a nose for the news as he edited their newspaper. While attending the University of Texas at Austin he worked on the Daily Texan newspaper. He dropped out of college in 1935 and became a reporter of news and sports.
His first broadcasting job was as a radio announcer. He joined the United Press in 1937 and would become one of the American reporters in World War II. He was one of eight journalists chosen by the US Army Air Forces to fly bombing raids over Germany in a B-17 Flying Fortress. He also landed in a glider with the 101st Airborne and covered the Battle of the Bulge. After the war he covered the Nuremberg trials where prominent members of the political, military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany were prosecuted after being defeated. Cronkite served as the United Press main reporter in Moscow for 2 years.
Cronkite was recruited by Edward R. Murrow (famous for radio broadcasts of WW II) for CBS News in 1950. On July 7, 1952, the term ‘anchor’ was used to describe Cronkite’s role at both the Democratic and Republican Nation Conventions (marking the first televised convention coverage) as well as the presidential election that followed.
For four years, starting in 1953, Cronkite hosted the CBS program ‘You Are There’ which was a reenactment of historical events presented as a news report. He also hosted ‘The Twentieth Century’, a documentary series about important historical events of the century which consisted of mostly newsreel footage and interviews.
Cronkite took over as the anchorman of the CBS Evening News on April 16, 1962. One of Cronkite’s trademarks was ending the CBS Evening News with the phrase “…And that’s the way it is,” followed by the date. For most of his 20 years as anchor, he was the ‘predominant news voice in America.”
Some of the famous events he covered included the Cuban missile crises, the JFK assassination, the Vietnam War, D Day + 20 with General Dwight Eisenhower, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the death of former president LBJ. and the Watergate scandal. His final day as anchor was March 6, 1981 and he was succeeded by Dan Rather. Cronkite received numerous awards and honors during his life time.
After his retirement he remained busy doing voiceovers, narratives, hosting TV specials, writing a syndicated opinion column and working as a political activist among other things. One of Cronkite’s proudest achievements was his coverage of the space program. NASA gave Cronkite a moon rock which he in turn presented to the University of Texas at Austin.
Cronkite was married for nearly 65 years to Betsy and remained with her until her death on March 16, 2005. They had 3 children and 4 grandchildren. He died on July 17, 2009 at his home in New York City at the age of 92. He is believed to have died from cerebral vascular disease. Rest in peace Walter. You will always be remembered as one hell of a man!
Here is a taste of this great man. Walter's beginning coverage of the 1979 nucular meltdown at Three Mile Island.
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