Walter Cronkite Dead? Farewell to An American Icon
Posted: Friday, June 19, 2009
by Mark Parsec
Wordcasters
Walter Cronkite, the television news anchor and icon for generations of Americans, died on Friday, July 17th, 2009. He was 92 years old. The famous television figure is known and loved by millions of Americans as well as people throughout the world. Walter Cronkite was born on November 4, 1916. He first became a radiobroadcasting announcer in 1936. During World War II Walter Cronkite was one of the leading American reporters in North Africa and Europe and covered stories on B17 bombing raids over Germany, the Battle of the Bulge and even the Nuremberg trials after the war.
By 1950, Walter Cronkite had joined the CBS News and by 1962 had become the anchorman for the CBS Evening News. He covered such stories as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Apollo 13 mission disaster, the Iran hostage Crisis and the Watergate Scandal.
"This is my last broadcast as the anchorman of The CBS Evening News; for me, it's a moment for which I long have planned, but which, nevertheless, comes with some sadness. For almost two decades, after all, we've been meeting like this in the evenings, and I'll miss that… This is but a transition, a passing of the baton… Old anchormen, you see, don't fade away; they just keep coming back for more."In his 1981 farewell statement from the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite said,
Well, Walter, we'll miss you too. You've been an important part of American culture for over 70 years! You have been one of our favorite guests in our homes and in our hearts. We will cherish the memories, we will honor your memory, we will not forget. And that's the way it is!
Walter Cronkite reporting from Vietnam
This Article has been viewed 2,766 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Hi Honey,This was an interesting article. I believe that Walter Chronkite was known by many and will be missed if not missed already.Love you,MichelleHi Michelle,Thank you for your comments.Mark
A true American Icon has passed. This is a sad day.Crystal
walter cronkite was the genuine article, a true reporter and newsman. he made it his life's work to tell this country the way it was.he exhibited a true and thorough investigating of the facts, relying on reliable sources and interviews with the most important people of our time.jerks like limbaugh and hannity could learn there's more to news(news!) than being loud entertainers who appeal to the lowest commen denominator.he was an icon, never to be duplicated. good luck to you walter, you were the most decent man in the business, now and always
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.