Not many people know about Ed Kennedy today, but on May 7, 1945, his name was on a dispatch from France announcing Germany's unconditional surrender.
It was the biggest scoop of the Second World War, and it got Kennedy turfed out of Europe and fired by the Associated Press.
Why? He was a day early -- according to the military hierachy and the politicians.
Nearly 20 reporters, including Kennedy, were at the signing of the capitulation in a school house in Reims on May 7. All were prepared to file on the historic moment, but politics -- in the form of Joseph Stalin -- got in the way.
Stalin wanted a surrender in Berlin on May 8 for propaganda purposes. Harry Truman and Winston Chuchill acquiesced, and the story was embargoed.
But censors allowed German radio to announce the surrender. An outraged Kennedy, feeling that he and his colleagues had been betrayed, argued that the cat was well and truly out of the bag and that the story certainly posed no threat to troops, since hostilities were over.
When he was rebuffed, he thought about it for a few minutes, got even angrier, and filed anyway, using a military phone to contact the AP office in London, which sent the story out right away.
The result was instant street celebrations in cities around North America.
The brass was furious. Kennedy was recalled to the U.S. in disgrace, and the Associated Press publicly reprimanded and subsequently fired him. He wound up at a couple of smaller newspapers in California before dying in a car accident in 1963.
But by then, he'd written a memoir, one that is being published soon. Its introduction was co-written by Tom Curley, the retiring head of the venerable wire service. Curley said in an interview: "It was a terrible day for the AP. It was handled in the worst possible way." He is correct.
Censorship in wartime is a necessary evil to protect lives. Entire books have been written about it, including The Fog of War, by Mark Bourrie, which I've just finished and which makes reference to the Kennedy case.
But when censorship becomes merely a political propaganda tool, as it clearly was on May 7, 1945, then it's wrong. Kennedy did the right thing, but it cost him dearly. I'd like to think I'd have had the same guts, but I rather doubt it.
Associated Press is to be applauded for apologising for its treatment of one of its most seasoned -- and courageous -- war correspondents. It's just too bad it took 67 years.
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Geraint Isitt
Bernadine Spitzsnogel
Hells Bells
Lauren B. Davis
Alan Nothnagle
Jeff L. Howe
Salon.com
Comments
Your story helped me remember the day the war in Europe ended; I attended a little two-room school in Birch Creek. We heard bells ringing and whistles blowing in Menominee, five miles away. Our teachers took us all to the Catholic Church kitty-corner from the school; we all went inside and sang "God Bless America."
War correspondents are the very, very bravest of souls. Just a couple months ago we lost another good one with Marie Colvin.
Am I surprised at the AP's actions though? Na.
Did what Uncle told them to do..
Cool post and thanks B1
Hi, Linnnn. Yeah ... considering the antipathy between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt (and Truman), I'm surprised they went along with it. Maybe they too thought it was more appropriate that the surrender take place in Berlin. But it didn't.
John, what a terrific memory to have of VE day. It must have been magical. And, yeah, it is sad that doing the right thing can have such terrible consequences.
Colvin was one of the few, SS. I used to think, given my predilections, that I'd have been a pretty good war correspondent. People like her prove I wouldn't have been.
Hey, Trig, good to see you. Yes, his balls had to have clanged when he walked. I'd say, given what I've read about his track record, he was right up there with Ernie Pyle and Ross Munro. Maybe more so, since he told the censors to take a hike and did the right thing.
But I sure think you are finding a sweet niche....
Not in the same league, of course, but this also reminds me a bit of the way CBS treated Dan Rather over the story about Bush the Least ducking out of his duty with the Air National Guard. Is there any fair-minded person who denies that essential facts of that story, even if the details were a bit foggy?
I suspect history will judge those who punished and humiliated Rather rather harshly, just as history will judge the Ducking Decider harshly, too.
Thanks, CM.
Mish, I wasn't alive then, either. I just read a lot. Thanks for saying that.
Yeah, Tom, the analogy with Kronkite is apt. Certain elements -- up here as well, where there was some support for the war -- were certainly critical of him. But he sure as hell knew what he was talking about. I'm not all that familiar with the Bush saga, although I know of its broad outlines.
Glad you liked it, Deborah. Those who haven't had to do it don't know how tough it is to file that way. In my time, the AP people, along with those from Canadian Press, were among the best.
Anyway, Arthur, you're absolutely right about most sensible people. I've read a fair amount about the coverage of the Vietnam conflict, and it seemed to come down, in a lot of cases, to a divide between the older generation of reporters and editors and the new one. As I recollect, Cronkite was among the first of the "old guard" to dissent, and because of his position, it really meant something.
"I suspect history will judge those who punished and humiliated Rather rather harshly, just as history will judge the Ducking Decider harshly, too."
Should I remind you that Rather spent millions of dollars in court trying to prove his story. Funny how phony documents can come back to haunt you. Rather lost.............
Don't think it was the date per se, Abra -- Uncle Joe wanted a full-scale public dog and pony show in Berlin to maximise the propaganda value of the surrender.
Thanks for the comment, Catnlion.
And you too, Phyllis. Yes, vindication is good. Just too bad he wasn't around to know it.
R♥
Thanks, RW.
As an aside, I dated a Canadian for 7 years and I've learned more from you : ) That may tell you more about my taste in men as a teenager as well as the hockey player I dated...
That helped? : ))
No slur intended anywhere.
Definitely, I'm very curious about your Wheatley connection, anyway.