Panelists discuss Ernie Pyle

DANA, Ind. -- The big yellow C-SPAN school bus pulled into Dana, Ind., Sunday for its "American Writers II" series, with two hours of live coverage devoted to Ernie Pyle.\nPyle attended IU's journalism school in the 1920s before heading across the United States to write columns about people's lives and then around the world as a respected war correspondent for Scripps-Howard news service.\nSunday's C-SPAN panelists included James Tobin, author of "Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II"; Randy Roberts, Purdue University history professor; Rick Bray, Ernie Pyle State Historical Site manager; and Evelyn Hobson, a local resident who was instrumental in the development of the Ernie Pyle site.\nLocal residents and many from outside Dana, gathered at the Dana Volunteer Fire Department on Main Street to watch the broadcast. \nPat Latz of Indianapolis watched the broadcast from the firehouse, along with about 30 people.\n"Pyle could put it together in writing and report it back to the folks back home in his own way," Latz said. "And he helped win the war."\nHobson said she first learned about Pyle when she was asked to manage the site and quickly came to appreciate Pyle's work.\n"The first impression about Pyle's writing was the simplicity of his writing," Hobson said. "He could tell his thoughts. It was so down to earth, we could identify with his writing."\nShe explained some of Pyle's life events, including his writings about people in Dana.\n"Before World War II started, he traveled all over the United States writing columns called 'Hoosier Vagabond,'" Hobson said. "He wrote things we were all familiar with -- about his father and mother and he talked about Dana."\nHobson, who managed the historical site for 20 years, said Pyle would want young journalists to be themselves and not be afraid to report accurately.\n"He aggravated so many people, the government in particular when he started the columns," Hobson said.\nBray said Pyle was most liked by readers for writing about people.\n"Ernie Pyle focused a lot more on people, rather than just events," Bray said. "Especially with World War II, it was a world war, so everyone was involved. He told us what was going on with the people."\nBray said Pyle's style of journalism is lacking in newspapers today.\n"It's really about people," Bray said. "That's what's missing from journalism today, especially big news stories."\nCharity Pollard, interpreter for the site, also noted the importance of the Dana native's work.\n"It's hard for people to believe what he did and who he became."\nIndiana Department of Natural Resources Public Information Officer Russ Grunden commended Bray and others at the site for the work they do.\n"The nice thing about our facilities around the state is that the people who work at them are a part of the community," he said.