A hero of the field
Ernie Pyle was born on August 3, 1900 in Dana, Indiana. He entered the United States Navy as a reserve at the age of 17 and took part in the first World War. He later studied at the Indiana University for a semester and wrote articles for the university newspaper. In the following years, he was in several news agencies. Pyle started as an War correspondent in Europe after the beginning of World War II. He was greatly appreciated and respected by the soldiers, as he set up for the soldiers and always wrote directly from the point of view of the fighting troops. In July 1944, he was almost killed in the operation "Cobra" during a bomb attack in Normandy from the own Army Air Forces units.
From 1944 he was stationed on the USS Cabot, an aircraft carrier, and went to the Japanese front in the Pacific. In Japan, he was in a similar position to the soldiers. On April 17 in 1945 he drove with Lt. Col. Joseph B. Coolidge of the 305th Infantry Regiment, the 77th Infantry Reserve Division, on the way to a new command post in Lejama, Okinawa. The jeep came under enemy fire and the two could find shelter in a ditch. The bullets flew over her heads and a bullet hit Pyle's head, he was instantly death!
The special connection to Zippo Manufacturing Co.'s was the friendly relationship with George G. Blaisdell. The two were in letter contact in WWII. Pyle had joined Black Crackle Zippo to distribute them among the troops. These are on the field of a moral increase, just like cigarettes. After the death of Pyle, G.G. Blaisdell was shooked and sent a unknown of number of the "In Memory of Ernie Pyle" Zippo to the USS Cabot. There the Zippo is to be distributed to special friends.
