World War II Honoree

Jack Belden

Hometown

Brooklyn, New York

Honored By

Pearl Thomas

He spoke Chinese well and traveled to the front lines to cover events from the point of view of soldiers and villagers. He traveled with General Joseph Stilwell, who also spoke Chinese, on the latter’s retreat from Burma. He spent most of the war as a correspondent for Life and Time in China, North Africa and Europe. In 1942, he was the only reporter who remained with General Stilwell in Burma when the American General and his headquarters staff were cut off by the invading Japanese. He chronicled the journey they made, mostly on foot, to India. In North Africa, he covered the British 8th Army’s grueling march from Egypt to Tunisia. After the Africa campaign, he landed with the invading troops in Sicily and Salerno. In 1943, his leg was shattered by machine-gun fire during the Salerno invasion. After recovering in the U.S., he returned to Europe and covered the invasion of France and the end of the war in Europe.