World War II Honoree
Served Their Country
William Randall 'Bill' Downs, Jr.
Hometown
Kansas City, Kansas
Honored By
Pearl Thomas
War Correspondent for CBS News and one of the original members of the team known as the Murrow Boys. He recorded from both the Eastern and Western fronts during the war, and was first to deliver a live broadcast from Normandy to the United States after D-Day. After the surrender in Europe, he joined a press party that toured Asia in the months leading up to the end of the Pacific War. He entered Tokyo with Allied occupation forces and covered the Japanese surrender, and was among the first Americans to enter Hiroshima after the atomic bombing.