Memorial Day and Edward R. Murrow
- Jody Ferguson
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Memorial Day this year is especially poignant given that America again finds itself at war. The lessons that mankind learn often seem to be forgotten. Nevertheless, one war in which our country and the entire world may be proud in remembering was the war against fascism, also known as World War II. Mankind’s largest and most bloody conflict was carried out across the globe. Every continent, save Antarctica, saw warfare and felt its direct effects.
I recently saw the Broadway play Good Night, and Good Luck. Based on true events, it recounts the story of how America nearly lost the peace after winning the war. The main character is the CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow. There is a film of the same name and subject from 2005. Murrow became a household name in the United States during the Second World War due to his CBS Radio broadcasts from London during the Blitz in September 1940, when that city and other British cities became the targets of massive Nazi air raids that lasted until May 1941. His signature sign-on began with the ominous words, “This is London…” Murrow also developed his signature sign-off “Good night, and good luck,” during his time in London when citizens of that city, who might not see each other again, would often part company with these words. Murrow would remain in London throughout the war, flying as an observer on twenty-five Allied combat missions (later sending delayed tape broadcasts to American radio audiences). Murrow was the first to broadcast from the Buchenwald death camp in Germany just after the war. Sadly, CBS Radio recently announced it is closing and will no longer broadcast, ending an era of American history after one hundred years.
Years ago, I recorded onto cassette tape a series of radio broadcasts called "I Can Hear it Now," that Murrow put together in the 1950s, just before his death. These recordings recount the descent into the war, the world conflict, and the first few years of peace, before the world again descended into the Cold War. I was able to transfer them onto a CD and then to my computer. On these broadcasts you can hear the actual voices of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Josef Stalin, and a number of other luminaries from the war years, broadcasting about events from that time. I think it’s appropriate and interesting to hear these reports and voices from the Second World War on this Memorial Day, especially since CBS Radio has announced its closing eight-one years after the shooting around the world stopped.
You can access some of the recordings here.
Comments