IN SCR0031

Urges Governor Eric Holcomb to recognize August 3 as Indiana Ernie Pyle Day in conjunction with the U.S. Senate designation of that day as National Ernie Pyle Day.

Ernie Pyle was born near Dana, Indiana, studied journalism at Indiana University, and became a renowned World War II correspondent whose columns appeared in 400 daily and 300 weekly newspapers reaching 14 million homes.

Pyle focused his reporting on rank-and-file soldiers rather than military leadership, earning a Pulitzer Prize in 1944 and inspiring Congress to pass the "Ernie Pyle Bill" providing 50 percent extra combat pay for soldiers.

Pyle died on April 18, 1945, while serving as a war correspondent on Ie Shima, a small island west of Okinawa in the Pacific Theatre.

His legacy is preserved at the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in Dana and through memorials at Indiana University's Franklin Hall in Bloomington.