Archive for October 2025| Eugene L. Meyer
One hundred and sixty-six years ago this weekend, abolitionist John Brown led a small band of 18 men to the federal arsenal town of Harpers Ferry at the confluence of…| Eugene L. Meyer
More than half a century ago, the military prosecuted and convicted Lt. William Calley for the murder of “not less than 22” unarmed Vietnamese in the hamlet of My Lai on March 16, 1968. In December 1973 the conviction was upheld in a 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of…| Eugene L. Meyer
Pioneers of the Press. A book--and a legacy to honor and uphold Sixty-five years ago, my father Gerard Previn Meyer wrote a book called "Pioneers of the Press." The publisher was Rand McNally, and the book, republished in paperback as a Fawcett Publications "Student Edition," was translated and reprinted in…| Eugene L. Meyer
December 7, 1941, was, declared President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “a date which will live in infamy,” when Japanese planes attacked and destroyed the U.S. naval fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor,…| Eugene L. Meyer
My friend Mort Mintz died this week at 103. Fittingly, the Washington Post, where we were colleagues for many years, gave him a nice obit, starting on the Metro news front and filling columns inside. It was decent enough, but incomplete. Mort broke into newspapers in St. Louis in 1946…| Eugene L. Meyer
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." This declaration seems uncannily relevant today, when our liberties are under assault and the very pursuit of justice is being criminalized. But it was Barry Goldwater uttered those words during the 1964…| Eugene L. Meyer
Lest We Forget! The slogan, invoked by unreconstructed rebel defenders of “the lost cause,” referring to the defeat of the Confederacy by the Union 160 years ago, has suddenly taken…| Eugene L. Meyer
"Having a project is a gift, Not having a project is when you are in trouble." -- various These pearls of wisdom were recalled at the recent conference of the Biographers International Organization, held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on June 6-7. BIO was founded in 2008…| Eugene L. Meyer
D-Day - the 6th of June, 1944: "The Longest Day," as it was called in the classic 1962 film of that name. Then came "The Americanization of Emily" (1964 - D-Day+30). And "Saving Private Ryan." (1998). Unforgettable images of Americans storming Normandy's "Omaha Beach," dying in the water, dying on…| Eugene L. Meyer
We seem to be in the midst of marking anniversaries when wars ended, gloriously or ingloriously. Gloriously May 8, 1945, some eighty years ago,, V-E Day was celebrated for Victory in Europe -- among my first memories. I was not quite three years old, but I still vividly recall watching…| Eugene L. Meyer
