Robert Davies - Baldwin Of The Times: Hanson W. Baldwin, A Military Journalists Life, 1903-1991

Hanson W. Baldwin,

A Military Journalists Life, 19031991

ROBERT B. DAVIES

Naval Institute Press

Annapolis, Maryland

The latest edition of this work has been brought to publication with the generous assistance of Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest.

Naval Institute Press

291 Wood Road

Annapolis, MD 21402

2011 by Robert B. Davies.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN (eBook) 978-1-61251-458-1

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardback version as follows:

Davies, Robert B.

Baldwin of The times : Hanson W. Baldwin, a military journalists life, 1903-1991 / Robert B. Davies. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Baldwin, Hanson Weightman, 1903-1991. 2. JournalistsUnited StatesBiography. 3. War correspondentsUnited StatesBiography. 4. Foreign correspondentsUnited StatesBiography. I. Title.

PN4874.B26D38 2011

070.92dc23

[B]

2011023455

Print editions meet the requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

First printing

To the next generation:

Audrey, Gavin, and Flynnmay they never know war.

Contents

Historians frequently work alone, but we are helped in many ways by the kindnesses of librarians, archivists, colleagues, former students and spouses. Over the years of research, many people have helped me in ways both large and small.

This biography could never have been written had it not been for the willingness of the Baldwin family to be interviewed. Hanson Baldwin was a private man whose profession required that he comment publicly, and almost daily, on the passing parade of current events. But he never wrote about himself. My taped interviews with him at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, reflect his views on many subjects, including his own personal biases. His wife, Helen, joined us on one occasion, and their daughters, Elizabeth and Barbara, in separate interviews, were willing to share many anecdotes about their father. In 1975 Dr. John T. Mason, the director of the United States Naval Institutes oral history program, interviewed Baldwin on eight separate occasions. The Institutes 790-page transcript covered Baldwins entire life and career.

Before listing those persons whose help I want to acknowledge, I would like to single out Dr. Roland Dille, the president emeritus of Minnesota State University, Moorhead. During the 1980s, when I was doing my initial research, he had the foresight to fund several of the summer travel grant requests that enabled me to use the resources of five libraries and archives in three eastern states and in the District of Columbia.

Others who helped in many ways are: William Beecher, William Colby, Vincent Demma, Gail Hanlon, Greg Harness, John B. Oakes, Thomas Paterson, John Rothman, Charles St. Vil, Abigail Tom, and the Joseph Muse Worthington family.

Other institutions that were helpful were: the Boys Latin School of Maryland, Baltimore; the Clark County Historical Society, Springfield, Ohio; Columbia University Oral History Research Office, Butler Library, New York; The Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division, Washington, D.C.; George C. Marshall Foundation and Library, Lexington, Virginia; New York Times Archives, New York; Enoch Pratt Free Public Library, Maryland Department, Baltimore; Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York; Hollins College Alumnae Affairs Office, Roanoke, Virginia; Hood College Library, Frederick, Maryland; the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison; United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Reference Division, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; University of Virginia, Alderman Library, Manuscripts Department, Charlottesville; Yale University Library, Archives and Manuscripts Division, New Haven, Connecticut; and Wittenberg University Library, Springfield, Ohio.

My wife, Mary, initially took no interest in this project, correctly assuming that it was my hobby. In time, however, she began providing invaluable editorial comments for which I will always be grateful and I am indebted for her assistance. I also wish to thank my children, Peter and Rachel, for their continuous love and support.

I am solely responsible for the books content and willingly accept all criticism of errors of omission and commission.

T he eighty-four-year-old grandfather moved slowly and hesitantly toward a wingback chair next to the fireplace, over which hung two objects: a Steuben eagle given to him on the occasion of his retirement by his employer, and an oil portrait of his beloved wife, Helen, painted by his son-in-law. The old man sat down abruptly, positioning himself so that his right ear faced his guest, having been deaf in his left ear since a stroke in 1978. He replied to questions about his long career in a soft voice, carefully weighing each word, as if he wished to make sure that their meaning would not be misunderstood. He listened to each question attentively, followed by a pause, and then his reply would well up, increasing in volume as one topic after another brought forth events, issues, and personalities of our nations military and political past. It seemed to me as if his memory was organized in a web wherein every event and every person of the past was related in some way.