'Where we're headed that matters most'

 

“What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt - it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else.” – Hal Boyle

 

While he wrote mostly of nature in his final years, Boyle (born in Missouri in 1911) is best known for his syndicated newspaper column, and his work as a war correspondent and writer at conflicts and troubled spots around the world.  He won the first of his Pulitzer Prizes in 1945 for “Distinguished Correspondence” for his Front Line reporting during WWII.  The Overseas Press Club continues to honor Boyle’s legacy with an annual award in his name.

 

Boyle also won the Pulitzer for his newspaper column, which became a staple in over 700 newspapers and was a “must read” for millions. In his lifetime he wrote the column nearly 8,000 times, spawning a couple of bestselling books, including The Best of Boyle and The World of Hal Boyle.  To see and hear Boyle, check out the 1945 film dramatization of Ernie Pyle's book, The Story of G.I. Joe, where Boyle portrays himself. 

 

Shortly before his death in 1974 and thoroughly disgusted and ashamed by how people treated each other and the earth, he noted, “We need not worry so much about what man descends from - it's what he descends to that shames the human race.”