Walter Cronkite, the television news anchor and icon for generations of Americans, died on Friday, July 17th, 2009. He was 92 years old. The famous television figure is known and loved by millions of Americans as well as people throughout the world.
Walter Cronkite was born on November 4, 1916. He first became a radiobroadcasting announcer in 1936. During World War II Walter Cronkite was one of the leading American reporters in North Africa and Europe and covered stories on B17 bombing raids over Germany, the Battle of the Bulge and even the Nuremberg trials after the war.
By 1950, Walter Cronkite had joined the CBS News and by 1962 had become the anchorman for the CBS Evening News. He covered such stories as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Apollo 13 mission disaster, the Iran hostage Crisis and the Watergate Scandal.
In his 1981 farewell statement from the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite said,
"This is my last broadcast as the anchorman of The CBS Evening News; for me, it's a moment for which I long have planned, but which, nevertheless, comes with some sadness. For almost two decades, after all, we've been meeting like this in the evenings, and I'll miss that… This is but a transition, a passing of the baton… Old anchormen, you see, don't fade away; they just keep coming back for more."
Well, Walter, we'll miss you too. You've been an important part of American culture for over 70 years! You have been one of our favorite guests in our homes and in our hearts. We will cherish the memories, we will honor your memory, we will not forget. And that's the way it is!
Walter Cronkite reporting from Vietnam
