Covering the War as an American
By Millard Grimes
“I’m not covering
this war in an objective manner,”
said The Enquirer’s man in Viet Nam. “I’m covering this war as an
American. I
want it to be known which side I’m on.”
That’s our Charlie Black, talking
to a Newsweek reporter
who introduced Charlie to the entire nation in an article this week.
Charlie was already known to
families in every state
of the union, who have subscribed to The Enquirer to follow his stories
of the
individual men in the 1st Cavalry Division.
Charlie and the 1st
Cavalry got to Columbus about the same time, the summer of 1963. He
went along
on its first major maneuvers. He saw a concept take shape as a proven
method.
He had great faith in both the men and the ideas that went into
transforming
the experimental Air Assault Division into America’s most famous
fighting unit
of 1965.
There were times when the concept
appeared headed for
the scrap-pile. Helicopters can be contrary machines. But the men of
the
division -- and Charlie Black -- had faith in their mission and its
ultimate
justification.
That faith met its severest test
three weeks ago in
the Valley of Ia Drang, a long way from the practice fields of Fort
Benning.
There had been tests at various levels in the fall maneuvers of 1963
and 1964,
but the Ia Drang battle was the one which gave the Air Cavalry its
final
diploma.
And Charlie Black was there too.
In recent weeks, Charlie has
received the nationwide
recognition for his coverage which we on The Ledger-Enquirer Newspapers
have
always known he deserved. He’ll be coming home soon, but his prolific
typewriter will be turning out the story of Viet Nam and the 1st
Cavalry for
many more weeks. He couldn’t write it all while living in the field and
serving
occasional patrol duty.
In May of 1964, this column
contained a tribute to Charlie, which was appropriate then, but much
more so
today.
It said: “You don’t run
across reporters like Charles Black very often. He not only is of the
old
school, he also belongs to the new school, and then he has a special
school all
his very own… He wants to write the story of the peacetime GIs, who are
often
forgotten by the public. Chuck has done that better than just about
anyone I
know, and we’re proud that the pages of The Columbus Enquirer have been
his
vehicle.”
Now, he’s had the chance to write
the story of
peacetime GIs who suddenly find themselves thrown into a strange and
cruel war.
And Charlie says that America can
be very proud of
the young fighting men which this supposedly-soft age has produced.
When he gets back, Charlie
will have some great stories to tell of glory and courage and tragedy
and
devotion. – MILLARD GRIMES
View full
charlieblack.com website