David Maraniss and Tim Wendel Join Panel on WWII and the Journalists Who Covered It

A panel will discuss "Assignment to Hell: The War Against Nazi Germany with Correspondents Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, A.J. Liebling, Homer Bigart, and Hal Boyle," at a National Press Club Book Rap Tuesday, May 22, at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Rooms.

Panelists include:
Timothy Gay, author, "Assignment to Hell"
Walter (Chip) Cronkite III, son of Walter Cronkite
Tim Wendel, former Gannett/USA Today reporter and editor
David Maraniss, associate editor at The Washington Post and two time Pulitzer Prize winner

In February 1943, a group of journalists -— including a young wire service correspondent named Walter Cronkite and cub reporter Andy Rooney -— clamored to fly along on a bombing raid over Nazi Germany. Seven of the 64 bombers that attacked a U-boat base that day never made it back to England. A fellow survivor, Homer Bigart of the New York Herald Tribune, asked Cronkite if he’d thought through a lead. “I think I’m going to say,” mused Cronkite, “that I’ve just returned from an assignment to hell.”

"Assignment to Hell" tells the powerful and poignant story of the war against Hitler through the eyes of five intrepid reporters. Crisscrossing battlefields, they formed a journalistic band of brothers, repeatedly placing themselves in harm’s way to bring the war home for anxious American readers.

Reservations are required for this event and may be made at [email protected] or at (202) 262-7523. This event is free for NPC members, $5 for others. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Proceeds benefit the National Press Club's National Journalism Institute. No outside books will be permitted.