Koterba, Edward V. (01057132): Difference between revisions

Line 32:

== Biography ==

Edward Victor Koterba (17 May 1919 – 27 June 1961) was an American journalist known for his nationally syndicated columns "A Bit of Washington" and "Assignment Washington" as well as his investigative journalism for The Washington Post.

Koterba, the son of Czech immigrants, was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. After graduating from Omaha South High School in 1935, his first newspaper job was as a copy boy for the Omaha World-Herald. He briefly attended the University of Omaha in 1939, studying journalism and music while still working part-time for the Omaha World-Herald as a junior reporter and photographer. In 1940, he began working in Washington D.C. as a secretary in the War Department, and then as a secretary for Union Pacific Railroad.

Koterba, the son of Czech immigrants, was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. After graduating from Omaha South High School in 1935, his first newspaper job was as a copy boy for the Omaha World-Herald. He briefly attended the University of Omaha in 1939, studying journalism and music while still working part-time for the Omaha World-Herald as a junior reporter and photographer. In 1940, he began working in Washington D.C. As a secretary in the War Department, and then as a secretary for Union Pacific Railroad.

He was drafted into the army in 1942, and primarily worked in military intelligence posts serving as a Russian and Czech interpreter. His language abilities were key in his placement at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, where he became one of the Ritchie Boys. After the war, he settled in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, where he married Dorothy Chafont in September 1945. He was discharged from active duty in 1946, and began working for The Record Herald in Waynesboro (which at that time was run by his father-in-law, Floyd Chalfont). During his time at The Record Herald, he served as a reporter and editor, writing a popular daily column called "In Our County" under the pseudonym "Hank Hayseed".

Line 45:

Line 43:

On the day following the plane crash, John F. Kennedy opened his press conference on the Berlin Crisis with a tribute to Koterba: I want to first of all express my regret at the information I've just received in regard to the death of our colleague in these press conferences and a fine newspaper man, Ed Koterba, who, I understand, was killed in a plane crash last night. He was a most--he was an outstanding newspaperman who was associated with Scripps-Howard, and we want to express our sympathy to members of his family and also to the papers with which he was associated. I want to say personally that I'm extremely sorry to have heard the news. Koterba's name is inscribed on the Newseum's Journalists Memorial, along with over 2000 journalists from around the world who died in the course of their duties. In 2016, Koterba's son (who was nine years old at the time of his death) published The Essential Ed Koterba, a collection of his father's columns and articles spanning the course of his career.

== Research notes ==

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 == Biography ==
 Edward Victor Koterba (17 May 1919 – 27 June 1961) was an American journalist known for his nationally syndicated columns "A Bit of Washington" and "Assignment Washington" as well as his investigative journalism for The Washington Post.
-Koterba, the son of Czech immigrants, was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. After graduating from Omaha South High School in 1935, his first newspaper job was as a copy boy for the Omaha World-Herald. He briefly attended the University of Omaha in 1939, studying journalism and music while still working part-time for the Omaha World-Herald as a junior reporter and photographer. In 1940, he began working in Washington D.C. as a secretary in the War Department, and then as a secretary for Union Pacific Railroad.
+Koterba, the son of Czech immigrants, was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. After graduating from Omaha South High School in 1935, his first newspaper job was as a copy boy for the Omaha World-Herald. He briefly attended the University of Omaha in 1939, studying journalism and music while still working part-time for the Omaha World-Herald as a junior reporter and photographer. In 1940, he began working in Washington D.C. As a secretary in the War Department, and then as a secretary for Union Pacific Railroad.
 He was drafted into the army in 1942, and primarily worked in military intelligence posts serving as a Russian and Czech interpreter. His language abilities were key in his placement at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, where he became one of the Ritchie Boys. After the war, he settled in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, where he married Dorothy Chafont in September 1945. He was discharged from active duty in 1946, and began working for The Record Herald in Waynesboro (which at that time was run by his father-in-law, Floyd Chalfont). During his time at The Record Herald, he served as a reporter and editor, writing a popular daily column called "In Our County" under the pseudonym "Hank Hayseed".
@@ Line 45: / Line 43: @@
 On the day following the plane crash, John F. Kennedy opened his press conference on the Berlin Crisis with a tribute to Koterba: I want to first of all express my regret at the information I've just received in regard to the death of our colleague in these press conferences and a fine newspaper man, Ed Koterba, who, I understand, was killed in a plane crash last night. He was a most--he was an outstanding newspaperman who was associated with Scripps-Howard, and we want to express our sympathy to members of his family and also to the papers with which he was associated. I want to say personally that I'm extremely sorry to have heard the news. Koterba's name is inscribed on the Newseum's Journalists Memorial, along with over 2000 journalists from around the world who died in the course of their duties. In 2016, Koterba's son (who was nine years old at the time of his death) published The Essential Ed Koterba, a collection of his father's columns and articles spanning the course of his career.
 == Research notes ==