Lecture Series: David Chrisinger – The Soldiers Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of WWII

David Chrisinger – The Soldiers Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of WWII

A beautiful reckoning with the life and work of the legendary journalist Ernie Pyle, who gave World War II a human face for millions of Americans even as he wrestled with his own demons.

At the height of his fame and influence during World War II, Ernie Pyle’s nationally syndicated dispatches from combat zones shaped America’s understanding of what the war felt like to ordinary soldiers, as no writer’s work had before or has since. From North Africa to Sicily, from the beaches of Anzio to the beaches of Normandy, and on to the war in the Pacific, where he would meet his end, Ernie Pyle had a genius for connecting with his beloved dogfaced grunts. A humble man, himself plagued by melancholy and tortured by marriage to a partner whose mental health struggles were much more acute than his own, Pyle was in touch with suffering in a way that left an indelible mark on his readers. While never defeatist, his stories left no doubt as to the heavy weight of the burden soldiers carried. He wrote about post-traumatic stress long before that was a diagnosis.

David is the author of The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II, which chronicles the life of renowned war correspondent Ernie Pyle and Stories Are What Save Us, a profoundly moving book that weaves together David’s journey as a writer, editor, and teacher with a wide range of craft tools and storytelling frameworks and structures he and his students have used to process trauma and conflicts in their own lives to create beautiful stories of growth and transformation. David is also a Logan Nonfiction Fellow and has contributed columns to the New York Times Magazine. He also regularly contributes to The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit newsroom dedicated to educating the public on military service, war, and its impact. In addition to his work as an author, David serves as the Executive Director of the Harris Writing Workshop, leads the Persuasive Writing Credential Program, and advises the student-led Chicago Policy Review at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.