CRONKITE WAS MOST TRUSTED MAN IN AMERICA
New York, NY- The life of all great men are celebrated at their death. That being said, let us that knew him rejoice in the fact that Walter Cronkite, host of the CBS evening news from 1962 to 1981, was a man of character and substance. At first, Cronkite bit into the poison apple that was Vietnam. But in 1967, Walter had seen enough and soon thereafter was questioning the war. This prompted then President Lyndon Johnson to declare, “If I’ve lost the trust of Cronkite, I’ve lost the trust of the nation.” Soon thereafter, Johnson decided he would not seek reelection in 1968. What was so memorable to me was when Cronkite would end his nightly broadcast during the Vietnam era by saying, “32 Americans died today in southeast Asia, bringing the American death toll to…” In the end the number exceeded 58,000 Americans.
WALTER CHOKED WHEN HE TOLD OF JFK’S DEATH
One of the most gut-wrenching times in American history was watching Walter announce the death of President John F. Kennedy on live TV November 22, 1963. At first, like with Vietnam, Walter was a team player. But once the compelling evidence came forth that Lee Harvey Oswald was the fall guy for the president’s public execution, Walter changed directions on the JFK assassination. In closing, Walter Cronkite will probably go down as the best national TV news anchor in history.