PDA

View Full Version : PBS anchor reflects on his history with Marine Corps



thedrifter
03-27-06, 07:24 AM
PBS anchor reflects on his history with Marine Corps
By Jenna Buzzacco
Monday, March 27, 2006

Jim Lehrer doesn't bat an eye when people ask him about his time in the Marine Corps.

For him, it's one of the most important times in his life.

Lehrer, 71, was inducted into Ave Maria University's Gallery of Gyrene Greats on Saturday night during the second annual Gyrene Gala.

"If we are known by the company we keep, then I want to be known by the company I kept (Saturday)," Lehrer said. "It is an incredible honor to be here."

While Lehrer may be best known as the editor and anchor of PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," the little known fact is that he served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1956 to 1959.

Both Lehrer and his brother joined the Marines following in their father's footsteps because "it never occurred to us to do any different," Lehrer said. But even before the two men could walk into a recruiting office, their lives centered around the Marines.

"One day in 1926, my father was walking down the financial area in New York City when he saw a sign in the storefront that said 'Join the Marines, learn how to fly,' " Lehrer said. "Now it comes as no surprise to those of you who are Marines that my father never learned how to fly, but (my brother and my) first foreign words were 'semper fidelis' and the first song we knew was the 'Marine Corps Hymn.' "

Lehrer said he understood why AMU founder Tom Monaghan was making such a push to draw more Marines to the Florida campus through the Marine scholarship. A portion of the money from Saturday's gala goes toward a Marine scholarship fund. Last year the university raised $48,500 for one scholarship.

Lehrer said the Marine Corps teaches its members values that are beneficial in the civilian world. It also gives young men and women an instant support system, Lehrer said.

"It's all about family, not about fraternity," Lehrer said. "It's something very, very special, and if you haven't been lucky enough to experience it, then I'm not even going to try to explain it."

Monaghan said Saturday night that the university and its students would greatly benefit from having more enlisted students on campus.

"What we are trying to do here is build a spiritual military academy," Monaghan said.

And if more enlisted students began attending AMU, the surrounding community would have a chance to see just who was serving their country, Lehrer said.

"Marines are just real people and they are all kinds of people," Lehrer said.

While it's been about 45 years since Lehrer left the Marines, he still continues to stay involved in military related issues through his television show.

On Friday, Lehrer's show focused on the three-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, he said. It looked at how the men and women who served feel about the war now. In upcoming weeks, the show will look more in-depth at several battalions that have been serving in the most dangerous zones in Iraq, Lehrer said.

A plaque honoring Lehrer will be in the Gallery of Gyrene Greats on AMU's permanent campus once it is completed, said Maj. Gen. Mike Coyne, the organizer of Saturday's event. Coyne said Monaghan hopes to create a place where community members can come and honor the men and women who have served in the Marines.

Also inducted into the gallery Saturday night was Gen. Carl Mundy, the 30th commandant of the Marine Corps.


Ellie