This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Lastexit (talk | contribs) at 13:55, 23 May 2006 (creating article on Ernie Pyle House/Library). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 13:55, 23 May 2006 by Lastexit (talk | contribs) (creating article on Ernie Pyle House/Library)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Ernie Pyle House/Library, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the former home of famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle. It is a branch of the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System and contains Pyle memorabilia and a monument to Pyle, who was killed in the Pacific in 1945.
Pyle and his wife, Jerry, had this house built in 1940 after years of roving the country as a columnist for Scripps-Howard Newspapers. Pyle was born in Indiana, but chose Albuquerque for a home after visiting many times and developing, in Pyle's words, "a deep, unreasoning affection" for New Mexico.
Pyle's dispatches from military theaters overseas, which focused on the war through the experiences of front-line infantry soldiers, were read avidly by millions during World War II. He was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished war correspondence in 1945. Some of his columns mentioned the "little white house and picket fence" back in Albuquerque.
Pyle died from a sniper's bullet on the island of Ie Shima. Jerry Pyle died later in 1945. The City of Albuquerque acquired the house from the Pyle estate in 1948, and converted it into a branch library.
Although the house is an active branch library, its appearance as a home was carefully preserved. Both the interior room configuration and the landscaping, even the picket fence built by Pyle and the grave marker of his dog, Cheetah, has been preserved. It is visited by thousands of people every year from throughout the world.