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ORIGINAL: crsutton
I don't necessarily think Mr. Durning was responsible for all of this myth, although he seemed somewhat reluctant to deny any of it. Not out of character for an dramatic actor...[;)] I have been know to let a few embellishments about my life remain uncorrected.

Embellishments about your life? Have you seen my current AAR? [8|]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

It is just sad to see major news organizations pass around such stuff without verifying the facts.

Sad, yes. But absolutely nothing out of character about it, which is even sadder.

Whatever precisely was his military record, Durning seems to me to have been the real deal. As far as not denying myths that others propagate, how does one do that? How much of his life should have been spent chasing down what other people said not in his presence and then seeking (and getting!) sufficient publicity to counteract it? Heck, he might not even have known some or much of the stuff people made up and passed around. I go easy on him on that score, and instead would only hold him responsible for what he wrote and said. He might well have spoken out about some myths but we never heard about it because those same sad "journalists" never published it.

The only thing I recall of possible substance is that he was interviewed on a television special sometime around 1994 about the Normandy Invasion, (and this is really digging back into memory) he also was asked to narrate a special about the invasion at another time. Do not rely on that, that is deep in long term memory - but my recollection of the fact that he was in the invasion is at least two decades old. Now try finding that on the net somewhere without slogging through 18 gazillion trivial posts of utter nonsense.

There were a couple of others that surprised me too. Like Eddie Albert (of Greenacres fame, no less) who was a coxswain for a landing craft at Tarawa.

ORIGINAL: RevRick


There were a couple of others that surprised me too. Like Eddie Albert (of Greenacres fame, no less) who was a coxswain for a landing craft at Tarawa.

I never knew that!!!!! [X(][&o]

Mr. Ziffle was on the same boat and Mr. Haney was the beachmaster.

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

ORIGINAL: RevRick

There were a couple of others that surprised me too. Like Eddie Albert (of Greenacres fame, no less) who was a coxswain for a landing craft at Tarawa.

I never knew that!!!!! [X(][&o]

He was interviewed about it on a show about the Pacific war quite some time ago. He told the story (as best I remember it) how on one run back out he approached a group of Marines who were standing on a reef under fire. They had lost all their weapons in the deep water, and he tried to take them aboard. They refused. Instead, they asked him to bring them more rifles so they could make their way to the beach where they were needed.

He got rifles for them at one of the transports, and when he returned to them they were all dead.

Well, the Washington Post issued a correction today about Mr. During's involvement in the Malmedy massacre. Don't know why this rubbed me the wrong way so much. Perhaps because all major media outlets were putting out the same misinformation. Below is the body of my letter to the editors that I wrote yesterday.

I was pained to read of the death of one of my favorite actors in the Post today. Even more painful to me was to read that according to the Post Mr. Durning "escaped the most deadly massacre of US troops during the war." Did the reporter think that Mr. Durining was a survivor of the Bataan Death March? No, of course not, since Mr. During did not serve in the Pacific. The obituary writer was in fact referring to the oft stated and unsubstantiated fact that Mr. Durning was present at the famous Malmedy massacre that took place during the Battle of the Bulge. There is no doubt that Mr. Durning served and was wounded in the European theater and without question he deserves our respect. But if the Post has found some accurate historical sources to confirm that he was indeed present during the massacre then now would be the time to disclose them.

In light of Mr. Durning's interesting and productive life perhaps this is a small matter. My point is that this article represents a more serious issue as far as the integrity of your paper. If a news organization as respected as the Post is willing to cut corners pass on misinformation without making a respectable effort to verify facts in a simple obituary then what credibility should we give any other article presented by your paper? I have long since given up relying on television, radio and internet news sources as trustworthy sources. Has the Washington Post also lowered the bar? I hope not. We not only expect but need you to be the best.

Good for you crsutton.