Walter Cronkite: Dies at ninety two

Walter Cronkite: Dies at ninety two

Former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, whose authoritative delivery of news events from the John F. Kennedy assassination to the Apollo moon landing and Vietnam War, made him "the most trusted man in America," passed away on Friday at age of ninety two.

According to CBS channel Walter Cronkite died in New York after an illness. Several weeks ago his family issued a statement inciting the fact that he had been suffering for some years with cerebrovascular disease and was not expected to recuperate.

His death coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, which took the first astronauts to the moon. Walter Cronkite was a passionate chronicler of the space program and anniversary celebrations of Apollo 11 have featured frequent rebroadcasts of his coverage of the historic moon landing.

Don Hewitt, a longtime CBS News executive and creator of the long-running "60 Minutes" news program, said, "He was the consummate television newsman," "He had all the credentials to be a writer, an editor, a broadcaster. There was only one Walter Cronkite and there may never be another one."

President Barack Obama said that Walter Cronkite "was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day; a voice of certainty in an uncertain world. He was family. He invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down."

Former President George W. Bush called Walter Cronkite as "an icon of American journalism."

For nearly twenty years, millions of Americans tuned in to the "CBS Evening News" in order to hear the day's major events as reported by Cronkite, whose avuncular manner and deep voice made his show the top-rated news program from 1969 until he got retired in the year 1981 and was replaced by Dan Rather.

Cronkite's demeanor inspired the nickname "Uncle Walter" and when he signed off his newscasts by saying, "And that's the way it is," few doubted him.

During his years at the CBS anchor desk, Cronkite was regularly voted as the "most trusted man in America" in opinion polls. Senator Robert Kennedy was so impressed that he asked Cronkite to run for public office.

Cronkite once said, "I don't understand my impact or success,"  "That my delivery is straight, even dull at times, is probably a valid criticism. But I built my reputation on honest, straightforward reporting. To do anything else would be phony."

Born on November 4, 1916, in St. Joseph, Missouri, Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. became a United Press correspondent in 1939. He was one of the first journalists accredited to American forces after the United States entered World War Two in the year 1941.

Walter Cronkite flew on the first bombing raids over Germany, by parachuting into the Netherlands with the 101st Airborne Division and landing with Allied troops at Normandy. However he never thought himself brave in World War Two.
Cronkite once said, "Personally, I feel I was an overweening coward in the war,"  "I was scared to death all the time. I did everything possible to avoid getting into combat."

Walter Cronkite joined CBS News in the year 1950 and hosted public affairs programs. In 1953, he started narrating the long-running "You Are There" series, which recreated historical events.

He took over the CBS anchor chair on April 16, 1962, and his stirring reports on issues from the space program to the Vietnam War often had as much impact as the events themselves.

Walter Cronkite grew teary and his voice cracked as he told the nation in 1963 that President Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas.

When he sought retirement from the anchor job, Walter Cronkite had expected to still get special assignments and projects from CBS channel and was disappointed that it did not work out that way.

Cronkite, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, spent his later years by making documentaries, writing books, giving speeches and exercising his passion for sailing. He also campaigned against global warming and spoke out against the Iraq war.

Cronkite's wife of 64 years, Betsy, passed away in 2005 from cancer. They had three children.