Laurence Edward LeSueur (June 10, 1909 – February 5, 2003) was an American journalist and a war correspondent during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He worked closely with

Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe f ...

and was one of the original

Murrow Boys The Murrow Boys, or Murrow's Boys, were the CBS radio broadcast journalists most closely associated with Edward R. Murrow during his time at the network, most notably in the years before and during World War II. Murrow recruited a number of newsm ...

Early life

LeSueur was born on June 10, 1909, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Bliss, Edward. ''Now the News: The Story of Broadcast Journalism'',
Google Books link
,

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, 1991, p. 93, (). Both his father and his paternal grandfather were journalists; his grandfather ran a newspaper while an Indian Agent in

Tama, Iowa Tama is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,130 at the time of the 2020 census. Tama is situated two miles south of Toledo, the county seat. The two towns are close enough to have nearly grown together over the year ...

, and his father was a foreign correspondent for the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

''.

Career

LeSueur began studies at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

(NYU) in 1927. LeSueur studied English at NYU and, in 1932, received his bachelor's degree.02-06-2003: CBS Newsman Larry LeSueur One of Murrow's Boys Dies at the Age of 93
, (

Press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

), ''

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

'', February 6, 2003, accessed June 21, 2011. LeSueur's first jobs out of college were at

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

and ''

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...

''. Shortly afterward, he began working as a reporter for

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

, a wire syndicate. In 1939, LeSueur traveled to England, where he approached

about a job.Woo, Elaine.
Larry LeSueur/'Murrow Boy' former war correspondent
, (

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

), ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', February 8, 2003, accessed June 21, 2011. He was subsequently hired by CBS and Murrow. LeSueur covered the war across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, filing

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

reports from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He covered the war on '' London After Dark'', along with Murrow and

Eric Sevareid Arnold Eric Sevareid (November 26, 1912 – July 9, 1992) was an American author and CBS news journalist from 1939 to 1977. He was one of a group of elite war correspondents who were hired by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and nicknamed " Murrow's ...

, reporting the ongoing

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

.Variety Staff.
Larry LeSueur:Peabody-winning radio pioneer journalist
, (

), ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', February 6, 2003, accessed June 21, 2011. He reported extensively from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

after he was assigned to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1941. Dunning, John. ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'',
Google Books link
,

Oxford University Press US Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1998, p. 502, (). LeSueur covered

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, the Liberation of Paris, as well as the Liberation of Dachau and

Mauthausen Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regu ...

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

. He delivered the first broadcast to American listeners from a liberated Paris via underground radio broadcast that had not been cleared by military censors. He was cited for that by the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

for "outstanding and conspicuous service" and awarded the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and the

French Liberation Medal The Medal of a liberated France (french: "Médaille de la France libérée") was a decoration of the French Republic created by decree on 12 September 1947 and originally named the "Medal of Gratitude of a Liberated France" (french: "Médaille d ...

. On D-Day, LeSueur landed with American troops on

Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...

. He went ashore with the American 4th Infantry Division (United States), but his cables from June 6 were lost by Navy couriers en route to London. Goldstein, Richard.,
Larry LeSueur, Pioneering War Correspondent, Dies at 93
, (

), ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 7, 2003, accessed June 21, 2011. It took a week until his broadcasts from the first day of Normandy could be heard by US listeners. Twelve days later, on the June 18 edition of CBS World News Today, LeSueur gave his account of landing at Normandy and witnessing the Allied bombings across the beaches, the surrenders of Nazi soldiers, and his eventual arrival to the skirmish in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont just hours after the landings. He was awarded the

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

for his reporting on World War II. LeSueur also penned a book in 1943, ''Twelve Months That Changed the World'', about important Eastern Front battles he covered in 1941 and 1942 for

. After the war ended LeSueur became CBS's

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

correspondent and covered the Paris Peace Conference. Soon afterward, he began covering the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. In 1948, LeSueur and

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

were awarded a Peabody Award for radio shows ''UN in Action'', ''Between Dark and Daylight'' and others.CBS Radio Institutional Award for Outstanding Programming in the Promotion of International Understanding
", '' The Peabody Awards'', official site, accessed June 22, 2011. A year later, as moderator of the CBS Television show ''United Nations in Action'', he won another

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

.George Foster Peabody Award Winners
", '' The Peabody Awards'', official site, pp. 10-11, accessed June 22, 2011. He also co-hosted the CBS television show ''

Longines Chronoscope ''Longines Chronoscope'', also titled ''Chronoscope'', is an American TV series, sponsored by Longines watches, that ran on CBS Television from 1951–1955. The series aired Monday nights at 11 p.m. ET to 11:15 p.m., and expanded to Mondays, ...

'' (1951–55). LeSueur's last appearance on CBS Radio came in 1999, when he appeared with former Murrow's Boys colleagues Richard C. Hottelet, Howard K. Smith,

Marvin Breckinridge Patterson Mary Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (October 2, 1905December 11, 2002), was an American photojournalist, cinematographer, and philanthropist. She used her middle name, Marvin, both professionally and personally to distinguish herself from her cousi ...

, and other former radio colleagues

Robert Trout Robert Trout (born Robert Albert Blondheim; October 15, 1909 – November 14, 2000) was an American broadcast news reporter who worked on radio before and during World War II for CBS News. He was regarded by some as the "Iron Man of Radio" for ...

and

Ed Bliss Edward Lydston Bliss, Jr. (July 30, 1912 – November 25, 2002) was an American broadcast journalist, news editor and educator. After 25 years at CBS News (1943–1968) as editor, copywriter and producer for Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, ...

for a 20th-century roundup show. LeSueur left CBS and joined

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

(VOA) in 1963. LeSueur was considered the "forgotten" Murrow's Boy. At the time, VOA was an agency of the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bil ...

, then headed by Murrow. As a reporter at VOA, he was the White House correspondent until he retired in 1984.

Personal life

LeSueur was married three times. The first two marriages, to Joan Phelps and Priscilla Bruce, ended in divorce, but his final marriage, to Dorothy Hawkins, lasted for 46 years until his death. He also had two daughters, one with Hawkins and another with Bruce.

Death

He died at 93 on February 5, 2003, at his home in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, after a long battle with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. His wife, Dorothy, told

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

that on his death, he was listening to former Secretary of State Colin Powell address the UN on the evidence surrounding

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

's alleged

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...

stockpiles in the run-up to the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

.de Vries, Lloyd.
CBS News Pioneer LeSueur Dies
, (

), ''

'', February 11, 2003, accessed June 21, 2011.

Awards and honors

*Peabody Award: 1948 – Institutional Award for Outstanding Programming in the Promotion of International Understanding. *Peabody Award: 1949 – Television News Award as moderator of '' United Nations in Action''.United Nations in Action
", ''

Peabody Awards The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

'', official site, accessed June 21, 2011.

Selected publications

*Twelve Months That Changed the World (1943)

Notes

External links

*August, Melissa, ''et al.''
Milestones Feb. 17, 2003
, (includes LeSueur obituary), ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'', February 17, 2003, accessed June 21, 2011.
Guide to the Larry LeSueur papers, 1935-2003
Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University. *LeSueur, Larry.
Big Ben Bombed
, (

Mp3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

Audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound * Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...

Radio broadcast Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

), May 11, 1941, via Musser, Rick. ''

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

'', School of Journalism & Mass Communications, accessed June 21, 2011. *LeSueur, Larry.
Suicide Job Of The 1942 War
, (

), May 16, 1942, via Musser, Rick. ''

'', School of Journalism & Mass Communications, accessed June 21, 2011. *LeSueur, Larry.
Paris Not Yet Free
, (

), August 24, 1944, via Musser, Rick. ''

'', School of Journalism & Mass Communications, accessed June 21, 2011.
War Reporter LeSueur Dies
, (

), ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

'', February 6, 2003, accessed June 21, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesueur, Larry 1909 births 2003 deaths American male journalists American radio reporters and correspondents American war correspondents of World War II CBS News people Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Medal of Freedom

Early life

Career

Personal life

Death

Awards and honors

Selected publications

Notes

Further reading

External links