Ralph Waldo Barnes (June 14, 1899 – November 17, 1940) was an American journalist from

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, best known as a foreign correspondent in Europe during the 1930s. Retrieved April 13, 2012

Early life and education

Barnes was born in Salem, Oregon, on June 14, 1899 to Edward Talbot Barnes and Mabel Nancy Baker Barnes. He graduated from Salem High School in 1917, and that summer he began attending St. John's Military Academy in

Delafield, Wisconsin Delafield is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, along the Bark River. The population was 7,085 at the 2010 census. The city of Delafield is a separate municipality from the Town of Delafield, both of which are situated in township 7 North ...

. In the fall of 1918 he enrolled at

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

in Salem, but he had to interrupt his studies when his military reserve unit was called to

Camp MacArthur Camp MacArthur (or Camp McArthur) was an American military training base in Waco, Texas during World War I. It was named for General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. Arthur MacArthur Jr. (June 2, 1845 – September 5, 1912) was a lieutenant general of ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

for training. Barnes returned to Salem and received his bachelor's degree in history from Willamette in 1922. After earning his master's degree in economics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, he returned to Salem and married his longtime sweetheart, Esther Barton Parounagian. National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; ''Decimal Files, compiled 1910 - 1949''; Record Group: 59, ''General Records of the Department of State, 1763 - 2002''; Series ARC ID: 2555709; Series MLR Number: A1 3001; Series Box Number: 354; File Number: 131 Esther was born in Pittsfield, Vermont on December 12, 1901 and married Mr. Barnes on October 11, 1924. National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; ''Decimal Files, compiled 1910 - 1949''; Record Group: 59, ''General Records of the Department of State, 1763 - 2002''; Series ARC ID: 2555709; Series MLR Number: A1 3001; Series Box Number: 354; File Number: 131 She too was a Willamette graduate, though of 1923.

Career

In 1924, Barnes was hired by the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His first foreign correspondent assignment was in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. While assigned to Paris, in 1926, he interviewed

Gertrude Ederle Gertrude Caroline Ederle (October 23, 1906 – November 30, 2003) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder in five events. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. ...

upon the completion of her historic swim across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, and in 1927, he interviewed

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

after he completed the first solo

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing air ...

. In 1930, the ''Herald'' sent Barnes to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he reported on the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. In 1931, he became the paper's

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 millio ...

correspondent. He became known for reporting stories the Soviet regime did not want publicized, unlike Walter Duranty of ''

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 d ...

'', who was sympathetic to the Soviet government. In 1935, Barnes transferred to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, where he reported on the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

regime despite its censorship. After the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

, and the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, Barnes concluded that Germany would next attack the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, despite the 1939

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...

. The Nazi government expelled Barnes from Germany after the ''Tribune'' published the story.

Death and legacy

On November 17, 1940, on his way to cover Mussolini's invasion of Greece, Barnes was killed along with three

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

crew members when his plane crashed in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. Upon his death, reporters

Leland Stowe Leland Stowe (November 10, 1899 – January 16, 1994) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist noted for being one of the first to recognize the expansionist character of the German Nazi regime. Biography Stowe was born in Southbury, Conn ...

of the ''Herald Tribune'',

William L. Shirer William Lawrence Shirer (; February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) was an American journalist and war correspondent. He wrote ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', a history of Nazi Germany that has been read by many and cited in scholarly w ...

of Columbia Broadcasting, and William H. Stoneman of the ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Doughert ...

'' saluted Barnes and his achievements. Barnes was the first war correspondent killed 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 opposing ...

. In 1943, a

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

was christened the SS ''Ralph Barnes'' in his honor. Barnes was buried in the Florence American Cemetery in Italy.

References

External links

Schmidt, Eric, "Covering Conflict"
biography of Barnes from Willamette University with photos

from Salem Online History {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Ralph Waldo 1899 births 1940 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American war correspondents Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Journalists killed while covering World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1940 Writers from Salem, Oregon Willamette University alumni North Salem High School (Salem, Oregon) alumni American civilians killed in World War II

Early life and education

Career

Death and legacy

References

Further reading

External links