Seaghan Joseph Maynes (24 September 1916 in 65 Mill Street, Belfast, Ireland– 15 August 1998, Kingston, Hampshire, England) was a Reuters correspondent, best known for his on-the-ground coverage of the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, the

Reconstruction of Germany The reconstruction of Germany was a long process of rebuilding Germany after the destruction endured during World War II. Germany had suffered heavy losses during the war, both in lives and industrial power. 6.9 to 7.5 million Germans had been k ...

, and the

1948 Arab Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form Britis ...

. Maynes was born in 65 Mill Street, Belfast on 24 September 1916 to Joseph A. Maynes (an early electrician) and Mary O'Neill. His birth certificate gives his name as Seagan Liam Maynes although professionally he gave his name as Seaghan Joseph Maynes or Seaghan William Maynes. Maynes was educated at St. Malachy's College in Ulster just outside Belfast. He joined Reuters in 1944, and remained with the company for 34 years, retiring in 1978. During that time, he covered the D-Day landings, the

Liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germ ...

, the Nuremberg Trials, the creation of the State of Israel, the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the

Army–McCarthy hearings The Army–McCarthy hearings were a series of televised hearings held by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations (April–June 1954) to investigate conflicting accusations between the United States Army and U.S. Senator Joseph ...

, in Washington, D.C. He married Maura Sheehan (born 1922) in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland on 28 February 1949. That same year he moved with his new wife to Washington, D.C., from April 1949 until 1955. They then settled at 7 Cambridge Avenue, New Malden, Surrey KT3 4JY, England. He had two sisters named Isabel 'Lala' Murphy 1918 - 2013, and Moya Farren 1920 - 2008 both dying in Dublin. Maynes landed on D-Day with the other American airborne forces and he was accredited to General George S. Patton’s

U.S. 3rd Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

for much of the campaign. Maynes was the first British correspondent to enter Paris after the Normandy invasion, arriving with another accredited correspondent, Ernest Hemingway, two days before the city's liberation by Allied Forces. Maynes was part of the Reuters team that reported the original Nuremberg War Trials from start to finish, having earlier helped to set up Reuters offices in Hamburg and Berlin immediately after the close of hostilities. Maynes returned to Normandy in 1964 to report on the recovery of the region 20 years after the invasion."D-Day + 20 Years", ''The Liverpool Echo and Evening Express'', Friday, 5 June 1964 Maynes was dispatched to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

in 1948, accredited to the Arab Legion during the subsequent war with Israel. He joined Reuters Washington bureau in 1949, covering the White House during the Truman and Eisenhower administration. Maynes returned to the Middle East in 1956 to cover the

in 1956. Maynes retired from Reuters in 1978 and died on 15 August 1998, in Kingston, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maynes, Seaghan Joseph 1916 births 1998 deaths Journalists from Belfast Irish reporters and correspondents Irish war correspondents Reuters people 20th-century journalists