Frank West Hewlett (1913 in Pocatello, Idaho – July 7, 1983) was an American journalist and 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 opposing ...

. He was the

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

bureau chief 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 ...

at the outbreak of war, and was the last reporter to leave Corregidor before it fell to the Japanese.

Education

Hewlett obtained his degree from

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927) University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho Stat ...

. He was later a

Nieman Fellow The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University ...

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 ...

Career

Hewlett worked 23 years as the Washington bureau chief of The Salt Lake Tribune. Throughout his career he has worked as a reporter for Japan Times,

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...

, Spokane Spokesman-Review,

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 20 ...

, Albuquerque Journal, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and

Guam Daily News The ''Pacific Daily News'', formerly ''Guam Daily News'', is a morning edition newspaper based in Hagåtña, in the United States territory of Guam. It is owned by Kaleo Moylan and is published seven days a week. History ''Guam Daily News'' beg ...

. Hewlett's limerick poem, "the Battling Bastards of Bataan" came to symbolize that campaign: Departing Corregidor before it fell, at the instruction of Douglas MacArthur, Hewlett followed

Frank Merrill Frank Dow Merrill (December 4, 1903 – December 11, 1955) was a United States Army general and is best remembered for his command of Merrill's Marauders, officially the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional), in the Burma Campaign of World War II ...

in the China-Burma-India theater, then coined the term ''

Angels of Bataan The Angels of Bataan (also known as the "Angels of Bataan and Corregidor" and "The Battling Belles of Bataan") were the members of the United States Army Nurse Corps and the United States Navy Nurse Corps who were stationed in the Philippines at ...

''. His wife, Virginia, working for the

High Commissioner to the Philippines The high commissioner to the Philippines was the personal representative of the president of the United States to the Commonwealth of the Philippines during the period 1935–1946. The office was created by the Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1 ...

, remained in Manila. She was interned at

Santo Tomas Internment Camp Santo Tomas Internment Camp, also known as the Manila Internment Camp, was the largest of several camps in the Philippines in which the Japanese interned enemy civilians, mostly Americans, in World War II. The campus of the University of Santo ...

and was not part of the

prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conventions Under the Geneva Conven ...

in the early part of the war, to his disappointment. They reunited during the raid to free the survivors in February 1945. She died in 1979. Later he would briefly work for the Department of Defense before returning to the private sector. Hewlett was a member of

Sigma Delta Chi The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

and the

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

Awards and honors

He won the National Headline Award in 1942 from his reporting of Bataan and Corregidor.

Death

Hewlett died at the age of 74 in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

from

bronchial pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity of ...

. He was survived by his sister, daughter, and two grandchildren.

References

American male journalists Year of birth uncertain 1983 deaths 1913 births American war correspondents 20th-century American writers 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers Idaho State University alumni Nieman Fellows {{US-journalist-1910s-stub