Editing Ernie Pyle (section)

==Early life and education==
[[File:Dana-Ernie-Pyle-birthplace-in.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ernie Pyle birthplace in [[Dana, Indiana]]]]
Ernest "Ernie" Taylor Pyle was born on August 3, 1900, on the Sam Elder farm near [[Dana, Indiana]], in rural [[Vermillion County, Indiana]]. His parents were Maria (Taylor) and William Clyde Pyle.<ref>{{cite book | author=Lee G. Miller| title =An Ernie Pyle Album: Indiana to Ie Shima | publisher =William Sloane Associates | year =1946 | location =New York | pages =8–9 | oclc=466608}}</ref><ref name=Brockman46>{{cite journal| author=Paul Brockman | title =Ernie Pyle's Library | journal =Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History | volume =16 | issue =4 | page=46 | publisher =Indiana Historical Society | location =Indianapolis | date =Fall 2004}}</ref> At the time of Pyle's birth his father was a tenant farmer on the Elder property.<ref name=BoomhowerTraces30-31>{{cite journal| author=Ray E. Boomhower| title =The G.I.'s Friend: Ernie Pyle | journal =Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History | volume =3 | issue =4 | pages =30–31 | publisher =Indiana Historical Society | location =Indianapolis | date =Fall 1991}}</ref> Neither of Pyle's parents attended school beyond the eighth grade.<ref name=Brockman46/>

Pyle, an only child, disliked farming and pursued a more adventurous life.<ref name=McMurray>{{cite web |author=John McMurray | title =Ernie Pyle's Reporting Vividly Brought WWII Back Home | publisher = Investor's Business Daily | date =January 27, 2016 | url =https://www.investors.com/news/management/leaders-and-success/ernie-pyles-reporting-vividly-brought-wwii-back-home/ | access-date =January 15, 2019}}</ref> After graduating from a local high school in [[Bono, Vermillion County, Indiana|Bono]], Helt Township, Vermillion County, Indiana, he enlisted in the [[United States Navy|U.S. Naval Reserve]] during [[World War I]]. Pyle began his training at the [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]], but the war ended before he could be transferred to the [[Naval Station Great Lakes|Great Lakes Naval Training Station]] for additional training.<ref>{{cite book | author=Ray E. Boomhower |title =The Soldier's Friend: A Life of Ernie Pyle | publisher =Indiana Historical Society | year =2006 | location =Indianapolis | pages=19–20| isbn =9780871952004}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| author=Ruth Padget Albright| title =Ernie Pyle at Indiana University | journal =Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History | volume =12 | issue =2 | page=6| publisher =Indiana Historical Society | location =Indianapolis | date =Spring 2000}}</ref><ref>He served three months of active duty until the war ended, then finished his enlistment in the reserves and was discharged with the rank of Petty Officer Third Class.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}</ref>

Pyle enrolled at [[Indiana University Bloomington|Indiana University]] in 1919,<ref name=Miller46-13>Miller (1946), page 13.</ref> aspiring to become a journalist. However, Indiana University did not offer a degree in journalism at that time, so Pyle majored in economics and took as many journalism courses as he could. Pyle began studying journalism in his sophomore year, the same year he joined [[Sigma Alpha Epsilon]] fraternity and began working on the ''[[Indiana Daily Student]]'', the student-written newspaper. During his junior year Pyle became the newspaper's city editor and its news editor; he also worked on the ''Arbutus'', the campus yearbook, although he did not enjoy the desk-bound work. Pyle's simple, storytelling writing style, which he developed while a student at IU, later became his trademark style as a professional journalist and earned him millions of readers as a columnist for [[E. W. Scripps Company|Scripps-Howard]] newspaper syndicate.<ref>Albright, pages 6 and 8.</ref>

In March 1922, during his junior year at Indiana University, Pyle and three of his fraternity brothers dropped out of school for a semester to follow the Indiana University baseball team on a trip to Japan. Pyle and his fraternity brothers found work aboard the S.S. ''Keystone State''. During its voyage across the Pacific Ocean, the ship docked at ports such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Manila, as well as in Japan before returning trip to the United States. Pyle's interest in traveling and exploring the world continued in his later years as a reporter.<ref>Miller (1946), pages 13–14.</ref><ref>Albright, pages 8 and 11.</ref>

After his trip across the Pacific, Pyle returned to Indiana University Bloomington, where he was named editor-in-chief of the ''Indiana Summer Student'', the summer edition of the campus newspaper. During his senior year at Indiana University, Pyle continued his work at the ''Daily Student'' and the ''Arbutus''. He also joined [[Society of Professional Journalists|Sigma Delta Chi]], the journalism fraternity, and was active in other campus clubs. In addition, Pyle was selected as a senior manager of IU's football team, making him a [[Letterman (sports)|letterman]] along with the other members of the team in 1922.<ref name=Albright10>Albright, page 10.</ref>

Pyle left school in January 1923 with only a semester remaining and without graduating from IU.<ref>Boomhower, ''The Soldier's Friend'', page 25.</ref><ref>Miller (1946), page 15.</ref>
He took a job as a newspaper reporter for the ''Daily Herald'' in [[La Porte, Indiana]], earning $25 a week.<ref>Boomhower, ''The Soldier's Friend'', page 27.</ref><ref name=GS279>{{cite book | editor= Linda C. Gugin and James E. St. Clair | title =Indiana's 200: The People Who Shaped the Hoosier State | publisher =Indiana Historical Society Press| year =2015 | location =Indianapolis | page=279 | isbn =978-0-87195-387-2}}</ref> Pyle worked at the ''Daily Herald'' for three months before moving to Washington, D.C., to join the staff of ''[[The Washington Daily News]]''.<ref name=GS279/>