Brydon Taves dies in crash (12-27-43)

The Pittsburgh Press (December 28, 1943)

Brydon Taves dies in crash

UP war reporter buried in New Guinea

Adv Allied HQ, New Guinea (UP) –
Brydon Taves, United Press Southwest Pacific manager and war correspondent, and Pendil Rayner, of the Brisbane Telegraph, died yesterday of injuries received Sunday in the crash of a combat plane on New Guinea, it was announced today.

Two Air Force enlisted men were also killed in the crash which occurred as the plane took off on a combat reconnaissance mission to observe Marine landings at Cape Gloucester.

Mr. Taves, 29, received severe burns which covered more than half his body, and a fractured skull. He was conscious for about an hour after the crash, but lapsed into a coma and did not regain consciousness. He was hurried in a war cemetery somewhere in New Guinea today.

The first American correspondent to reach Australia after the Jap attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Taves organized and supervised United Press coverage in the war zone commanded by Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

Mr. Taves was a veteran of the London Blitz in 1940.

Born in New York City, he received his education in England and joined The New York Herald Tribune for his first newspaper experience. He joined the United Press in 1933.

On May 21, 1943, Mr. Taves married Diana Parnham, an Australian actress. His widow and a sister, Patricia Taves of London, survive.

Ian Morrison of The London Times and Hayden Lennard of the Australian Broadcasting Commission were injured in the crash and taken to hospitals. Their injuries were not serious.

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