The Pittsburgh Press (February 5, 1944)
Editorial: Raymond Clapper
This exceedingly fitting and gracious editorial appeared in yesterday’s editions of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Press reprints it as an eloquent tribute to a reporter whose work we were privileged to publish.
Other newspapermen have followed the troops to the field and died in line of duty, but none as well known as Raymond Clapper who might be called a volunteer. A Washington correspondent, he could easily have stayed at his desk in that safe place and continued to write clearly and fairly about what was going on throughout the world. But that happened not to be his way, and he chose to go to the Pacific to get his views on war firsthand.
That was one reason why newspapermen rated Raymond Clapper pretty close to the top among our columnists. If he didn’t score as many sensational scoops as his rivals, he consistently knew that he was talking, or writing, about. He could express his views as boldly and as vigorously as anyone, but he always took the trouble to make sure of his facts. Thus, his writing was characterized by that quietness, that objectivity, that sweet reasonableness which was the measure of the man.
Or just say that he was a newspaperman’s newspaperman, a straight-shooter, a conscientious craftsman, a swell reporter who was killed on the job; and let that be his epitaph.