WWII journalist honored with collectible

Hasbro's G.I. JOE D-Day collection hit the shelves last week and included an action figure of former IU student Ernie Pyle, who was a Scripps Howard reporter and war correspondent during World War II. Pyle followed soldiers into battle and documented their experiences, which led to a Pulitzer Prize in 1944. A year later Pyle was killed by machine-gun fire. \nAccording to their Web site, Hasbro designed this collection to commemorate the Normandy Invasion and pay tribute to the courage of the men and women who participated in the battle. \nIn a press release, Derryl DePriest, director of marketing for Hasbro's G.I. JOE brand, said "... without the heroes of World War II and D-Day, this world would likely be a very different place. We're honored through this special G.I. JOE figure collection to pay tribute to the brave people who turned the tide of world history starting on that one, remarkable day."\nThe $19.99, 12-inch action figure is dressed in a field jacket, utility cap, trousers, scarf, boots and web belt. It comes complete with a helmet, goggles, canteen, bench, typewriter, entrenching tool, Pyle's signature "shovel," gas stove and a reproduction of one of his newspaper articles, "The Death of Captain Waskow."\nThe action figure also comes in a box, which includes two historical inaccuracies on the back. The biography not only says Pyle attended Indiana State University instead of IU, but also reads that he left IU before his senior year when he actually left the January of his senior year in 1923. \nIU School of Journalism dean, Professor Trevor Brown, said the errors were brought to his attention when someone gave him the action figure as a gift and pointed them out. Brown immediately responded to the situation by writing a letter to Hasbro, requesting they correct their information by recalling, repackaging and reissuing the doll -- an alternative which Brown knew probably wouldn't happen.\nHasbro could not be reached for comment but said in a press release the odds of reissuing the doll were "unlikely." Brown has not heard any response from Hasbro in regard to his letter.\nBrown wrote while it might be a trivial error for some manufacturer in a different state, it makes a big difference to the students, faculty and staff at IU. \nTo provide a basis for comparison, Brown said for them to imagine coming out with a Larry Bird doll and saying he went to IU instead of ISU, because Bird is just as important to ISU as Pyle is to IU -- the school of journalism is even located in a building named after Pyle. \n"On the scale of human affairs, this kind of error is not all that significant, but it is disappointing and irritating to those of us who live and work at IU and take pride in Ernie Pyle's relationship with this school," Brown said.