Halberstam

He was a journalist's journalist, relentless in getting past the official lies of his time. He was everything a reporter should be. He loved this country, baseball and the truth, and he served them well.

Over 35 years ago, when he was just getting started, I wrote this about him:

"As late as 1963, the only full-time staff correspondent of an American newspaper in Vietnam was David Halberstam of the New York Times. Yet Halberstam, and a few reporters for the wire services and newsmagazines, despite great pressure from politicians in Washington and Saigon, told the story of the Diem regime's corruption and the self-deception involved in official optimism over the course of the war.

"Halberstam was rewarded by President Kennedy's suggestion to the publisher of the Times that he be replaced in Saigon and by the invective of Madame Nhu, President Diem's sister-in-law ('Halberstam should be barbecued, and I would be glad to supply the fluid and the match.')"