Bill Downs
A CBS newsman who brought the chaos of World War II's front lines into American living rooms with gritty, immediate reporting.
1914–1978 (age 64)·American broadcast journalist and war correspondent·Birthday: August 17·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Bill Downs was a wire-service reporter turned radio voice who became one of Edward R. Murrow's trusted 'Boys,' the cadre of correspondents who defined broadcast journalism during World War II. He didn't just report the war; he lived in its midst, filing dispatches from bomber runs over Germany, the D-Day landings at Normandy, and the brutal Battle of the Bulge. His style was less polished oration than urgent, factual storytelling, conveying the exhaustion and peril of the front. After the war, he covered the birth of the Cold War from Moscow and later reported on the Korean conflict. Shifting to television, he brought the same no-frills integrity to ABC News, anchoring nightly broadcasts and covering the political upheavals of the 1960s, always with the hard-won perspective of a man who had seen history up close.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Bill was born in 1914, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bill Was Born
The biggest hits of 1914
Bill's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1914Born
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1919Started school
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1927Became a teenager
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1930Could drive
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1932Could vote
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1935Turned 21
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1944Turned 30
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1954Turned 40
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1964Turned 50
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1974Turned 60
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1978Died at 64
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
Key Achievements
- Was one of the original 'Murrow Boys,' the elite team of CBS war correspondents during World War II.
- Reported live from a B-17 bomber during a raid over Germany, one of the first such broadcasts.
- Served as the CBS bureau chief in Moscow during the early, tense years of the Cold War.
- Became the first anchorman for ABC's evening news program following his move to the network in 1963.
Did You Know?
He coined the term 'Iron Curtain' in a broadcast months before Winston Churchill's famous speech, though Churchill popularized it.
Downs was aboard the USS *Missouri* in Tokyo Bay to report on the Japanese surrender ceremony.
He wrote the narration for the 1944 documentary 'The Fighting Lady,' which won an Academy Award.
Before joining CBS, he worked for the United Press wire service in Chicago and London.
“The only way to cover a war is to go where the fighting is. Otherwise, you're just rewriting handouts.”
