Ashburn, GA, (very close to Heaven!) | I remember sitting on the couch and doing homework while watching him. Noteworthy in addition to his nightly news casts was his trip to Vietnam, and being very discouraged about the chances of a decisive outcome that was favorable to us. Oh, and the Cronkite coverage of the manned space craft program. I was there watching him cover the Apollo 11 mission to the moon that we are recognizing the anniversary of this week.
When he had a substitute, usually Harry Reasoner, Charles Collingwood, or Roger Mudd, they would open up with an intro that they were sitting "in for Walter Cronkit, who is on assignment." I heard later that he had a yacht named Assignment, so, though on vacation, they made it sound like he was working and were telling the truth. When he retired in 1980, it was said that he was "the most trusted man in America." He always ended the newscast, "And that's the way is,..." and inserted the month, day and year.
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