Boyd Lewis - Victory In The West

In the West, May 6, 1945, the time, afternoon, the place, the United Press offices in Paris, France, the man, Boyd Lewis, European News Manager of the United Press, the action. Hello?

That you, Lewis? Oh, hello, hello. You've got exactly 15 minutes to meet me at La Bougie Airport, and you make it right away, don't tell me the war is over. Never mind, you're going on an important out of town with Simon Chickalay.

Okay, oh, this is it. Stand by on the 24-hour alert and don't further notice. On my arrival at the airport I ran into 15 other war correspondents representing various world press services, newspapers and radio.

Army officials hurriedly crowded us into a big Douglas C-47 and soon we were flying over the rooftops of Paris heading east. The nature of our mission was soon disclosed and we were told to gather around an army official in the waist of a speeding plane.

We are going on a mission to cover the signing of peace. Wait a minute, wait a minute, you represent the press of the world. This story is off the record until the respective heads of allied governments announce the fact of the world. I therefore pledge each and every one of you on your honor not to communicate the results of this conference

or the fact of its existence until it is released by Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force. I reiterate, this story you are going to cover is tough secret. By top secret, the Army man meant that the story was in the highest confidential category.

Another correspondence and the plane raised an objection to this pledge, although one was later defilated. At any rate, our plane landed us Sunday afternoon at Rans, the advanced headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower.