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“The real inside story of the most serious journalism of the last century
and a brilliant portrait of America.” —Bob Woodward

A Century of Public Service Journalism

Editor & Publisher Magazine

Before Tom Hanks Movie, Charlie Wilson Aided Paper's Pulitzer

By Joe Strupp
Published: December 28, 2007

Page One Magazine cover: Pulitzer Season Opens NEW YORK Before former Congressman Charlie Wilson got involved in a covert CIA operation in Afghanistan, depicted in the current film, "Charlie Wilson's War," he played a major role in helping a small Texas newspaper garner attention that led to its winning the Pulitzer Prize for public service.

The Lufkin (Tex.) News took home the coveted Gold Medal prize in 1977 for its probe into the death of a local Marine who died during training. The investigation actually began after the paper ran an obituary of Private Lynn "Bubba" McClure, who died from injuries during training at a San Diego base, according to Roy J. Harris, author of the new book, "Pulitzer's Gold: Behind the Prize for Public Service Journalism."

After the News broke the story of McClure's death and the questionable training practices that went into it, Wilson, whose congressional district included Lufkin, launched a congressional investigation into such training practices that eventually led to changes in recruiting policies.

"The Pulitzer citation said that the Lufkin News had achieved changes in training," Harris said. "I would think that Charlie Wilson's campaign in Washington was the way that they got those changes made. Charlie Wilson is a star in the movie theater and it turns out he had a role in this prize."

Ken Herman, the lead reporter on the Lufkin News stories at the time and currently a White House correspondent for Cox Newspapers, also credited Wilson.

"He had an important role in this for a couple of reasons," Herman said. "Because a constituent was involved and there was a concept involved that Charlie was interested in."

Herman said Wilson had long questioned the change to an all-volunteer military and, although the Marines had always been a volunteer force, he saw the McClure case as an example of why recruitment and training practices needed to be examined.

"He was concerned about recruiting and here was a case that raised questions about it," Herman recalled. "Clearly, the feeling was that the stories had impact on recruiting and training techniques.

"He is the one who made the changes happen, he carried the congressional ball on this."