Albert Merriman Smith (February 10, 1913 – April 13, 1970) was an American wire service reporter, notably serving as White House correspondent for

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

and its predecessor, United Press. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1964 for his coverage of the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

and was awarded the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

in 1969 by

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

Background

Albert Merriman Smith was born on February 10, 1913, in Savannah,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Career

Known by his middle name (and his nickname, "Smitty"), Smith covered US presidents from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and originated the practice of closing presidential news conferences with "Thank You, Mr. President," which was the title of his 1946 book, written during his coverage of the

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

administration. That honor, accorded the senior wire service reporter present at presidential news conferences, became more popularly known when it was continued by Smith's UPI colleague

Helen Thomas Helen Amelia Thomas (August 4, 1920 – July 20, 2013) was an American reporter and author, and a long serving member of the White House press corps. She covered the White House during the administrations of ten U.S. presidents—from th ...

. Smith began covering the White House in 1940. After the United States entered the Second World War, he was designated as one of the wire service reporters to follow the president on all his travels. They agreed for security purposes not to file their stories until after each trip had ended. Consequently, Smith was in Warm Springs, Georgia, on April 12, 1945, and filed one of the first reports on the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. On November 22, 1963, Smith was the main UPI reporter in Dallas for

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's visit. He traveled in the motorcade in the White House Pool car, which had a radiotelephone. When the shots were fired, Smith grabbed the phone and called the UPI office. He stayed on the phone while Jack Bell, the AP reporter in the car, started punching Smith and yelling at him to hand the phone over. At 12:34 PM CST, four minutes after the presidential shooting, the report went out over UPI wire. In 1964, he received the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the assassination of US President

. He was the first to publicly use the term "grassy knoll" regarding the assassination. In the 1960s, Smith was a frequent guest on television interview programs hosted by Jack Paar and

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own t ...

. Smith was presented with the

by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967.

Death

Despondent over the death of his son in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

and perhaps suffering from PTSD as a result of witnessing the Kennedy assassination, Smith died at his home in Alexandria ,Va., on April 13, 1970 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Although he never served in the military himself, his grave is in Section 32 of

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

next to his son's, by special permission of the Commanding General of the Military District of Washington.

Merriman Smith Memorial Award

In 1970, the

White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...

established The Merriman Smith Memorial Award for excellence in presidential news coverage under deadline pressure. His name was removed from the award in 2022 because of his support of excluding Black and female journalists from membership in the

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

and from attending the

White House Correspondents' Dinner The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...

Works

* ''Thank You, Mr. President: A White House Notebook'' (1946, 1976) ** ''Danke sehr, Herr Präsident! Notizbuch aus dem Weissen Haus'' (1948) * ''President is Many Men'' (1948) * ''Meet Mister Eisenhower'' (1955) * ''President's Odyssey'' (1961, 1975) * ''Good New Days'' (1962) * ''News Media – A Service and a Force'' (1970) * ''Merriman Smith's Book of Presidents: A White House Memoir'' (1972)

References

External links

President Truman Correspondence with Merriman Smith
Shapell Manuscript Foundation

at Arlington National Cemetery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Merriman 1913 births 1970 suicides American male journalists Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting winners Suicides by firearm in Washington, D.C. 20th-century American writers 20th-century American journalists United Press International people 20th-century American male writers