Wes Gallagher (October 5, 1911 – October 11, 1997) was an American journalist for the Associated Press. He worked as a reporter during World War II. He died in Santa Barbara, California.

College and early career

James Wesley Gallagher was born October 5, 1911, to James Gallaher and Crispa (Nelson), in California and stayed there for his some of his post-secondary education. He attended

Santa Cruz High School Santa Cruz High School is a comprehensive public school in Santa Cruz, California which originally opened in 1897 and now serves an enrollment of about 1,040 students in grades nine through twelve. It is part of the Santa Cruz City School Dist ...

, graduating in 1928,Grasso, Allen
“Old timer keeps tabs on past.”
''Cabrillo Times and Green Sheet.'' 1977-04-21. and then enrolled at

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

. Eventually he departed for the campus of

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. In 1937 he joined the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

at their Buffalo bureau after spending time in the employ of the ''

Baton Rouge Morning Advocate ''The Advocate'' is Louisiana's largest daily newspaper. Based in Baton Rouge, it serves the southern portion of the state. Separate editions for New Orleans, '' The Times-Picayune The New Orleans Advocate'', for Shreveport and Bossier City, ...

'' and ''

State Times ''State Times'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper from the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. The publication is owned and operated by State Times Group, J&K. The newspaper is widely read in the northern state ...

.'' While at the State Times he covered the assassination of Huey P. Long.

Work during WWII

During the war Gallagher covered North Africa and Europe for the AP. In 1940 the AP sent him to Copenhagen just in time to witness the Nazi invasion of Denmark. Reporting on the war he covered the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942, also served in Greece, the Balkans, and Austria. Gallagher was recalled to the New York bureau in 1951.

Post-war work

In 1945, freshly returned from the combat zones in Europe and Africa, Gallagher was appointed to head AP operations in Germany. He helped oversee the launching of AP's German News Service, based in Frankfurt which was instrumental in helping the German media rebuild after the war. In 1946 Gallagher covered the Nazi war crime trials at

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

. He outscooped his rivals on the verdicts by dashing 100 yards to where his wife, Betty, waited with an open phoneline. He led the Nuremberg coverage for the AP along with

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winners

Dan DeLuce Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

and

Louis P. Lochner Ludwig "Louis" Paul Lochner (February 22, 1887 – January 8, 1975) was an American political activist, journalist, and author. During World War I, Lochner was a leading figure in the American and the international anti-war movement. Later, he ser ...

. In 1954 he was appointed Assistant General Manager of the AP, a position he retained until Frank J. Starzel retired as General Manager in 1962. The AP board of directors chose Gallagher to take over the post. One of the duties he fulfilled as General Manager was to write the dedication for each of the annuals the AP produced for the years 1964-78, as well as for other AP publications such as ''The Instant It Happened'', a collection of famous journalistic photographs.

References

Associated Press

Oct. 19, 1962

Oct. 24, 1997 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Wes American male journalists 1997 deaths Associated Press reporters 1911 births Santa Cruz High School alumni