It’s been exactly 13 years since Velva native Eric Sevareid died. He was a highly regarded news analyst who worked for CBS News from 1939 to 1977.

Sevareid started out wanting only to write, to be a reporter. But Edward R. Murrow was impressed by his work. When Murrow offered him the CBS job, Sevareid hesitated but finally accepted.

Sevareid said one of his worst experiences took place during World War II while en route to China. When their plane malfunctioned, Sevareid and 19 others were forced to parachute into Burma, where a tribe of head-hunters helped them slip past Japanese soldiers patrolling the jungle. All 20 men survived and made it safely to India.

Source: Wooten, Jim, Museum piece – The American Journey of Eric Sevareid by Raymond A. Schroth. Columbia Journalism Review, May 1995. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3613/is_199505/ai_n8717122

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