Wallace Terry
Encyclopedia
Wallace Houston Terry, II (April 21, 1938 - May 29, 2003) was an African American
journalist
and oral historian, best known for his book about black soldiers in Vietnam, Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War (1984), the first chapter of which served as a basis for the 1995 crime thriller Dead Presidents
.
Terry had a wide-ranging and eclectic career that reflected his many interests. Though primarily a journalist, he was also an ordained minister in the Church of the Disciples of Christ, and worked as a radio and television commentator, public lecturer, and advertising executive. He taught journalism at Howard University
and The College of William & Mary, where he sat on the board of trustees.
, he posed as a waiter to get an interview with Orval Faubus
, the outspoken segregationist governor of Arkansas, and gained national attention when a photograph of him shaking hands with Faubus hit the front page of The New York Times on September 14, 1957. Later, at Brown University
, Terry became the first black editor-in-chief of an Ivy League
newspaper. He did graduate studies in theology as a Rockefeller Fellow
at the University of Chicago
, and in international relations as a Nieman Fellow
at Harvard University
.
. His fellow reporters cheered his daring rescue, along with The New Republic
correspondent Zalin Grant, of the bodies of four newsmen killed by the Viet Cong on May 5, 1968, during the Mini-Tet Offensive in Saigon.
Terry’s 1967 Time cover story, “The Negro in Vietnam”, enjoyed a huge success, and he vowed that he would one day write a book about the sacrifices of black soldiers in Vietnam. His wife, Janice, a former schoolteacher who was his close collaborator, later wrote:
Finally, there was a breakthrough. The book Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans was published in June 1984 by Random House and became a national bestseller, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. "And that shadowy thing in our lives finally disappeared", Janice Terry wrote.
Wallace Terry wrote and narrated the only documentary recording from the Vietnam battlefields, "Guess Who's Coming Home: Black Fighting Men Recorded Live in Vietnam", which was released by Motown in 1972 and re-released independently in 2006 as a CD. He wrote and narrated the PBS Frontline show, "The Bloods of Nam", and the Mutual Broadcasting show, "Marching to Freedom", which won an NEA
citation and the Edward R. Murrow Brotherhood Award from B'nai B'rith
.
In 1992, he became the first J. Saunders Redding Visiting Fellow at Brown University. In 2000, the Brown University Alumni Magazine named Terry one of 100 graduates who made the greatest contributions to the 20th Century.
, which strikes about one in a million people. The disease can be treated with drugs, but in his case it was diagnosed too late. He died under treatment at a Fairfax, Virginia hospital on May 29, 2003.
He is survived by his wife of forty years, Janice Terry (née Jessup), and by their three children: Tai, Lisa, and David, and two grandchildren: Noah and Sophia.
At the time of his death, Wallace Terry was working on Missing Pages: Black Journalists of Modern America: An Oral History. The book was published posthumously in June 2007 to wide praise. Pulitzer Prize Winner Cynthia Tucker
called it a "treasure trove of history" in the May/June 2007 issue of the Columbia Journalism Review
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and oral historian, best known for his book about black soldiers in Vietnam, Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War (1984), the first chapter of which served as a basis for the 1995 crime thriller Dead Presidents
Dead Presidents
Dead Presidents is a 1995 American crime film written by Michael Henry Brown and also written, produced and directed by the Hughes brothers , starring Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodriguez, N'Bushe Wright and Bokeem Woodbine...
.
Terry had a wide-ranging and eclectic career that reflected his many interests. Though primarily a journalist, he was also an ordained minister in the Church of the Disciples of Christ, and worked as a radio and television commentator, public lecturer, and advertising executive. He taught journalism at Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
and The College of William & Mary, where he sat on the board of trustees.
Early life
Terry was born in New York City and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he was an editor of the Shortridge Daily Echo, one of the few high school dailies in America. As a reporter for The Brown Daily HeraldThe Brown Daily Herald
The Brown Daily Herald is the student newspaper of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It is financially and editorially independent of the University, and publishes Monday through Friday during the academic year with additional issues during commencement, summer and orientation...
, he posed as a waiter to get an interview with Orval Faubus
Orval Faubus
Orval Eugene Faubus was the 36th Governor of Arkansas, serving from 1955 to 1967. He is best known for his 1957 stand against the desegregation of Little Rock public schools during the Little Rock Crisis, in which he defied a unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court by ordering the...
, the outspoken segregationist governor of Arkansas, and gained national attention when a photograph of him shaking hands with Faubus hit the front page of The New York Times on September 14, 1957. Later, at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, Terry became the first black editor-in-chief of an Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
newspaper. He did graduate studies in theology as a Rockefeller Fellow
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and in international relations as a Nieman Fellow
Nieman Fellowship
The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to mid-career journalists by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. This award allows winners time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills....
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Career
When only 19, Terry was hired by the Washington Post in 1960 and later worked for Time magazine, from 1963. In 1967, Terry left for Vietnam, where he became deputy bureau chief for Time in Saigon and the first black war correspondent on permanent duty. For two years, he covered the Tet Offensive, flew scores of combat missions with American and South Vietnamese pilots, and joined assault troops in the Ashau Valley and on Hamburger HillBattle of Hamburger Hill
The Battle of Hamburger Hill was a battle of the Vietnam War which was fought by the United States and South Vietnam against North Vietnamese forces from May 10–20, 1969. Although the heavily fortified Hill 937 was of little strategic value, U.S. command ordered its capture by a frontal assault,...
. His fellow reporters cheered his daring rescue, along with The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
correspondent Zalin Grant, of the bodies of four newsmen killed by the Viet Cong on May 5, 1968, during the Mini-Tet Offensive in Saigon.
Terry’s 1967 Time cover story, “The Negro in Vietnam”, enjoyed a huge success, and he vowed that he would one day write a book about the sacrifices of black soldiers in Vietnam. His wife, Janice, a former schoolteacher who was his close collaborator, later wrote:
"For Wally, getting his book published became an obsession, a shadowy thing that was like another heartbeat in our household. It sat with us at the dinner table. It watched the evening news with us. It went with us to the movies, to church, to the grocery store. After thirteen years, we had sent the manuscript to a hundred publishers—and received a hundred rejections."
Finally, there was a breakthrough. The book Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans was published in June 1984 by Random House and became a national bestseller, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. "And that shadowy thing in our lives finally disappeared", Janice Terry wrote.
Wallace Terry wrote and narrated the only documentary recording from the Vietnam battlefields, "Guess Who's Coming Home: Black Fighting Men Recorded Live in Vietnam", which was released by Motown in 1972 and re-released independently in 2006 as a CD. He wrote and narrated the PBS Frontline show, "The Bloods of Nam", and the Mutual Broadcasting show, "Marching to Freedom", which won an NEA
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
citation and the Edward R. Murrow Brotherhood Award from B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
.
In 1992, he became the first J. Saunders Redding Visiting Fellow at Brown University. In 2000, the Brown University Alumni Magazine named Terry one of 100 graduates who made the greatest contributions to the 20th Century.
Death and legacy
In 2003, Wallace Terry developed a rare vascular disease called Wegener's granulomatosisWegener's granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis , more recently granulomatosis with polyangiitis , is an incurable form of vasculitis that affects the nose, lungs, kidneys and other organs. Due to its end-organ damage, it is life-threatening and requires long-term immunosuppression...
, which strikes about one in a million people. The disease can be treated with drugs, but in his case it was diagnosed too late. He died under treatment at a Fairfax, Virginia hospital on May 29, 2003.
He is survived by his wife of forty years, Janice Terry (née Jessup), and by their three children: Tai, Lisa, and David, and two grandchildren: Noah and Sophia.
At the time of his death, Wallace Terry was working on Missing Pages: Black Journalists of Modern America: An Oral History. The book was published posthumously in June 2007 to wide praise. Pulitzer Prize Winner Cynthia Tucker
Cynthia Tucker
Cynthia Tucker is an American columnist and blogger for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate. She received a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2007 "for her courageous, clear-headed columns that evince a strong sense of morality and persuasive knowledge of the...
called it a "treasure trove of history" in the May/June 2007 issue of the Columbia Journalism Review
Columbia Journalism Review
The Columbia Journalism Review is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961....
.
Books
- Terry, Wallace (1984). Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans. Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. (ISBN-10: 0394530284, ISBN-13: 978-0394530284.) - Terry, Wallace (2007). Missing Pages: Black Journalists of Modern America: An Oral History. Basic Books. (ISBN-10: 0786719931, ISBN-13: 978-0786719938.)