Remembering Walter Cronkite
(1916-2009) National Maritime Historical Society Overseer and
Walter Cronkite loved sailing and rhe lessons of the sea; he used his fame and good name to help NMHS gain new members, strength, and fundin g so Sea History and irs stories wo uld have ever greater reach and importance. H e signed on as overseer and chairman of the NMHS Education Initiative and helped brainsto rm ideas for the future of our organization. A man of great hu mili ty, he expressed regret for not helping Peter Stanford and rhe Society even more. Recipients of rhe NMHS Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in M aritime Education benefit from the prestige and recognition his nam e co nfers. We are greatly honored that this American treas ure and icon becam e a significant leader in the National Maritime Histo rical Society, and we pay tribute to him here with a few of the many, man y stories that speak to his profound goodness . - Burchenal Green, NMHS President Walter Cronkite was in his element ar the opening of NMHS's new headquar ters in Peekskill in the fall of 1991. H e'd been talking with friends old and new, but we never expected anything quite like Walter's speech ar dinner. "Volunteering?" he said. "That's what I'm supposed to talk about, but I'm not going to. To learn about volunteering, do it. Ir's about action, not words. No, I'm going to talk about history, o r the lack of it, in our schools." He explained how his own daughters had fo und history "dull." "Of co urse histo ry isn't dull," he said. "It's the most exciting story we can know. It's our own story, after all, and bringing rhar story to life for people is our job. We in this society must do more to meet that challenge." Emboldened by I don't know what spirit, I rose to rel! Walter that we accepted his challenge, and invited him to jo in our Maritime Education Initiative, which was wo rking on developing school programs, as its chairman . Walter accepted our invitation, when heaven knows he had a myriad of other things to do, and sat with us to shape the first efforts of rhe initiative rhe following spring. H e honored us by giving us nor platitudes bur his own real concerns, and I trust in rhe course ahead we will always N .\TIO N.\L be guided by rhar kind and generous spirit. -Peter Stanford, NMHS President Emeritus
Peter Stanford presents Walter Cronkite with the NMHS Founder's Sheet Anchor Award at a 1991 ceremony at India House in New York. Over the years, I've had the honor and pleasure of working and dining with Walter Cronkite. As yo u can well imagine, he was a quintessential professional, while his company was charming and captivating. One evening, after Mr. Cronkite had presented the NMHS Walter C ronkite Awa rd fo r Excellence in Maritime Education ar rhe India House in New York City, I joined him for dinn er with his wife, Betsy, and several guests at one of their favorite restaurants downtown. The dinner conversation was eclectic, riveting, and humorous, ranging from foreign policy and energy issues to his love of sailing and his commitment to educational programs-as well as NMHS proj ects and efforts . O ut in public with one of the most respected and admired people in the world, we witnessed the spontaneous goodwill that was bestowed upon Walter and Betsy by their friends, colleagues, celebrities, and the public. It was a little like going to service in that yo u would repeatedly stand and sit as well-wishers stopped by their table to say hello. C learly, this was a regular pan of his publi c li fe because he was more than able to engage each parry as if they were the first to stop by the table. And when they'd left, he'd seamlessly return to the conversation we'd been having as if he had never been interrupted. Walter Cronkite was a man with an array of interests, concerns, and passion-and he was always a gentleman. For me, like for so many others, life is richer because of Mr. Walter Cronkite. -Richardo R. Lopes, NMHS Vice Chairman
just one of the crew: Walter Cronkite aboard USCG Barque Eagle, sailing with two students in an NMHS program.
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SEA HISTORY 128, AUTUMN 2009