The tweed sports coat that Ernie Pyle wore to the White House to visit Eleanor Roosevelt is on display at the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in Dana.
The coat belonging to the preeminent World War II correspondent is one of several iconic artifacts on loan from the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. It marks the first loan agreement between the two museums.
“We are excited to receive these loans and want to thank Chief Curator Susannah Koerber and her team for working with us to make this happen,” said Steve Key, board president of the Friends of Ernie Pyle, who operate the museum in Dana. “I’d also like to thank state Rep. Tim Yocum for initiating the conversation between the two museums that led to this loan.”
The gray coat’s sleeves notably have visible holes in both elbows, but it was the only coat Pyle had with him when Mrs. Roosevelt’s private secretary Malvina Thompson called him with the First Lady’s invite for tea in November of 1943. Pyle shared his experience with his readers in a column headlined: “Ernie Pyle Has Tea With The First Lady.”
In addition to the sports coat, visitors to the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum can see the blue wool Navy training cap he wore at the end of World War I and the permit for the war reporter to leave the United States and remain overseas for one year, beginning Jan. 1, 1945. The permit includes Pyle’s height and weight.
The objects will be on view in the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum through November of this year. The artifacts on loan from the Indiana State Museum join other items housed in the Dana museum and diorama exhibits illustrating some of Ernie Pyle’s wartime columns. The museum also features the farmhouse where Ernie Pyle was born in 1900.
The museum in Dana is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Special tours can be arranged on other days. To request such a tour, call 765-665-3633 or email director@erniepyle.org.
Caption: From Left: Ernie Pyle WWII Museum intern Mikane Didier talks with Kevin Whaley and Katie Barbour from the Indiana State Museum. Whaley and Barbour installed a tweed jacket belonging to Ernie Pyle in a display case at the museum named for the famous WWII journalist in Dana, Indiana. The jacket is one of the items on loan from the Indiana State Museum through November. Photo by Andy Chandler.
About the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum
The Ernie Pyle World War II Museum features exhibits highlighting the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist’s life and the war and soldiers he covered as a correspondent. The museum includes the farmhouse where Pyle was born and Quonset huts showcasing memorabilia, films and educational material related to WWII military history, veterans, soldiers, journalism and the daily life of “The Greatest Generation.” For more information about the Ernie Pyle World II Museum, visit the museum’s website at erniepyle.org.
About the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites
The Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites is a museum system with 12 one-of-a-kind locations across the state that ignite wonder, inspire curiosity, reveal stories and create connections. The museum, located in White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis, serves as a central hub offering immersive experiences for visitors of every age and interest — from art and architecture, to history and culture, to science and nature. The historic sites stretch north to the shores of Sylvan Lake, south to the banks of the Ohio River and many places in between. Learn more at IndianaMuseum.org.
