Footsteps of Ernie Pyle

During visits to London, Normandy and Paris, Media School students analyze Ernie Pyle’s descriptions of war and foreign countries to an American audience.

three students gather around a gate sign in Chicago O'Hare Airport on their way home from London

Traveling home

By Gentry KeenerThe day was long, and everyone was exhausted.

a woman stands near the Seine River

The Seine River: A love connection

By Claire GrahamOn our second day in Paris, the city of light and love, we sailed along the iconic Seine River.

a museum exhibit features a small model house showing what a 1941 London home might look like

Imperial War Museum: A window overlooking hell

By Isabella Vesperini A model home in the museum transports visitors back to life in London in 1941.

an exhibit in the Churchill War Rooms shows a representation of Churchill looking at a map holding a clipboard

Churchill’s War Rooms and Museum

By Audrey VonderaheWinston Churchill’s legacy is complicated, and The Churchill War Rooms and Museum encourages visitors to decide for themselves how they feel about Churchill. 

three women smile and pose for a photo on a ship

A cruise across the English Channel

By Kara Acinapuro The Footsteps students took a ferry cruise from Caen, France, to Portsmouth, England, where they then drove to London.

a woman points to a memorial in Paris

Embarking on a World War II historical journey

By Dominic SolomitoThe students visited the memorial garden for the children of the Velodrome d’Hiver, the Hotel Crillon, the Hotel de la Marine at the Place de Concorde, and a bronze Charles de Gaulle.

Students stand in front of the National Theatre in London in the evening with string lights hanging above.

A day in London

By Natalie AustinLondon is built like New York City; however, you can see the remnants of Old London almost everywhere you look.

Fish on ice at a supermarket in Normandy.

Finding pieces of a familiar home in Normandy

By Lauren WinnefeldThe grocery stores and the smell of fresh-cut grass reminded the travelers of home back in the Hoosier state.

Seine River and the romance of Paris

By Audrey VonderaheThe words the tour guide spoke will stay with me forever: “Enjoy — An eternal Paris, a romantic Paris.”

buildings line a cobblestone street in Paris with clouds in the sky in the background

Montmartre: Exploring the heart of Paris

By Peyton SmithRich in art history, Place du Tertre has been used to sell paintings by local artists for decades.

A sign that says: "At this spot the 77th infantry division lost a buddy: Ernie Pyle, 18 April 1945."

Ernie Pyle’s resilient roots

By Cate CharronCate Charron and the other freshman honors students spent their first Saturday of college in Dana, Indiana.

A street in Montmartre. The most immediate building is a pink cafe called "La Maison Rose Cafe & Restaurant"

Montmartre radiates impressionist beauty

By Melissa DvojackiAs senior Melissa Dvojacki peered through the narrow cobblestone streets of the Parisian neighborhood, she pictured Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh painting away high up in a balcony.

Passengers look out onto the Seine River from a boat

The scenic Seine

By Katie McGinnisSenior Katie McGinnis and the rest of the Footsteps of Ernie Pyle class closed out their time in Europe with a riverboat tour down the Seine.

The view of Omaha Beach from behind barbed wire of a bunker

A windy morning in Normandy

By Katie McGinnisSenior Katie McGinnis visits Pointe du Hoc and tries to envision what the world went through on D-Day.

A circle of feet pointing at each other

Ernie stood here

By Melissa DvojackiSenior Melissa Dvojacki and the other Footsteps of Ernie Pyle students get closer to Ernie Pyle than ever before.