Bill Shadel

Bill Shadel
Born	Willard Franklin "Bill" Shadel (1908-07-31)July 31, 1908 Milton, Wisconsin,U.S.
Died	January 29, 2005(2005-01-29)(aged 96) Renton, Washington,U.S.
Resting place	Milton Junction Cemetery,Milton Junction, Wisconsin 42°46′59.4222″N88°57′28.2558″W
Alma mater	Andrews University
Occupations	Journalist radio broadcaster
Known for	On-the-spot radio reports from London and other locations in Europe during World War II.
Spouse	Marion Kocher Julie Strouse ​ ​ (m.1935)​
Children	4

Willard Franklin "Bill" Shadel(July 31, 1908 – January 29, 2005) was an American news anchor forCBS RadioandABCTelevision. Shadel was born inMilton, Wisconsin,one of five children and the younger of two sons of Franklin Luther and Ida Louise Pachel Shadel. He was musically talented and in his early years provided music for silent movies.He graduated fromAndrews Universityin Michigan. Shadel assumed direction of the college band and orchestra in 1929, while still a student and then worked as an assistant program manager for the college's radio station, responsible for music presentations that included his performing as a soloist on marimba, saxophone, clarinet, and trombone and him directing bands and choirs for the station. His work as a soloist and with these groups, which also gave programs for the school, was an immediate hit with their members and the campus at large. While at Andrews University, he married Marion I. Kocher and they had two sons, Willard F., Jr. and Gerald I. He led the groups for two years following his graduation in 1932, while teaching political science courses, and then left to lead the band, orchestra, and choirs at Washington Missionary College, nowWashington Adventist University,in Washington, D.C. He received a master's degree in history from theUniversity of Michigan. Shadel began his career as a musician in silent-movie theaters before taking his marimba to live radio. Shadel began writing forThe American Rifleman- a journal of theNational Rifle Association of America(NRA). Shadel received press credentials from CBS and shipped overseas to cover the European Theater. His duties were taken over by his associate editors, and The American Rifleman carried articles and interviews by Shadel up until the end of the war. Edward R. Murrowrecruited Shadel while he was working in Europe as a correspondent for the National Rifle Association. DuringWorld War II,Shadel covered the June 6, 1944,D-Dayinvasion for CBS Radio. During his years at CBS, Shadel worked alongside Murrow,Howard K. Smith,Walter Cronkite,andEric Sevareid.He and Murrow were the first reporters in the German concentration camp at Buchenwald. They came by jeep and were swarmed by the starving and dying. Mr. Shadel said it was the memory of the living, not the multitudes of dead, that stayed with him most.After the war, Shadel reported from Washington, D.C., trying his hand at television atWTOP-TV as aCapitol Hillreporter for the local CBS news program then anchored by Walter Cronkite.Each week on WTOP-TV, a local department store sponsored a fashion show; Shadel met and fell in love with one of the models. She became his wife of more than 56 years, Julie Strouse.

In 1954 Shadel became the first host of theSunday-morning interview showFace the Nation.He later became one of several anchors for ABC's Evening News afterJohn Charles Dalystepped down in 1960, and also that year moderated the third presidential debate betweenRichard M. NixonandJohn F. Kennedy.Anchored ABC's 12 hour coverage of John Glenn's three-orbit flight around the Earth in 1962.He left the news business in 1963, then taught as Professor of communications at theUniversity of Washingtonuntil retiring 12 years later. Given the "Witness to the Truth" award by theSimon Wiesenthal Centerin 1990. Shadel was the 1951 president of theRadio-Television Correspondents Association.

External links

• USA Today Obituary
• Bill ShadelatIMDb