"And that's the way it is."

Many of us grew up hearing those six words at the end of the CBS Evening News every night as Walter Cronkite signed off from his report from 1962 to 1981. Mr. Cronkite was laid to rest yesterday after passing away at the age of 92 late Friday night.

I remember him coming on every night during the height of the Vietnam War and giving us the body count for the day. He would tell us how many North Vietnamese we killed and how many American soldiers were killed that day. It gave us a sense we were winning because we were killing more of them than they were killing Americans.

He was a journalist and television anchor for close to fifty years who became, (according to many polls) "the most trusted man in America." He reported many events including bombings during World War II, the Nuremberg Trials, combat in the Vietnam War, JFK's assassination, the moon landing, Watergate and the Iran Hostage Crisis, to name just a few. He was in our living rooms talking to us. We trusted him.

The one event I will always remember was watching him come close to breaking down as he put his glasses back on while he reported the death of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963. This is a very short snippet of that report.

Here it is:



Do you remember where you were when you heard him utter those words? If you are old enough, I'm guessing you do. I remember him being a rock as he covered the next several days. Now, he's gone too. Rest in Peace, Mister Cronkite.

I welcome your comments.

Later,

Mike