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{{Short description|American journalist (1913–1948)}}
'''George Polk''' (17 October [[1913]], [[Fort Worth]], [[Texas]] - May [[1948]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[journalist]] for [[CBS]] who disappeared in [[Greece]] and was found dead a few days later on Sunday [[May 16]], [[1948]], shot at [[point-blank range]] in the back of the head, and with hands and feet tied. Polk was covering the civil war in Greece between the right wing government and communists and had been critical of both sides. He alleged that a few officials in the Greek government had embezzled up to $250,000 in aid (or $2.2 million in 2007 dollars) from the Truman Administration, a charge that was never proved.
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = George Polk
| image= Lt. George W. Polk, USNR, c1943.jpg
| caption = Polk, {{Circa|1943}}
| birthname = George Washington Polk, Jr.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Polk, George |chapter-url=https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1603284 |title=American National Biography |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1603284 |isbn=978-0-19-860669-7 |access-date=March 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315151137/https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1603284 |archive-date=March 15, 2022|chapter-url-access=subscription|last1=Auster |first1=Albert }}</ref>
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1913|10|17|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Fort Worth, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date = ca. {{death date and age |mf=y|1948|05|15|1913|10|17}}
| death_place = [[Thessaloniki]], Greece
| education =
| occupation = [[Journalist]]
| alias =
| title =
| family =
| spouse = Rea Coccins
| children =
| relatives =
| credits = [[CBS]]
| URL =
}}
'''George Washington Polk Jr.''' (October 17, 1913 – May 1948) was an American [[journalist]] for [[CBS]] who was murdered during the [[Greek Civil War]] in 1948.


==Early life and education==
He had been particularly outspoken in his criticism of the Truman government's unqualified support for the rightist authoritarian regime in Greece.
Polk was born in [[Fort Worth, Texas]], the son of lawyer George Washington Polk Sr. and librarian Adalaide Roe. He studied at the [[Virginia Military Institute]] from 1930-1933, but withdrew prior to receiving a degree.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Washington Polk Jr. |url=https://archivesweb.vmi.edu/rosters/record.php?ID=11092 |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=Historical Rosters Database |publisher=Virginia Military Institute archives digital collections}}</ref>
In the late 1970s, the story emerged as to how AMAG (American Mission for Aid to Greece) authorities helped the Greek police frame two young communists for his death. {{Fact|date=May 2008}}


==Career==
A communist journalist, Gregorios Staκtopoulos, was tried and convicted of helping Vaggelis Vasvanas and Adam Mouzenidis, members of the illegal communist army, commit the murder. Staktopoulos himself maintained that the confession that led to his conviction was obtained through torture, and in fact it was later revealed that Adam Mouzenidis arrived at Salonica, where he was allegedly introduced to Polk, two days after Polk's murder, and Vasvanas was not in Greece at the time. {{Fact|date=May 2008}} An investigation by James G.M. Kellis (also known as Killis), a former [[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]] officer with knowledge of Greek political circles and power brokers, concluded that Greek communist circles lacked the power and influence to commit the murder and cover it up. Kellis worked on contract for the Wall Street law firm of [[William Joseph Donovan|William 'Wild Bill' Donovan]], the former head of OSS, who was hired by journalist [[Walter Lippman]] to investigate the case. Following Kellis' conclusion that it was more likely Polk had been murdered by right-wing groups within or affiliated to the Greek government, the investigation was halted and Kellis recalled to Washington. At the time the US government was financially supporting the Greek government mainly to prevent a communist take-over of the country. The Greek government had been supported by the British Government throughout 1941-1945 but this became an impossibility after the war.
In 1933, Polk began working as a salesman. Five years later, in 1938, he completed his undergraduate degree in English at the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]], and had begun writing for the ''[[Fort Worth Press]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Polk {{!}} UAF Centennial |url=https://www.uaf.edu/centennial/uaf100/polk.php |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=www.uaf.edu}}</ref>


After graduating, he lived in [[Asia]], where he joined the ''[[Shanghai Evening Post]]''. In 1940, he returned to the United States, working then for the ''[[New York Herald Tribune|Herald Tribune]]'' and teaching at [[New York University]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Miller |first=Douglass W. |date=1941 |title=News Notes |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/107769904101800325 |journal=Journalism Quarterly |language=en |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=338–346 |doi=10.1177/107769904101800325 |issn=0022-5533 |via=Sage}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Polk, George (1913-1948), journalist and broadcast foreign correspondent |url=https://www.anb.org/display/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1603284 |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=American National Biography |date=2000 |language=en |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1603284 |last1=Auster |first1=Albert }}</ref>
According to journalists for mainstream US and British newspapers in the mid-1940s, the US-installed Fascist Greek government routinely used mass arrests, torture, and the forced expulsion and "re-education" of political undesirables. {{Fact|date=May 2008}}


===World War II===
In fact, the government's foreign minister had resigned in disgust in early 1946 because of rampant "terrorism by state organs."
During [[World War II]], Polk enlisted with a [[Seabees in World War II|Naval Construction Battalion]]. After the [[Guadalcanal Campaign|invasion of Guadalcanal]], the first element of Construction Unit Base 1 (CUB-1), an advance fuel and supply base, landed on August 16, 1942. This element was commanded by [[Ensign (United States)|Ensign]] George W. Polk, [[United States Naval Reserve|USNR]], and consisted of five officers and 118 enlisted personnel, all navy [[petty officer]]s of aviation support ratings. CUB-1 later received a Presidential Unit Citation for its service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HyperWar: Time of the Aces: Marine Pilots in the Solomons, 1942-1944 |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Aces/index.html |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=www.ibiblio.org}}</ref> Polk also performed duty as a "volunteer" dive bomber and reconnaissance pilot. He was wounded, suffered from [[malaria]] and was hospitalized for almost a year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/35737 |title=Richard B. Frank : Celebrated Journalist George Polk's Real WW II Record |publisher=Historynewsnetwork.org |date= February 27, 2007|access-date=March 4, 2015}}</ref>


==Death==
US reporters who pursued these stories were often pressured by US government officials and their editors to examine their "unpatriotic" views. People sent for "re-education" had to endure abhorrent conditions of lack of water and lack of hygienic conditions. {{Fact|date=May 2008}}
On Sunday May 16, 1948, Polk was found dead near the [[Port of Thessaloniki]], shot at [[point-blank range]] in the back of the head, with his hands and feet tied.


Polk had been covering the [[Greek Civil War]] between the Greek government and communists trying to seize control of the country. His intention was to meet and interview [[Markos Vafeiadis]], a [[Communism|communist]] military leader.
This Truman Doctrine policy became a cornerstone of Cold War neo-colonialism; as Truman explained it, the US government and military would brazenly intervene in the internal affairs of any nation that did not comply with the global political and economic objectives of the US.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}


In Polk's articles, he alleged that several officials in the [[Government of Greece|Greek government]] embezzled $250,000 in foreign aid ($2.5 million in 2016 dollars) from the [[Presidency of Harry S. Truman|Truman administration]], a charge that was never proved. Polk, sympathetic to the communists, was outspoken in his criticism of the Truman administration's unqualified support for resistance by the "rightist authoritarian regime" in Greece to the communist attempt to seize power.
Polk had married Rea (also known as Rhea) Coccins, a Greek national and ex-stewardess, seven months prior to his death. They had no children. After being allegedly harassed and threatened by the Greek government, Rea fled to the U.S. where she was debriefed by Donovan's law firm. She became friendly with Barbara Colby, the wife of [[William Colby]], a former OSS officer attached to Donovan's firm, who later would become director of the [[CIA]].


==Aftermath==
Reporters in New York city started a fundraising project to send an independent investigation committee to Greece, and from this effort the ''newsmen's commission'' was formed. Members included [[Ernest Hemingway]], William Polk (Polk's brother), William Price (his cousin) and [[Homer Bigart]]. This was soon however eclipsed in media coverage by the ''Lippman Committee'', comprised mostly of Washington journalists with [[Walter Lippman]] as chairman and [[James Reston]] of the [[New York Times]].
In the late 1970s, details on how American Mission for Aid to Greece authorities helped the Greek Police frame two young communists for his murder.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} A communist journalist, Gregorios Staktopoulos, was tried and convicted of helping Vaggelis Vasvanas and Adam Mouzenidis, members of the illegal communist army, commit the murder. The communist guerilla radio station said that Adam Mouzenidis was already dead, having been killed during aerial bombing by the [[Hellenic Air Force]], when Polk was murdered. Staktopoulos himself maintained that the confession that led to his conviction was obtained through [[torture]]. In fact, it was later revealed that Mouzenidis had arrived at Salonica, where he was allegedly introduced to Polk, two days after Polk's murder, and Vasvanas was not in Greece at the time. {{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}


An investigation by James G. M. Kellis (also known as Killis), a former [[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]] officer with knowledge of Greek political circles and power brokers, concluded that Greek communist circles lacked the power and influence to commit the murder and cover it up. Kellis worked on contract for the [[Wall Street]] law firm of [[William Joseph Donovan|William 'Wild Bill' Donovan]], the former head of OSS, who was hired by journalist [[Walter Lippman]] to investigate the case.
Within months of his death, a group of American journalists instigated the [[George Polk Awards]] for outstanding radio or television journalism. These awards were modeled after the [[Pulitzer Prize]] which is awarded for outstanding print journalism in newspapers.


Following Kellis' conclusion that it was more likely Polk had been murdered by right-wing groups within or affiliated to the Greek government, the investigation was halted and Kellis was recalled to [[Washington, D.C.]] At the time, the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] was financially supporting the Greek government to prevent a communist take-over of the country. The [[Government of Great Britain|British government]] supported the Greek government during [[World War II]], but this became financially impossible for the British government following the war's end.
The roles of the US government, William Donovan's law firm (at the time already a front for some [[CIA]] operations), and the Lippman committee in rubberstamping and acknowledging the Greek government's whitewash and show-trial are strongly criticized. {{Fact|date=May 2008}}


Reporters in [[New York City]] started a fundraising project to send an independent investigation committee to Greece. From this effort, the Newsmen's Commission was formed. Members included [[Ernest Hemingway]], William Polk (George Polk's brother), [[William A. Price]] (Polk's cousin), and [[Homer Bigart]]. This was soon eclipsed in media coverage by the Lippmann Committee, including mostly [[Washington, D.C.]]-based journalists, including Walter Lippmann as chairman and [[James Reston]] of ''[[The New York Times]]''.
In [[February 2007]], Polk's "status as a symbol of journalistic integrity" was called into question by historian Richard Frank, who provided evidence that Polk made false claims about his service record in World War II. In particular, Frank draws "the inescapable conclusion is that George Polk did not simply verbally recount false tales of his wartime exploits to his family and to his journalist colleagues, he actually forged documents to buttress his stories."
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/313fgojr.asp


Within months of his death, a group of American journalists created the [[George Polk Awards]] for outstanding radio or television journalism. These awards were modeled after the [[Pulitzer Prize]] which is awarded for outstanding print journalism in newspapers.
George Polk's brother, William, replied to this attack, which he called slanderous, in a letter to the Guardian Monday March 19, 2007.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2036930,00.html He pointed out that Frank did not discuss a single article Polk ever wrote and that his military record is amply substantiated in a range of military documents, including a picture of Polk being decorated by Vice-Admiral John McCain on November 30, 1943, on behalf of the "Airplane Cruiser Detachment for their heroic role during the Battle for the Solomons." A more detailed reply can be found at http://www.williampolk.com/pdf/2007/open%20letter%20to%20winners%20of%20the%20geo%20polk.pdf


==Personal life ==
In April 2007, Frank responded to William Polk's letters and to what he considered a baffling silence from journalists that greeted his charges:
Polk married Kay Phillips in 1939.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/506hdoal.asp


Polk married Rea Coccins (also known as Rhea Kokkonis), a Greek national and ex-[[Flight attendant|stewardess]], seven months prior to his death. They had no children. After being allegedly harassed and threatened by the Greek government, Rea fled to the U.S. where she was debriefed by Donovan's law firm. She became friendly with Barbara Colby, the wife of [[William Colby]], a former OSS officer attached to Donovan's firm, who later would become director of the [[CIA]].
On [[October 5]], [[2007]], the United States Postal Service announced that it would honor five [[journalists]] of the 20th century times with first-class rate [[postage stamp]]s, to be issued on Tuesday, [[April 22]], [[2008]]: [[Martha Gellhorn]], [[John Hersey]], George Polk, [[Ruben Salazar]], and [[Eric Sevareid]].<ref name="stamp" /> [[Postmaster General]] Jack Potter announced the [[stamp]] series at the Associated Press Managing Editors Meeting in [[Washington]].


==Criticism==
George Polk grew up in [[Fort Worth]], [[Texas]].
In February 2007, Polk's "status as a symbol of journalistic integrity" was challenged by historian [[Richard B. Frank|Richard Frank]], who concluded that Polk made false claims about his service record in World War II. Frank examined the claim, repeated by [[Edward R. Murrow]], that Polk had commanded a unit of 119 marines on Guadalcanal, flew a fighter plane that shot down 11 Japanese aircraft and was awarded a [[Purple Heart]]. He concluded that it is not consistent with the available documentation. Frank said that "the inescapable conclusion is that George Polk did not simply verbally recount false tales of his wartime exploits to his family and to his journalist colleagues, he actually forged documents to buttress his stories."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150909123116/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/313fgojr.asp George Polk's Real World War II Record: The fictional career of a famous newsman.] Richard B. Frank, Weekly Standard, February 16, 2007</ref>

George Polk's brother, William, replied to this attack, which he called slanderous, in a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' March 19, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|author=19.52 EDT |url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2036930,00.html |title=Letters &#124; Media | newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=Media.guardian.co.uk |date=March 19, 2007 |access-date=March 4, 2015}}</ref> He pointed out that Frank did not discuss a single article Polk ever wrote and that his military record is amply substantiated in a range of military documents, including a picture of Polk being decorated by Vice-Admiral [[John S. McCain Jr.|John McCain]] on November 30, 1943, on behalf of the "Airplane Cruiser Detachment ... for their heroic role during the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons|Battle for the Solomons]]."<ref>A more detailed reply can be found at http://www.williampolk.com/pdf/2007/open%20letter%20to%20winners%20of%20the%20geo%20polk.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929040520/http://www.williampolk.com/pdf/2007/open%20letter%20to%20winners%20of%20the%20geo%20polk.pdf |date=September 29, 2011 }}</ref>

In April 2007, Frank responded to William Polk's letters and to what he considered a baffling silence from journalists that greeted his charges.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/506hdoal.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203140347/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/506hdoal.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 3, 2008 |title=The Unanswered Case Against George Polk |work=The Weekly Standard |date=April 13, 2007 |access-date=March 4, 2015}}</ref>

==U.S. Postal stamp==
On October 5, 2007, the United States Postal Service announced that it would honor five [[journalists]] of the 20th century with first-class rate [[postage stamp]]s, to be issued on Tuesday, April 22, 2008: [[Martha Gellhorn]], [[John Hersey]], George Polk, [[Rubén Salazar]], and [[Eric Sevareid]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoKyKa1Uf3XnvACJMu-M5Rt99DCgD8S3ANR00 |title=Stamps Honor Distinguished Journalists |access-date=October 18, 2007 |agency=Associated Press |year=2007 |author=The Associated Press |author-link=The Associated Press |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030010438/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoKyKa1Uf3XnvACJMu-M5Rt99DCgD8S3ANR00 |archive-date=October 30, 2007 }}</ref> [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]] Jack Potter announced the [[Postage stamp|stamp]] series at the Associated Press Managing Editors Meeting in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]].{{Citation needed |date=March 2022}}

Polk was related to [[President of the United States|U.S. Presidents]] [[James Knox Polk]] and [[Andrew Jackson]].{{Citation needed |date=March 2022}}

== See also ==
*[[Cold War]]
*[[Frank Polk]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
<references />

* Prados, John (2003). ''Last Crusader: The Secret Wars Of CIA Director William Colby''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512847-8.
==Further reading==
* Prados, John (2003). ''Last Crusader: The Secret Wars Of CIA Director William Colby''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-512847-8}}.
* Bernhard, Nancy E (1999). ''U.S. Television News and Cold War Propaganda, 1947-1960''. Cambridge University Press.
* Bernhard, Nancy E (1999). ''U.S. Television News and Cold War Propaganda, 1947-1960''. Cambridge University Press.
* Keeley, Edmund (1989). ''The Salonika Bay Murder: Cold War Politics and the Polk Affair''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
* Keeley, Edmund (1989). ''The Salonika Bay Murder: Cold War Politics and the Polk Affair''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Line 43: Line 83:
* Unger, Sanford (1990). ''"The Case of the Inconvenient Correspondent"'', Columbia Journalism Review 29 (November/December 1990).
* Unger, Sanford (1990). ''"The Case of the Inconvenient Correspondent"'', Columbia Journalism Review 29 (November/December 1990).
* Vlanton, Elias, and Zak Mettger (1996). ''Who Killed George Polk? The Press Covers Up a Death in the Family''. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
* Vlanton, Elias, and Zak Mettger (1996). ''Who Killed George Polk? The Press Covers Up a Death in the Family''. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

== Related articles and links ==
http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2004/04/239683.shtml
*[[George Polk Awards]]
*[[Cold War]]
*[[Greece]]
*[[William Joseph Donovan]]
*[[Walter Lippman]]
*[[Frank Polk]]


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071002131032/http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2004/04/239683.shtml Seattle.indymedia.org<!-- bot-generated title -->] at seattle.indymedia.org
* http://www.vlanton.com/polkbook.html
* [http://www.vlanton.com/polkbook.html Who Killed George Polk?<!-- bot-generated title -->] at www.vlanton.com
* http://www.routledge-ny.com/radio/polk.pdf
* http://www.routledge-ny.com/radio/polk.pdf
* http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/07/040212
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050909213631/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03%2F04%2F07%2F040212 Democracy Now! | The Story of George Polk<!-- bot-generated title -->] at www.democracynow.org
* http://dlib.nyu.edu:8083/tamwagead/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=/newsmens.xml&style=/saxon01t2002.xsl&part=body
* https://web.archive.org/web/20050208091654/http://dlib.nyu.edu:8083/tamwagead/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=%2Fnewsmens.xml&style=%2Fsaxon01t2002.xsl&part=body
* https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281592670_Criminologistic_Analysis_of_The_Assassination_of_George_Washington_Polk
*[http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB226/index.htm George Polk case National Security Archive]
*[http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2013/10/the-george-polk-murder-and-the-cia-cover-up/ George Polk]
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, George}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, George}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:American journalists]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:CBS News people]]
[[Category:Journalists killed while covering military conflicts]]
[[Category:Journalists killed while covering military conflicts]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Greece]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Greece]]
[[Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas]]
[[Category:Journalists from Fort Worth, Texas]]
[[Category:People murdered in Greece]]
[[Category:American people murdered abroad]]
[[Category:Assassinated American journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:1948 murders in Greece]]
[[Category:Modern history of Thessaloniki]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]
[[Category:Polk family]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Greek Civil War]]

Latest revision as of 04:43, 12 October 2024

George Polk
Polk, c. 1943
Born
George Washington Polk, Jr.[1]

(1913-10-17)October 17, 1913
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Diedca. May 15, 1948(1948-05-15) (aged 34)
Thessaloniki, Greece
OccupationJournalist
Notable creditCBS
SpouseRea Coccins

George Washington Polk Jr. (October 17, 1913 – May 1948) was an American journalist for CBS who was murdered during the Greek Civil War in 1948.

Early life and education

[edit]

Polk was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of lawyer George Washington Polk Sr. and librarian Adalaide Roe. He studied at the Virginia Military Institute from 1930-1933, but withdrew prior to receiving a degree.[2]

Career

[edit]

In 1933, Polk began working as a salesman. Five years later, in 1938, he completed his undergraduate degree in English at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and had begun writing for the Fort Worth Press.[3]

After graduating, he lived in Asia, where he joined the Shanghai Evening Post. In 1940, he returned to the United States, working then for the Herald Tribune and teaching at New York University.[4][5]

World War II

[edit]

During World War II, Polk enlisted with a Naval Construction Battalion. After the invasion of Guadalcanal, the first element of Construction Unit Base 1 (CUB-1), an advance fuel and supply base, landed on August 16, 1942. This element was commanded by Ensign George W. Polk, USNR, and consisted of five officers and 118 enlisted personnel, all navy petty officers of aviation support ratings. CUB-1 later received a Presidential Unit Citation for its service.[6] Polk also performed duty as a "volunteer" dive bomber and reconnaissance pilot. He was wounded, suffered from malaria and was hospitalized for almost a year.[7]

Death

[edit]

On Sunday May 16, 1948, Polk was found dead near the Port of Thessaloniki, shot at point-blank range in the back of the head, with his hands and feet tied.

Polk had been covering the Greek Civil War between the Greek government and communists trying to seize control of the country. His intention was to meet and interview Markos Vafeiadis, a communist military leader.

In Polk's articles, he alleged that several officials in the Greek government embezzled $250,000 in foreign aid ($2.5 million in 2016 dollars) from the Truman administration, a charge that was never proved. Polk, sympathetic to the communists, was outspoken in his criticism of the Truman administration's unqualified support for resistance by the "rightist authoritarian regime" in Greece to the communist attempt to seize power.

Aftermath

[edit]

In the late 1970s, details on how American Mission for Aid to Greece authorities helped the Greek Police frame two young communists for his murder.[citation needed] A communist journalist, Gregorios Staktopoulos, was tried and convicted of helping Vaggelis Vasvanas and Adam Mouzenidis, members of the illegal communist army, commit the murder. The communist guerilla radio station said that Adam Mouzenidis was already dead, having been killed during aerial bombing by the Hellenic Air Force, when Polk was murdered. Staktopoulos himself maintained that the confession that led to his conviction was obtained through torture. In fact, it was later revealed that Mouzenidis had arrived at Salonica, where he was allegedly introduced to Polk, two days after Polk's murder, and Vasvanas was not in Greece at the time. [citation needed]

An investigation by James G. M. Kellis (also known as Killis), a former OSS officer with knowledge of Greek political circles and power brokers, concluded that Greek communist circles lacked the power and influence to commit the murder and cover it up. Kellis worked on contract for the Wall Street law firm of William 'Wild Bill' Donovan, the former head of OSS, who was hired by journalist Walter Lippman to investigate the case.

Following Kellis' conclusion that it was more likely Polk had been murdered by right-wing groups within or affiliated to the Greek government, the investigation was halted and Kellis was recalled to Washington, D.C. At the time, the U.S. government was financially supporting the Greek government to prevent a communist take-over of the country. The British government supported the Greek government during World War II, but this became financially impossible for the British government following the war's end.

Reporters in New York City started a fundraising project to send an independent investigation committee to Greece. From this effort, the Newsmen's Commission was formed. Members included Ernest Hemingway, William Polk (George Polk's brother), William A. Price (Polk's cousin), and Homer Bigart. This was soon eclipsed in media coverage by the Lippmann Committee, including mostly Washington, D.C.-based journalists, including Walter Lippmann as chairman and James Reston of The New York Times.

Within months of his death, a group of American journalists created the George Polk Awards for outstanding radio or television journalism. These awards were modeled after the Pulitzer Prize which is awarded for outstanding print journalism in newspapers.

Personal life

[edit]

Polk married Kay Phillips in 1939.

Polk married Rea Coccins (also known as Rhea Kokkonis), a Greek national and ex-stewardess, seven months prior to his death. They had no children. After being allegedly harassed and threatened by the Greek government, Rea fled to the U.S. where she was debriefed by Donovan's law firm. She became friendly with Barbara Colby, the wife of William Colby, a former OSS officer attached to Donovan's firm, who later would become director of the CIA.

Criticism

[edit]

In February 2007, Polk's "status as a symbol of journalistic integrity" was challenged by historian Richard Frank, who concluded that Polk made false claims about his service record in World War II. Frank examined the claim, repeated by Edward R. Murrow, that Polk had commanded a unit of 119 marines on Guadalcanal, flew a fighter plane that shot down 11 Japanese aircraft and was awarded a Purple Heart. He concluded that it is not consistent with the available documentation. Frank said that "the inescapable conclusion is that George Polk did not simply verbally recount false tales of his wartime exploits to his family and to his journalist colleagues, he actually forged documents to buttress his stories."[8]

George Polk's brother, William, replied to this attack, which he called slanderous, in a letter to The Guardian March 19, 2007.[9] He pointed out that Frank did not discuss a single article Polk ever wrote and that his military record is amply substantiated in a range of military documents, including a picture of Polk being decorated by Vice-Admiral John McCain on November 30, 1943, on behalf of the "Airplane Cruiser Detachment ... for their heroic role during the Battle for the Solomons."[10]

In April 2007, Frank responded to William Polk's letters and to what he considered a baffling silence from journalists that greeted his charges.[11]

U.S. Postal stamp

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On October 5, 2007, the United States Postal Service announced that it would honor five journalists of the 20th century with first-class rate postage stamps, to be issued on Tuesday, April 22, 2008: Martha Gellhorn, John Hersey, George Polk, Rubén Salazar, and Eric Sevareid.[12] Postmaster General Jack Potter announced the stamp series at the Associated Press Managing Editors Meeting in Washington.[citation needed]

Polk was related to U.S. Presidents James Knox Polk and Andrew Jackson.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Auster, Albert (2000). "Polk, George". American National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1603284. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "George Washington Polk Jr". Historical Rosters Database. Virginia Military Institute archives digital collections. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "George Polk | UAF Centennial". www.uaf.edu. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  4. ^ Miller, Douglass W. (1941). "News Notes". Journalism Quarterly. 18 (3): 338–346. doi:10.1177/107769904101800325. ISSN 0022-5533 – via Sage.
  5. ^ Auster, Albert (2000). "Polk, George (1913-1948), journalist and broadcast foreign correspondent". American National Biography. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1603284. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "HyperWar: Time of the Aces: Marine Pilots in the Solomons, 1942-1944". www.ibiblio.org. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  7. ^ "Richard B. Frank : Celebrated Journalist George Polk's Real WW II Record". Historynewsnetwork.org. February 27, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  8. ^ George Polk's Real World War II Record: The fictional career of a famous newsman. Richard B. Frank, Weekly Standard, February 16, 2007
  9. ^ 19.52 EDT (March 19, 2007). "Letters | Media". The Guardian. Media.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved March 4, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ A more detailed reply can be found at http://www.williampolk.com/pdf/2007/open%20letter%20to%20winners%20of%20the%20geo%20polk.pdf Archived September 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "The Unanswered Case Against George Polk". The Weekly Standard. April 13, 2007. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  12. ^ The Associated Press (2007). "Stamps Honor Distinguished Journalists". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2007.

Further reading

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  • Prados, John (2003). Last Crusader: The Secret Wars Of CIA Director William Colby. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512847-8.
  • Bernhard, Nancy E (1999). U.S. Television News and Cold War Propaganda, 1947-1960. Cambridge University Press.
  • Keeley, Edmund (1989). The Salonika Bay Murder: Cold War Politics and the Polk Affair. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
  • Marton, Kati (1990). The Polk Conspiracy: Murder and Cover-Up in the Case of CBS News Correspondent George Polk. Farrar Straus and Giroux, New York.
  • Unger, Sanford (1990). "The Case of the Inconvenient Correspondent", Columbia Journalism Review 29 (November/December 1990).
  • Vlanton, Elias, and Zak Mettger (1996). Who Killed George Polk? The Press Covers Up a Death in the Family. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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