Eugene Patterson

Eugene Corbett Patterson (October 15, 1923 – January 12, 2013), sometimes known as Gene Patterson, was an American journalist and civil rights activist. He was awarded the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.

Early life Patterson was born in Valdosta, Georgia, the son of Annabel Corbett, a schoolteacher, and William C. Patterson, a bank cashier. After graduation, he served as a tank commander in the United States Army General George Patton's 10th Armored Division, 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, First Platoon, C Troop during World War II and won a Silver Star for gallantry in action at the Battle of the Bulge and a Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster for heroic achievement. The 10th Armored, CCB at Bastogne, held off the German Army onslaught for eight hours awaiting the arrival of the 101st Airborne Division to fully stop the offensive. The editorial was in response to the notorious church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama which killed four black girls, all under the age of 15. He was once approached by the FBI, who wanted him to write an article about Martin Luther King Jr.'s alleged infidelities which they had uncovered through wiretaps. Patterson told them "We're not a peephole journal. We don't print that kind of stuff." now the Tampa Bay Times, which reached the top ten of major American newspapers during his tenure, the former St. Petersburg Evening Independent, and the Congressional Quarterly. Patterson was a 2010 inductee into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.

In 1966, he received an honorary degree in Doctor of Letters from Oglethorpe University. In 1968, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

Death Patterson died in 2013 after a series of treatments for cancer. His remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery.