Leon Daniel

Civil Rights Movement Daniel began reporting on the civil rights movement between 1960 and 1966 during his placement in UPI's headquarters in Atlanta. He also covered the Selma to Montgomery marches led by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965 in protest of the recent, violent incident known as "Bloody Sunday".

Vietnam War Daniel began reporting on the Vietnam War in 1966. When asked about why he chose to stay, he jokingly said, "I had to. The AP correspondent was there." He reported on the lack of military presence within South Vietnam during northern advances into the country, on major battles occurring within South Vietnam with joint U.S. forces, and the threat of invading Laos. He also reported directly to Vietnamese military officials, such as General Le Minh Dao regarding the threat of North Vietnamese forces occupying Xuan Loc.

He is known for writing the UPI headline, "Saigon government surrenders," when the capital, Saigon, was occupied by Northern Vietnamese forces. He was known for taking part in UPI antics in Vietnam as he was accused of stealing a statue in a Saigon bar, having been referred to local Vietnamese civilian police for the offense. He was expelled from Vietnam by the new Communist rulers, and was later expelled from Thailand and declared persona non grata for writing articles detrimental to the Thai government, possibly violating Thai military secrecy, although this was denied by both UPI and Daniel. UPI protested against the expulsion of Daniel from Vietnam, noting that "Daniel's accuracy and dedication to the journalistic profession is outstanding and we have every confidence in him as a representative of UPI."

Later career In 1980, after extensive press work in the U.S., Vietnam, and the Dominican Republic, Daniel moved to Washington, D.C., to become UPI's national correspondent and later, the managing editor for international news. He retired in 1997, Daniel was referred to as a "veteran correspondent" and "the gold standard" among wire service reporters by colleagues and "a tough competitor ... and also was the most amiable of men, endearing him to colleagues and soldiers alike," by one reporter from rival news organization, Associated Press. Judith Paterson was Daniel's companion

Leon Daniel's daughter is the Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel, pastor of First Congregational Church in Dubuque, Iowa and author of four books including Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don't Belong To (Faith Words, 2016) and When Spiritual But Not Religious Is Not Enough (Jericho, 2013.)