Baldwin, Hanson Weightman

(b. 22 March 1903 in Baltimore, Maryland; d. 13 November 1991 in Roxbury, Connecticut), military editor at the New York Times, prolific author, and winner of a Pulitzer Prize.

Baldwin was the only son of four children born to Oliver Perry Baldwin, Jr., the managing editor of the Baltimore Sun, and Caroline Sutton, a homemaker. Baldwin attended high school at the Boys Latin School in Baltimore and the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, from which he graduated with a B.S. degree in 1924. He served aboard battleships and a destroyer for three years, but resigned from the navy in 1927 to pursue a career in journalism. In 1928, as a cub reporter for the Baltimore Sun, he covered one of the first naval tests of the “lung” or escape device from submarines, as well as the arrival of the Graf Zeppelin.

In 1928 and 1929 Baldwin quit journalism for a year, shipping out to South America as a quartermaster. He also went to Labrador, Canada, as the director of a volunteer group of college students in Sir William Grenfell’s work, helping establish hospitals, orphanages, nursing stations, schools, and cooperative stores near the Arctic Circle. In 1929 he became a general assignment reporter for the New York Times in New York City. In June 1931 Baldwin married Helen Bruce. They had two children.

Baldwin was appointed the military editor of the Times in 1937, from which time he contributed a column as well as news articles. While at the Times he covered fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. He studied the military preparedness of Germany, France, Great Britain, and Poland and analyzed the events leading up to World War II. During the war he predicted possible Axis strategy. He also summed up trends of how the war was progressing.

With Wayne Francis Palmer, Baldwin coedited Men and Ships of Steel (1935), a history of the U.S. Navy with 275 pictures. Baldwin then wrote The Caissons Roll: A Military Survey of Europe (1938). Based on a survey that he conducted in 1937 and containing much material already published in the Times, the volume provided an overview of the military situation in Europe. Baldwin recounted the tremendous military build-up taking place there. He provided estimates and statistics pertaining to tank equipment and naval operations, and also predicted the probable centers of future European wars. In The Caissons Roll, Baldwin additionally expressed the view that the two sides in the Spanish civil war were equally “evil” and advocated the localization of the conflict; argued that France was safe behind the Maginot Line; and asserted that the Spanish civil war showed that war could not be won in the air. Baldwin predicted a second world war but did not foresee it happening as early as 1939. He also stated that Germany and Italy would base their strategy on a fast action, attacking their enemies from land and air simultaneously.

With Shepard Stone, Baldwin edited We Saw It Happen (1938), comprising articles by thirteen Times correspondents on the news behind the news. His Admiral Death (1939) consisted of twelve true stories of adventures at sea. He next wrote What the Citizen Should Know About the Navy (1941, with illustrations by Andre Jandot). The book contained information on the use of the fleet, naval bases, various types of fighting ships and planes, equipment, and communications, and descriptions of various careers in the navy.

Baldwin’s work United We Stand! Defense of the Western Hemisphere (1941) created a stir. Giving a comprehensive survey of the military strengths and weaknesses of the United States, Baldwin said that within a year the United States would have to choose between peace and entry into World War II. In his Times articles during 1941, Baldwin pointed out that Great Britain and the United States were reacting to the Germans rather than taking the initiative. It was only in June 1941 that he concluded the Germans could be defeated, but only with speed of decision, rapidity of action, and a total war effort.

Baldwin won the Pulitzer Prize in 1943 for his distinguished writing from Guadalcanal and the Western Pacific during World War II. He also covered the Allied invasion of North Africa, as well as the landings at Normandy on D day, 6 June 1944. Baldwin watched the invasion from the cruiser Augusta, and landed with General Omar Bradley. In the postwar years, Baldwin wrote about the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the new roles for sea and air power, atomic weapons development, newly introduced missiles and jets, and the arms race. He was often aligned with the Pentagon officials in his views on military strategy and tactics. In 1959 he got an exclusive in breaking the news of high altitude atomic bomb tests, known as Project Argus, by the United States. He had to wait seven months before getting permission to release the story because of what the government contended were national security concerns.

In 1965, during the Vietnam War, Baldwin wrote an article in the New York Times Magazine titled “We Must Choose: (1) Bug Out; (2) Negotiate; (3) Fight.” In it, he suggested that the United States send one million troops, if required, to secure a victory in Southeast Asia. Baldwin’s influence was such that his views were read by the president of the United States, members of Congress, and military chiefs. In a 1966 conference, Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara disputed Baldwin’s contention that the Vietnam War had overextended the armed forces.

Baldwin retired from the Times in 1968. Subsequently, he contributed occasional articles to the newspaper. A tall, slender, and courtly man, with a quiet manner that contrasted with his forceful opinions, Baldwin enjoyed swimming, tennis, skiing, and reading for relaxation.

During his career Baldwin was presented with numerous awards and prizes, including the Syracuse University Distinguished Service Medal in 1944 and honorary degrees from Drake University and the Clarkson Institute of Technology. Baldwin wrote for a wide variety of magazines, including Harper’s, the North American Review, Aviation, Foreign Affairs, and the Reader’s Digest. He also lectured extensively. Baldwin died in his home of heart failure at age eighty-eight and was buried at sea.

Baldwin was the leading military journalist of his day, and he espoused thoughtful discussion of military matters and strategies. His Pulitzer Prize for his writing from Guadalcanal and the Western Pacific in World War II serves to recognize his significance and impact on the world of journalism.

Baldwin’s papers are in the Yale University Library, in New Haven, Connecticut. A biographical article on Baldwin can be found in Current Biography 1942 (1943). Information about Baldwin can be found in Meyer Berger, The Story of the New York Times, 1851–1951 (1951) An obituary is in the New York Times (14 Nov. 1991).

Martin Jay Stahl