Tuck Langland, sculptor, stands behind his work during the installation of a bronze Ernie Pyle statue outside Franklin Hall at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. Chris Howell | Herald-Times
As an Indiana University campus tour stopped in front of the new Ernie Pyle statue, Jerry Maschino stopped, too.
He listened to the tour guide talk about the famous World War II journalist, then raised his hand. Maschino told the group that he was a family member of Pyle’s and was quickly swarmed with questions.
“Everybody is interested that there are relatives,” said Maschino, who lives in California and said he enjoys sharing stories about Pyle.
The journalist’s family members — who live across the country — decided last fall to create the Ernie Pyle Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization to honor and preserve Pyle’s entire career and his writing style.
Maschino's wife, Wynne, is the daughter of Pyle’s first cousin, and the two are directors on the foundation board of directors made up of eight family members. Maschino, along with two other family members, visited Bloomington last week.
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