Jeremiah O'Leary

He was born into a family of journalists. His father was a reporter, an uncle was an editor of the Washington Times-Herald, while a cousin, William McAndrew, became president of NBC News.[2] He grew up in Washington, D.C. In 1937, he went to work for The Washington Star as a copy boy.[2]

During World War II, he served as a U.S. Marine in the Pacific theater and fought in the invasions of New Britain, Guam and Peleliu. He also served in Korea during the Korean War as an information officer.[2][1] He eventually rose to the rank of colonel in the Reserves, retiring in 1976.[2] He was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Legion of Merit.[2]

After the war, he was a reporter for The Washington Evening Star, focusing on defense and foreign policy issues. In 1979, he became the paper's chief White House correspondent.[2] When the Star folded in 1981, O'Leary joined the Reagan Administration as a special assistant to Deputy Secretary of State and later National Security Advisor William P. Clark, Jr. for eight months.[2] Soon after the founding of The Washington Times in 1982, he joined that paper as a White House correspondent, became president of the White House Correspondents Association,[3] and ended his career writing a weekly column of nostalgic reminiscences.[2][4]