12 April 1945 · Mutual, Washington
A commentator improvising in real time
Lewis had been on air with a scheduled commentary when the flash came off the wire. You can hear the moment a broadcaster stops reading a script and starts talking, which is the whole difference between radio and print.
The War · 64 sec · Public domain
Hear next
9 December 1941
Fireside Chat 19, two days after Pearl Harbor
12 April 1945
Twenty-five seconds that stopped the schedule
15 April 1945
Broadcast three days after the camp was reached
16 April 1945
Four days into a presidency nobody prepared him for