CBS Reporter Bruce Dunning Dies At 73, Possibly Posthumously Outed In Obituary

If, like me, you grew up during the Vietnam War, you’ll remember the gripping nightly reports by CBS journalist Bruce Dunning, who died yesterday at the age of 73.  In an obituary published yesterday by CBS, they note that he is survived by his “life partner,” renowned artist Tetsunori Kawana. I wasn’t aware that Dunning was gay and cannot find any mentions of that online, so this may be another posthumous outing as we saw with Sally Ride. More from the CBS obituary:

He is best remembered for his award-winning and dramatic report on March 29, 1975 aboard a 727 World Airways jet attempting to rescue refugees from the airport in Da Nang, South Vietnam. The five-and-a-half-minute report — long even then for a television evening news segment — was broadcast on the “CBS Evening News” Saturday edition anchored by Dan Rather, who introduced Dunning’s segment with the words “Da Nang has become a Dunkirk.” His report, dubbed “Back from Da Nang,” won the Overseas Press Club’s “Best TV News Spot from Abroad” award and was recently named to the Columbia University Journalism School’s 100 Great Stories list. Dunning also shared in a collective OPC award for CBS News radio coverage of the last days of the war.

Last night CBS ran the below tribute which focuses on the above-cited report made as things fell apart for South Vietnam.