Paul Harvey - the Rest of His Story

Radio Legend Paul Harvey Passed Away February 28, 2009

The inimitable radio personality Paul Harvey passed away February 28, 2009. It was like loosing an old family friend.

It's not that anyone in my family knew Paul Harvey, but he was always there. Growing up in a military home, we did our share of moving, but wherever we lived, Paul Harvey was there. When we lived in New Jersey for a year when I was six, Paul Harvey was there, and when we moved to Washington, D.C. for five years, Paul Harvey was there, too. When we went on vacation, we always took Paul Harvey with us. When we moved back to Nashville, I wasn't surprised to turn on the radio and discover Paul Harvey was there, too.

His voice was as familiar to me as any family member's. It took one syllable to recognize his distinctive voice. Paul Harvey talked about common sense things. His philosophy closely paralleled my own father's. Paul Harvey railed against high taxes, big government and the decay of American family values. And much like my father, Paul Harvey told interesting tales and yarns on the radio that always had a moral or lesson, even if it was about the faithfulness of man's best friend. Paul Harvey News and Comment and The Rest of the Story made Paul Harvey a household name.

Paul Harvey was born Paul Harvey Aurandt on September 4, 1918. He was the product of five generations of Baptist preachers, but Paul Harvey delivered his message from a radio studio, not a church. In 1933, at a high school teacher's suggestion, Paul Harvey started working at KVOO radio in Tulsa, and he stayed in radio for over 70 years. ⁽¹⁾

In 1940, Harvey was in Hawaii covering the United States Navy's fleet in the Pacific. While returning to the mainland from his assignment in Hawaii, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, so Paul Harvey enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces from December 1943 until March 1944. My father also served in the Army Air Force as well as the regular Army, during World War II.