Hull, Peggy

Peggy Hull was the first female war correspondent accredited by the United States government and the first woman to serve on four battlefronts.

During her 31-year career she followed American soldiers around the world. Her articles were popular because she presented personal stories of the lives of soldiers. 

Born in 1889, Henrietta Eleanor Goodnough grew up in Marysville and later moved to Junction City. In 1905, 16-year-old Henrietta went to work for the Junction City Sentinel. She became a writer, and between 1909 and 1916 worked for newspapers in Colorado, California, Hawaii and Minnesota. Her Minneapolis editor encouraged her to use a pseudonym; they came up with Peggy Hull.

In 1916 the Cleveland Plain Dealer assigned her to cover the Ohio National Guard in Mexico. She started writing for the El Paso Morning Times. In 1917 Peggy persuaded the Morning Times editor to send her to France to cover World War I. The War Department did not allow women journalists to become accredited so Hull sailed for Paris without it. Because she knew General Pershing, she spent a month and a half at an artillery training camp.

In the summer of 1918, Peggy traveled to Washington, D.C., where she finally received accreditation. In the following years she would cover military action from Siberia, Shanghai, and several Pacific islands. 

In 1939, Peggy became a founding member of the Overseas Press Club of America in New York City. She renewed her accreditation as a war correspondent in 1943 to cover American involvement in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.  After World War II she moved to California, where she lived until her death in 1967.