Marguerite Higgins - More than just "His Wife"

The inscription “His Wife” on the headstone of Marguerite Higgins at Arlington National Cemetery doesn’t begin to do her justice. Her husband William Hall was an Air Force general who is buried with her. And the regulations are such that inscription describes her relationship to him rather than her own incredible story.

 

Marguerite Higgins represents the best of American journalism. She’s born in Hong Kong, studies French at Berkeley and receives a master’s in journalism from Columbia. She is witness to some of the great events of the last century. 

 

She works for the New York Herald Tribune, and she asks her editors to send her to Europe to cover World War II. This is met with resistance. It was not easy for women to break into journalism, a profession heretofore reserved for men. But she perseveres and gets the assignment.

 

In Europe she witnesses the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. She covers the Nuremberg trials and the Soviet blockade of Berlin.

 

She becomes chief of the Tribune’s Tokyo bureau and is one of the first reporters in Korea when war breaks out there. Initially the army bans women reporters, but she appeals to General Douglas MacArthur who sends a telegram saying: “Ban on women correspondents in Korea has been lifted. Marguerite Higgins is held in highest professional esteem by everyone.”

 

For her Korean reporting she becomes the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for foreign correspondence. She continues covering foreign affairs and interviews Franco, Khrushchev, Nehru among others.

 

She joins Newsday and goes to cover Vietnam. But while there she contracts a deadly tropical disease. She is hospitalized and she knows she is dying but she continues to write columns up until the end. She dies at age 45.

Duration
2 hours 30 minutes
Group Size
1 to 6

Arlington National Cemetery: Secrets and Stories

Every working day more than twenty Americans who sacrificed for their country are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.  On this tour we learn the secrets of Arlington's past and present and the fascinating stories of those buried here. And while Arlington's dead rest in peace, we'll see that they are still always working.  

Duration
2 hours 30 minutes
Group Size
1 to 6

Hidden on Capitol Hill

Few people think beyond the Capitol when they think of the Hill. This tour takes you to the heart of a neighborhood with a fascinating history that still speaks to us today. Learn about these famous locations from a former Capitol Hill resident.

Duration
2 hours 30 minutes
Group Size
1 to 6

Embassy Row: Divinity & Diplomats

Most Embassy Row tours don’t venture far beyond Dupont Circle. But ours does. We see it all from top to bottom. This stretch of Massachusetts Avenue used to be called Millionaires Row where Gilded Age robber-barons built grand mansions. Today those mansions house most of Washington’s embassies, along with private clubs and statues of world heroes such as Mandela, Gandhi, and Churchill – and we will be right in the heart of it.

Duration
8 hours
Group Size
1 to 6

Customized Private Tours

There are no limits here! This tour is whatever you want it to be. See the part of Washington, DC you’ve always wanted to with an expert guide who has been in the city for more than thirty years. Our Washington Private Tours are perfect for those looking to learn more about DC in a fun and safe manner. See what you like for however long you like, accompanied by an expert guide!