AP reporter, Club member Gene Kramer dies

Gene Kramer, a retired Associated Press reporter who chronicled the Cold War firsthand where history was happening, died on March 9 at 83.

A National Press Club member since 1994, Kramer regularly participated in International Correspondents Committee activites and was a fixture at Taco Night.

Kramer embodied the concept of the intrepid global journalist.

"During his long career, Kramer faced interrogation in a Polish police station, dodged incoming Chinese shells on the disputed island of Quemoy and braved the turbulent streets of Seoul when a student-led revolt ended Syngman Rhee's 12 years as South Korea's first president," AP reporter William Mann wrote in his obituary.

Kramer provided insight to readers about Cold War developments from Europe and Asia.

While working as a correspondent in Warsaw in 1966, he covered a Roman Catholic celebration featuring Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, who was an opponent of the country's Communist rulers, according to the AP obituary.

Kramer had to convince the crowd he was not a police informant. Later he was arrested by the Polish police and subject to five hours of questioning.

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Kramer worked for AP bureaus in San Francisco and Tokyo, where he traveled throughout Asia.

"Kramer was an accomplished and fearless reporter and writer who used plain English to convey the news," the AP wrote in his obituary.

-- Mark Schoeff Jr., [email protected]