10 Facts About Ed Koterba

Edward Victor Koterba was an American journalist known for his nationally syndicated columns "A Bit of Washington" and "Assignment Washington" as well as his investigative journalism for The Washington Post.

Ed Koterba, the son of Czech immigrants, was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska.

Ed Koterba briefly attended the University of Omaha in 1939, studying journalism and music while still working part-time for the Omaha World-Herald as a junior reporter and photographer.

Ed Koterba was drafted into the army in 1942, and primarily worked in military intelligence posts serving as a Russian and Czech interpreter.

Ed Koterba was discharged from active duty in 1946, and began working for The Record Herald in Waynesboro.

Ed Koterba's first big feature for the Post was a six-part expose on gambling and election irregularities in Southern Maryland, which ran on the paper's front page and eventually led to two grand jury investigations.

Ed Koterba left The Washington Post in 1955 to concentrate on his column "A Bit of Washington".

Ed Koterba became a frequent contributor to Roll Call and began writing a second column called "On Tour," in which he chronicled his family's adventures on their trailer tours of the United States.

Ed Koterba was killed on 27 June 1961, along with four other people in a private plane crash off the coast of La Push, Washington.

Ed Koterba's name is inscribed on the Newseum's Journalists Memorial, along with over 2000 journalists from around the world who died in the course of their duties.