For 24 years, he brought national security to the forefront of the evening news. The 60 year old died February 6 after a skiing accident in Keystone, Colorado. ABC News reports that witnesses saw McWethy miss a turn on an intermediate trail and hit a tree chest first. He was pronounced dead at 2:05 pm. He and his wife had recently moved to Boulder to be closer to the ski trails and the golf courses in their retirement.
McWethy joined ABC News in 1979 as chief Pentagon correspondent. In 1984, he became the news division's senior national security correspondent - a position he would hold until retiring from ABC in 2003. He reported during that time on military and diplomatic aspects of U.S. foreign policy, stationed mainly in Washington at the Pentagon. He was there on the morning of September 11, 2001 as the nation was under attack, reporting from the lawn and describing the destruction left by the American Airlines flight that carved through the building. That day, and in the ensuing weeks, months, and years following the attacks, he was an instrumental part of ABC News' coverage of the war on terror, and the military operations in Afghanistan.
He covered so much during his career, filing daily reports for "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" and several other ABC News broadcasts. National security, diplomacy, terrorism, espionage, and intelligence. From Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Haiti, to Somalia, Russia, and Mozambique - his assignments took him to more than 50 countries. He explained the complicated violence in Kosovo, the Persian Gulf, and Liberia. When the Soviet Union fell, he was there to watch the new countries grow up in its place. He tracked three Secretaries of State, and covered the 5 historic meetings between President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.
McWethy was honored with at least five national Emmy's, an Alfred I. DuPont - Columbia Award, and an Oversees Press Club Award. He was also presented with an honorary doctorate from DePauw University. Before coming to ABC News, McWethy reported for U.S. News & World Report and worked for U.S. News as a science and technology editor. Having graduated from DePauw University, he continued on to earn his master's degree from Columbia University School of Journalism.
ABC News president David Westin remembered 'Jack' in a statement to the news division:
"He was one of those very rare reporters who knew his beat better than anyone and had developed more sources than anyone and yet kept his objectivity. Jack's work made the people he covered value him, respect him, and always know that he would keep them honest... A few years ago, Jack came to me and said that he wanted to step away from his work as a correspondent. There were other things he wanted to pursue in life, both personally and in working with his church. I wish all of you could have been there for his "retirement" party to see the highest levels of the Pentagon -- civilian and military -- come to express their respect and affection for Jack. He represented the very best of ABC News. But as fine a reporter as he was, he was just that fine a man. There was an essential goodness to him that permeated everything he did. He loved his profession, but he loved his family more. And he always had a powerful sense of need to help those around him."
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