To appreciate his physical courage, you need only to know the story of the last evening of his life: On December 6. at about 8:45 P.M., Halberstam and his wife surprised a burglar ransacking their Washington, D.C. home. Halberstam struggled with the man, who fired two pistol shots into Halberstam's chest. With characteristic nerve. Halberstam directed his wife to the car, got behind the wheel, and set off to a nearby hospital. Two blocks away, he spotted his assailant, veered his car off the road, and ran the man down, immobilizing him but not seriously injuring him. Halberstam, bleeding profusely, then tried to drive to the hospital. But he lost consciousness, and the car careened into a tree. He died several hours later on the hospital operating room table.🏁

To appreciate his physical courage, you need only to know the story of the last evening of his life: On December 6. at about 8:45 P.M., Halberstam and his wife surprised a burglar ransacking their Washington, D.C. home. Halberstam struggled with the man, who fired two pistol shots into Halberstam's chest. With characteristic nerve. Halberstam directed his wife to the car, got behind the wheel, and set off to a nearby hospital. Two blocks away, he spotted his assailant, veered his car off the road, and ran the man down, immobilizing him but not seriously injuring him. Halberstam, bleeding profusely, then tried to drive to the hospital. But he lost consciousness, and the car careened into a tree. He died several hours later on the hospital operating room table.🏁