Former Voice of America head dies

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Henry Loomis, who extended the reach of Voice of America and ran into trouble defending its independence, has died in Jacksonville, Fla. He was 89.

Loomis, who died Nov. 2, succumbed to complications of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Pick's diseases, his wife, Jacqueline, said.

Loomis served as director of Voice of America in the late 1950s and early 1960s before resigning in a 1965 clash with U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He resigned amid pressure to ignore awkward foreign-policy news, notably the growing U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia, The New York Times said.

Loomis was also president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the 1970s.

A physicist by training, Loomis sought to expand VOA operations, increasing broadcasting power and setting up transmitters in previously unserved countries such as Liberia and the Philippines and broadcasting programs in Special English, simplified English for the less-than-fluent foreign listeners, the Times said.

Loomis as a teenager worked with his father, Alfred Loomis, in his physics laboratory on brain wave research and as a pioneer in radar research. He left Harvard after World War II broke out and joined the U.S. Navy where he created radar training schools, the Times said.