The Associated Press newsman who flashed word of the German surrender in Italy at World War II’s end has died. George E. Bria was 101.

Bria’s daughter, Judy Storey, says he died on Saturday at a New York hospital after his health had declined for a time.

Bria bore witness to Benito Mussolini’s death and covered the Nuremberg war crimes trials. Later, as a senior foreign news editor at AP’s New York headquarters, he helped define and shape the day’s news and prepare generations of journalists to cover the world.

AP Executive Editor Sally Buzbee says Bria “exemplified the best of the AP during a long, distinguished career.”