George Esper (1932 – February 2, 2012) was an American journalist and academic known for his work as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press during the Vietnam War.

Esper was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1932, the son of Lebanese immigrants.^[1] He graduated from West Virginia University, becoming the first member of his family to attend college.^[2]

Esper worked as a sports writer for the Uniontown Morning Herald and the Pittsburgh Press before being hired by the Associated Press in 1958.^[2] Esper was a noted foreign correspondent for the Associated Press during the Vietnam War, working at the AP's Saigon Bureau under bureau chief Edwin Q. White.^[2][3] Esper refused to leave the city, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, during the Fall of Saigon, choosing to cover the aftermath of the end of the war.^[2] He spent forty-two years reporting for the Associated Press.^[2] He worked as a journalism professor at West Virginia University following his retirement from the AP in 2000.^[1]

Esper died in Braintree, Massachusetts, on February 2, 2012, at the age of 79.^[2] He was buried at St. George Maronite Catholic Church in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on February 9.^[4]

His nephew is former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.^[5]