Mission at Nuremberg (37 page)

  26  
the town had no “railroad shops— . . .”:
Bulletin: Academic Year 1917–1918
, p. 3.

  26  
connected to downtown by streetcar:
Ibid., p. 4.

  26  
“ . . . a modern vacuum-cleaning apparatus”:
Ibid., p. 5.

  26  
was “considered self-evident”:
Ibid., p. 7.

  27  
“a truly Christian character”:
Ibid., p. 6.

  27  
“This includes all attentions . . .”:
Ibid., p. 7.

  27  
Pastors and congregations who wanted to join:
Todd Zittlow, Concordia Historical Institute.

  28  
The core group that formed:
Todd Hertz, “Benke Suspended for ‘Syncretism' after 9/11,”
Christianity Today
.

  28  
new synod members had to agree:
Zittlow, Concordia Historical Institute.

  28  
On the denomination's centennial:
“History of the LCMS.”

  28  
were given Reformation Day off:
Stelmachowicz,
Johnnie Heritage,
p. 63.

  28  
Young women could enroll:
Bulletin: Academic Year 1917–1918
, p. 11.

  28  
“best sent home by parcel post”:
Ibid., p. 10.

  28  
Wichita Natural Gas Co. struck oil:
Kansas Oil Museum.

  29  
“ . . . able to use also the German fluently . . .”:
Bulletin: Academic Year 1917–1918,
p. 11.

  29  
He got mostly Bs in English:
Henry F. Gerecke,
Transcript
.

  29  
though he hated it:
Hank Gerecke interview, 30 October 2010.

  29  
“There is no feeling, except . . .”:
The Saint,
p. 80.

  29  
The orchestra bought five pianos:
Ibid., p. 78.

  30  
the ultimate purpose of Chrysostomos:
Ibid., p. 58.

  30  
grew a beard and began smoking:
Hank Gerecke interview, 23 March 2011.

  30  
He placed fourth of four:
Stelmachowicz,
Johnnie Heritage,
p. 63.

  30  
“May she hold firm . . .”:
The Saint,
p. 58.

  30  
the El Dorado field was producing:
Kansas Oil Museum.

  30  
were among the most productive:
Price,
El Dorado,
p. 27.

  31  
“You can't go to war”:
Hank Gerecke interview, 26 June 2010.

  31  
“Dad's Waterloo”:
Hank Gerecke interview, 2 February 2008.

  31  
the Baltimore-born son:
“Short History of the St. Louis Lutheran City Mission (40th Anniversary).”

  32  
“He had a genuine sympathy . . .”:
H. Holls, “Rev. F. W. Herzberger: Pioneer City Missionary of the Lutheran Church.”

  32  
“I was naked . . .”:
Matthew 25:36, New Revised Standard Version.

  32  
Herzberger died in August 1930:
Holls, “Rev. F. W. Herzberger.”

  32  
By 1938, he was running:
Henry F. Gerecke, City Mission Notes, 4 April 1938.

  32  
When Gerecke took over:
Ibid., June 1940.

  33  
“The large neon cross lights . . .”:
Ibid., July 1941.

  33  
The City Mission office moved:
“Short History.”

  33  
Gerecke designed:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, December 1937.

  33  
Gerecke managed about eighty-five:
Ibid., February 1939.

  33  
“Ours is the busiest
. . .”:
Ibid., October 1941.

  33  
“Your City Mission business . . .”:
Ibid., November, 1940.

  34  
he registered Lutheran Mission Industries:
“Short History.”

  34  
magazines, rags, old clothing:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, March 1938.

  34  
He borrowed a broken-down Chevrolet:
Hank Gerecke interview, 8 January 2008.

  34  
Lutheran Mission Industries had three trucks:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, October 1941.

  34  
with two men each:
Hank Gerecke interview, 1 September 2011.

  34  
south and southwest on Tuesdays:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, December 1940.

  34  
average of twenty-five stops a day:
Hank Gerecke interview, 1 September 2011.

  34  
“Whatever the business brings in . . .”:
“Short History.”

  34  
Poor families at the two mission congregations:
Ibid.

  34  
several St. Louis stores donated clothes:
Hank Gerecke interview, 1 September 2011.

  35  
“Since the first of November . . .”:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, March 1938.

  35  
“We can't keep up with the calls . . .”:
Ibid., 7 April 1937.

  35  
“Without boasting . . .”:
Ibid., March 1938.

  36  
Gerecke was “much excited . . .”:
Ibid., December 1940.

  36  
“They seemed visibly touched . . .”:
Ibid., June 1940.

  36  
about $175,000 in today's dollars:
U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Inflation Calculator.

  36  
“We must have . . .”:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, January 1938.

  36  
“When we see only money . . .”:
Ibid., March 1938.

  37  
When eight hundred people attended:
Ibid., November 1939.

  37  
Ellwanger ran the mission day school:
“Short History.”

  37  
pastored his congregation:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, 10 February 1939.

  37  
Gerecke went to the City Workhouse:
Ibid., June 1940.

  37  
the rounds at Koch Hospital:
Ibid., 6 October 1937.

  37  
he visited the isolation patients:
Ibid., June 1940.

  37  
“First service, fifteen miles . . .”:
Ibid., July 1941.

  38  
“The work of a city missionary . . .”:
Ibid., August 1941.

  38  
visits to the government's Marine Hospital:
“Short History.”

  38  
The three men together baptized:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, February 1938.

  38  
“The Gospel has been taught . . .”:
“Short History.”

  39  
At the Municipal Workhouse:
Ibid.

  39  
Gerecke had gained large audiences:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, Easter 1941.

  39  
“What can be done for the ex-prisoner?”:
Ibid., June 1941.

  40  
“ . . . We enjoy a splendid spirit . . .”:
Ibid., June 1940.

  40  
“ . . . we are after souls
. . .”:
Ibid., November 1938.

  40  
“Quite often we find . . .”:
Ibid., 4 November 1937.

  40  
“Every new patient . . .”:
Ibid., July 1941.

  41  
“Tell it and print it”:
Ibid., 4 April 1938.

  41  
Cathleen, he wrote one month:
Ibid., February 1938.

  41  
“Come and see for yourself . . .”:
Ibid., November 1938.

  41  
“The summer is on . . .”:
Ibid., July 1941.

  42  
KFUO-AM, founded by his mentor:
“KFUO: Streaming Worldwide on the Web.”

  42  
originally popular mostly in hospitals:
“Short History.”

  42  
bringing him fan mail:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, October 1941.

  42  
and even calls to his house:
Ibid., Easter 1941.

  42  
brought his favorite musicians:
“Short History.”

  42  
the huge reach of radio:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, March 1938.

  42  
he promoted the show:
Ibid., Easter 1941.

  42  
Gerecke recited . . . a “mission prayer”:
Ibid., March 1938.

  42  
a rival station, KMOX:
Hank Gerecke interview, 2 February 2008.

  42  
he loved the challenge:
Hank Gerecke interview, 30 June 2011.

  43  
Alma had a rule:
Ibid.

  43  
Naturally that led to fights:
Ibid.

  43  
they fought from the time:
Hank Gerecke interview, 23 March 2011.

  43  
“ . . . You're hurting them”:
Ibid., 30 October 2010.

  43  
a roof over their heads:
Ibid., 4 January 2008.

  44  
She liked money:
Ibid., 2 February 2008.

  44  
“This is Thanksgiving . . .”:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, November 1940.

  44  
where they listened to a broadcast:
Hank Gerecke interview, 23 March 2011.

  44  
“You've heard the sermon . . .”:
Ibid., 2 February 2008.

  44  
too exciting for a teenager:
Ibid., 23 March 2011.

  44  
Hank enlisted in the army:
Henry H. Gerecke, U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938–1946.

  45  
“Save your old papers . . .”:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, January 1942.

  45  
forced to shutter the Industries:
Hank Gerecke interview, 8 January 2008.

  45  
Corky followed Hank into the army:
Carlton Gerecke, U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938–1946.

  45  
“Oliver Grosse assists . . .”:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, April 1943.

  45  
application for ecclesiastical endorsement:
Army and Navy Commission of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States. Chaplain Endorsement Application, 8 April 1943.

  45  
“ . . . for the position of chaplain”:
O. Rothe, Letter to Army and Navy Commission.

  45  
“ . . . you will have a real acquisition”:
P. E. Kretzmann, Letter to Army and Navy Commission.

  45  
“proven himself to be a psychologist . . .”:
George W. Wittmer, Letter to Army and Navy Commission.

  46  
“When I review in my mind . . .”
:
Louis W. Wickham, Letter to Army and Navy Commission.

  46  
named Gerecke a chaplain:
Henry F. Gerecke, Orders, Chaplain.

  46  
“ . . . I ask your blessings . . .”:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, August 1943.

  47  
“ . . . when we are absent one from another”:
Genesis 31:49, American King James Version.

  47  
“The eternal God is your refuge . . .”:
Deuteronomy 33:27, American King James Version.

  47  
“God give us strength . . .”
:
Gerecke, City Mission Notes, November 1941.

 

CHAPTER 3

  48  
“Before you join battle . . .”:
Jewish Publication Society, Tanakh Translation.

  48  
recommended for the Chaplain Corps:
Carl L. Wilberding, Letter to Henry F. Gerecke, 23 June 1943.

  48  
“ . . . There is no intention of backing down”:
Henry F. Gerecke, Letter to Chief of Chaplains, 26 June 1943.

  48  
and reported for duty at Harvard:
A. J. Casey, “Report of Entry on Active Duty,” 18 August 1943 and David H. Keller, Memo. “Subject: Report of Physical Examination,” 19 August 1943.

  49  
“a priest in khaki,”:
Cross and Arnold,
Soldiers of God,
p. 15.

  49  
New York Cardinal Francis Spellman:
“Bishop Arnold.”

  49  
“Chaplains of all faiths . . .”:
Cross and Arnold,
Soldiers of God,
p. 16.

  50  
“Your earnest words . . .”:
Arnold, “My dear Chaplain.”

  50  
a boy named for Mars:
Pernoud,
Martin of Tours,
p. 19.

  50  
Martin, even as a child:
Ibid., p. 21.

  51  
When Martin was fifteen years old:
Ibid., p. 24.

  51  
the beggar laughed:
Ibid., p. 27.

  51  
straight out of the Gospels:
Ibid., p. 28, and Matthew 25:40, New Revised Standard Edition.

  51  
For centuries, French kings carried:
“The Origin of the word ‘Chaplain.' ” Plaque. U.S. Army Chaplain Museum. Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

  52  
soldier-priests once carried maces:
Drazin and Currey,
For God and Country,
p. 5.

  52  
The priests of Amun-Ra:
Armstrong, “Organization, Function and Contribution of the Chaplaincy,” p. ii.